If you are serious about getting out of debt, even if you have more than fifteen thousand dollars in dept, this is where you have to start. The next step of the process is getting your credit score. This is where you really have to be careful. There are a lot of commercials in the media about getting your credit score, but it isn’t free. You have the right to get a hard copy of your credit score once a year, from all three credit agencies. You can either send them a request in writing, or you can go through free websites.

Meanwhile, go through your credit cards. Write down which ones have the highest interest rates as well as annual fees. As mentioned earlier, you should always try to keep up on the minimum monthly payment no matter what, but the idea is to get them all paid off as quickly as possible. Start with the card with the least amount on it. If you can take what you would normally spend a month on going out, let’s say just fifty dollars, and add this to your credit card payment, you are going to pay this card off fast.

Here is an example. Your lowest credit card is maxed out at $1,500 and you are making a minimum of twenty dollars it is going to take years to pay it off. Adding fifty dollars to it, the payments are going to be eliminated a lot faster, because your minimum monthly payment is a little more than your interest each month. If you find that you have more money after your monthly budget, you can even split it up between your lowest cards.

Look, this isn’t going to happen overnight. You didn’t get into this debt overnight, and even with money management and debt consolidation, you won’t get out of it overnight. Most people who are in debt, whether it is a little or a lot feel they are all alone in the situation. You are not alone, and it isn’t entirely your fault. You are constantly bombarded with advertisements, in the media, on the internet, and in the mail from credit card and quick cash companies.

Now as you pay off your credit cards, you will start having more money at the end of the month. The first time you can completely cross a debt off of your budget list you will feel great about yourself. However, this is not the time to be complacent. If you must celebrate, do it one time and get on track. Take this money and apply it to the next set of credit cards, until unsecured debt is paid off.

Now you must go back to your credit report. Even with your credit cards paid off, sometimes it takes awhile for it to appear on a credit report. You may also have other outstanding debts, doctor bills, cell phones you didn’t pay off, and these are on your report as well. Your credit report will also have all the contact information for these debtors, and you need to contact each one to see if you can reduce the interest charges, or even get them to settle the debt for pennies on the dollar. Again, the idea is to start with the smallest amount and work your way up until this debt is paid off.

These are just few of the many free ways to get out of debt, you can find an abundance of free information about credit, money management, and a number of other topics online.