Managing debt

  Debt is a thing most people struggle with.  I did for many years.  When I first started out I wanted to be debt free so I was a pay as you go person until one a day when then temperature was below freezing and my furnace went out.  Even though I was a degree day customer with the local oil company and had a proven record of paying my bills promptly, the company refused to fix my furnace because I was not a credit customer, even though I had cash on hand to pay for the repair work.
  After that experience I applied for and was approved for a credit card.  One company I worked for gave me an expense account but I had to use my personal credit card and apply for reimbursement.  The biggest problem is sometimes the bill was due before my reimbursement came and I was struck paying interest, late payments and on rare occasions over-the-limit fees.  My biggest mistake was getting my then wife a credit card for emergencies.  Want my idea of an emergency was and her idea were not the same thing.  My idea was if she got into a situation were she needed her car towed or repaired in order to get home then she would have the money to do so.  Her idea of an emergency was if she saw something she wanted and didn't have the money to buy it.  She spent more than I could pay.  When she died, she left me with a large credit card bill, all the normal expenses, the cost of funereal, and the loss of her income.
  It was a huge struggle to pay   all that debt but I finally did.  I made a budget and paid the minimum payment on all the cards except the one with the most interest (which was also the lest debt).  After one was paid off, I used that money to pay the next one.  There is one major rule and that is one has to increase income or lower debt.  I had to do both by being cautious and careful with all purchases, especially food purchases, walked where I could to save gas money, learned to do repairs myself, and took an extra job.
  I still have a credit card which I use frequently but I pay it in full every month.  I recently purchased a new car and paid for it in cash.  The only thing I own that is not paid for in full is my house.  No matter how deeply in debt you are and how impossible it seems to get out of debt it is possible.  It takes a workable plan, a determination to stick to the plan, and the willingness to do without for the present to insure a brighter future.
  First one needs to make a budget that will allow one to bring in more money than one spends and will allow one to save money.  The first money to be saved is an emergency fund which should be at least one thousand dollars.  After that goal is reached one needs to start a regular savings program that provides a higher return on investment, say $5,000.00.  After that any money saved should go into retirement savings.
   Unless you are disciplined enough to pay your credit card bill in full each month, I suggest you do not have one, or if you do, you have one with a very low limit.  I like my credit card because I do most of my shopping on line, the card lets me fill up with gas without having to go inside the station, and it allows me to purchase a wanted or needed item at a good price if I don't have the cash with me, but only if I will have the money to pay the card when the bill is due.  If you can't cut up your card because you will just end up back where you started.