Start with making a list of your creditors and the balances you owe list account numbers and mailing addresses. Arrange this with list balances first and then proceed as such till you have every creditor list. Then put these in your bill pay account that is linked to your checking account that you pay your bills from. Total these balances so you will know what amount you are looking at and so you can determine goal as to how long you think would be a timeframe that would seem appropriate.
See Where You Stand
List your monthly take home pay place this at top of page. Under this list your monthly expenses. List your fixed expenses first and then list expenses that change from time to time such as groceries. utilities, medical bills, clothes, car repairs. You may want to look back on your last four bank statements so you can be sure you are not forgetting any expenses that come up and make sure you have a budget that is close to accurate. Total up expenses and then subtract expenses from monthly take home pay. Do you have money left if so great this is the money you will pay extra on your bills starting with least balance to greatest and then as you pay these off you delete them to discourage yourself from using credit card again. If you are in the minus then this is probably how you got in debt in first place. So we are left with two options cut expenses and make more money.
Ways to Cut Expenses and Generate More Money for Debt Repayment
First go back to you budget to the items that you can cut, food expenses, utilities, cable, maybe gym membership. Decide what you can cut from your budget maybe some expenses can totally be cut maybe like giving up your landline or giving up a membership, but some expenses like food you can work at saving money on like cutting coupons or making menus and shopping with list go over this budget and cut the fat. Do you have extra money now if so you are going to use this on your debt. You are going to send this money when you usually would send the other bill since this account is set up on bill pay after you pay minimum payment you can send even small payments from your bill pay. After you have cut fat from your budget generating money to go direct to your bills is also a great ideal and once again as soon as this extra money hits your bank account send it to your creditor. You can sale unwanted items on eBay or amazon.com, you can clean houses, you can sit with elderly or watch young children, you can start a small side business or you can ask for a raise from your employer. Whatever you can do to generate more cash to help you with this goal, stick to your budget and stop all charging and learn to live within your means. It may mean eating cheap or giving up buying new clothes and vacations for a while. The peace of mind of being out of debt is well worth it.