Start by Tracking ALL Your Daily and Monthly Spending:

Using an "Expense Sheet", which can be in an Excel Spreadsheet and write down every cent you spend. At the end of the month, go over your expenses and compare with your monthly income and see where your money is going. It will give you an idea where your money is going, if you are bringing more than your spending, if you are saving money. If you realize you spend $350 more than you bring in with your monthly income, then it will give you an idea of your current financial situation and what you have to do to stop spending more than you should.

Find out where you can cut back. If you're spending $70 a week on coffee and fast food, put that money instead into a savings account, and by the end of the year, you'll be $3640 richer.

Pay the Debts With The Highest Interest Rate First:

Not doing so will cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars in unnecessary interest payments to your creditors. Snowballing your debt is an easy way to get control of your debt and quickly eliminate it. Debts with higher interest rates continue to grow quickly, and by not tackling them first, it will take you longer to pay down your debt.

How To Calculate How Much Interest You Are Paying To Your Credit Card Companies.

Example: If your Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is 24.99% and you have $10,000 in credit cards you will be paying $10,000 x 24.99% = $2499 Interest per year or $208.25 per month ($10,000 x 24.99% divided by 12) $6.94 Interest per day ($10,000 x 24.99% divided by 365).

Pay Your Credit Card Bills as Early as Possible and Don't Wait Till The Due Date. You are paying daily interest rate to your credit card companies.

You need to pay your bills before the 30-day billing cycle. Here is your daily finance charge: $10,000 x 24.99% = divided by 365 days.

If you pay your bill in 30-days you will be paying: $10,000 x 24.99% divided by 365 x 30 = $205.39 in Finance Charge.

If you pay your bill in 20-days you will be paying: $10,000 x 24.99% divided by 365 x 20 = $138.83.39 in Finance Charge. YOU SAVE $66.55

When will you be able to pay off your credit cards?

If you owe $10,000 and your minimum payment is $220 and you just pay the minimum it will take you $10,000 divided by $220 equals 45 months to PAY OFF THAT CREDIT CARD.

If you pay more than the minimum (i.e. $350) it will take you 28 months ONLY.

You will save at least 17 months of interest payment. If you $205.39 in finance charge every month you will save $3491.63 using the example above.

5) Plan for Emergencies, But Not At the Expense of Reducing Your Debt
Establishing an emergency fund is an excellent idea when you're getting serious about getting out of debt. It's important to remember, however, that emergencies may or may not happen, while your monthly bills, and their interest rates, are a sure thing.
Try to figure out how much you can afford to spend each month, and devote a small portion of that to savings, while you put the rest into getting your debt paid down to avoid paying more interest than you have to.

6) Don't Pay that Mortgage Off Yet!
A mortgage is "good debt", so you want to hang onto that one until the rest of your debts are paid off, you have a comfortable savings account established, and you're ready to start devoting some of your disposable income to paying off your house.
Interest rates on mortgages tend to be lower than on most other types of loans, including student loans, and the interest you pay is tax deductible up to $1 million. Consider putting that money into a mid-term CD instead to maximize your savings.

7) Never, Ever Pay the Minimum!
Sometimes you'll have to pay only the minimum, but if you can afford to pay more than the monthly minimum on your credit cards, DO IT!
With the change in banking regulations resulting in an increase in minimum credit card payments, your debt likely won't increase faster than you can pay it down. However, even an extra $10 a month on a $5000 balance at 18% interest can save you $4850 in interest and be paid off 262 months sooner.

8) If You Need Help, Get It
If you feel like you're drowning in debt, get help. There are a number of ways to deal with debt and the sooner you can get started, and get control over your debt, the less control your debt will have over your life.