taken from https://www.bankrate.com/finance/debt/ways-to-get-out-of-debt-1.aspx#slide=1: 7 strategies on how to get out of debt once and for all

1 OF 8

Hero Images/Getty Images

7 ways to get out of debt

Two out of every five households carry credit card debt from month to month, according to the 2017 Consumer Financial Literacy Survey by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, or NFCC.

Some of those consumers are managing a modest amount of debt fairly well — always paying above the minimum on every account and holding back on new credit spending until the balances are paid down.

For others, debt is an oppressive burden that has them ducking creditors’ phone calls and struggling to keep up with even the minimum payments each month.

If you’re overwhelmed by debt, you need to make some quick and perhaps drastic moves to have any hope of getting free. Follow this step-by-step guide on how to finally get out of debt.

1. Stop the bleeding.
2. Imagine your life debt-free.
3. Conduct a full-budget checkup.
4. Climb down the debt ladder.
5. Build a repayment snowball.
6. Ask your creditors for help.
7. Consider credit counseling.