• Learn to better manage your debt.money image by Bradlee Mauer from Fotolia.com
  
  If you do not take steps to manage your personal debt, it may start to feel like your debt is getting out of control. There are several debt management procedures you can employ to help you pay off your debt faster, lower your monthly payments, and free up spending cash to help you buy necessary items such as food and gasoline.
  
  

Consolidation

• If you have several high-interest credit accounts, then you may be able to reduce your overall debt by consolidating under one loan. When you consolidate you will be reducing several sets of service charges and finance fees down to just one, and you can lower your interest obligation by getting a consolidation loan with a lower interest rate than your credit cards. Some of the different kinds of loans you can use to consolidate debt are unsecured and secured personal loans, home equity loans, balance transfer credit accounts, and debt consolidation programs set up by a financial professional.
  
  

Debt Settlement

• If you cannot pay your monthly payments on your credit obligations, then consider negotiating a debt settlement with your creditors. Negotiate a final pay-off amount on the interest and principle you owe, and then ask for an installment program with a payment you can afford. Negotiating a debt settlement can have a negative effect on your credit score, so be sure you want to pursue debt settlement before you begin speaking to creditors.
  
  

Stay Within Your Means

• Develop a monthly budget that compares your bills to your income. When you decide to take on new debt, make sure that the new debt fits in your monthly budget to avoid spending more than you can afford. In some cases, the best way to manage debt is to be able to monitor it on paper. If you can see what you have to spend versus what you are already paying for, then you can make better decisions about whether or not you can afford more debt.
  
  

Debt Counseling

• Managing debt can be complicated for some people. If you find the idea of managing your debt to be appealing, but you lack the confidence to take action, then consider speaking to a professional debt counselor. A debt counselor can help you set up a monthly budget, and he can also offer advice on how to best approach paying off your existing debt.