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Money worries are causing misery for more and more of us, and levels of personal debt are at their highest ever. Many of us want to start clearing our borrowing, but the job can appear too much to face. There are, however some effective methods you can make use of to get started on the way to a debt free future,

Firstly, it's essential to take a look at your expenditure and rein it in wherever feasible. There's not a lot of point in trying to pay down debts with one hand while the other is occupied chalking up new borrowing. Force yourself to stop using your credit cards except as purely a way of paying for things, always paying back all of what you've spent when your statement comes. Also look at cutting down on on your daily spending - purchasing more inexpensive goods, relinquishing the occasional treat or meal out, it all adds up.

But just this will not do much to pay off your debt - you need a programme to pay it down as quickly as possible, and this is where the idea of 'snowballing' comes in. Fundamentally, you focus your effort into paying down one debt as fast as possible, putting all your spare cash into this effort while sustaining your other debts at their minimum repayment levels. Once this main debt has been repaid, add the monthly repayments you'd been making on it to the payments on the next debt in the line. This way, the effectiveness of your money gets higher and higher as it channels from one debt to the next.

If you're having serious problems meeting your repayments, though, the previous two techniques aren't going to avoid disaster. It's here that a consolidation loan might be a useful option. The underlying idea is to make use of a new line of credit, and use it to pay back all your present debts. The idea is that servicing your new single loan will be more affordable than the combined fees, interest and charges of your former debts, and so more of your cash will go towards clearing what you owe rather than just pouring money down the drain paying the interest.

You really need to tread cautiously with this last choice though, as you're possibly increasing your debt problems rather than relieving them. Be sure you have the self-discipline to pay off your old debts and not run them up again before going down this road.

None of these choices are easy, and none are without their downsides. However, most of us accept now that our debts are too high and we need to start doing something to bring them down to more sensible levels, whatever the immediate pain that might be the result. By taking these hints and making use of them, you can make that first stride towards becoming totally free from debt.

Nicholas writes on various aspects of personal debt, from managing credit card debts to stopping repossession.