Be realistic about getting out of debt. In most households, this is a three to five year commitment. Get everyone in the family involved with the plan. Yes, get the children involved, too. You’ll be teaching them lessons they’ll carry with them and pass onto your grandchildren.

As a family, your lifestyle will inevitably change. Not for the worst, but it’ll change from spending money to enjoying a life involving simpler activities requiring very little cash. Because you’ll be spending money to pay for things you acquired in the past, your family is going to notice they aren’t enjoying the standard of living they’re accustomed to. Be up-front and get them into the process.

Explain once the family debt is under control, you’ll all be able to afford some of the things you might forfeit in the short-term. It’ll be impossible to work any such plan without the full cooperation of your spouse and the knowledge of your children.This can be a time of great bonding. Sometimes, this brings out the most powerful resistance imaginable. Trying to reduce debt without their cooperation isn’t going to work. It may be time for credit counseling, marriage/family counseling or the hard decisions.

Lenny Explains About :
This Is a Family Project

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Remember it may take up to twice as long to eliminate debts as it took to acquire them. In many cases, radical changes in your lifestyle will be required. A year from now, a few may find they have no less debt than when they started. Keep in mind, if you hadn’t started you’d definitely be deeper in debt.

The major step in debt reduction is stopping any more debt. It could take many months getting yourself onto a cash basis again. Then remember the float on the cards. It’ll force many of you to go deeper into debt before you can ever start digging out. Facing your debt, in itself, is a major milestone.