My wife and I are in the process of paying down our debt! I need advice on the best way to do this.
1. Should we continue to pay the monthly bills ( which doesn't seem to help)
2. should we focus on paying off the smaller bills and then focus on the biggers ones together.

please advise>>>>>

Pay the minimum on the largest debts and apply as much as you can on the smallest. Then do the next and the next until they are all gone. By doing it this way, you will see improvement faster.

Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball

List your debts, excluding the house, in order. The smallest balance should be your number one priority. Don’t worry about interest rates unless two debts have similar payoffs. If that’s the case, then list the higher interest rate debt first.

The point of the debt snowball is simply this: You need some quick wins in order to stay pumped up about getting out of debt! Paying off debt is not always about math. It’s about motivation. Personal finance is 20% head knowledge and 80% behavior. When you start knocking off the easier debts, you will see results and you will stay motivated to dump your debt.

Take Action!

Get a second job like pizza delivery or have regular yard sales. Sell everything but the kids!

Sometimes when you feeling like you are sinking. and you have taken
the type of actions in the above advice posts... bankruptcy might be the
next best solution.. it can clear the road for you to start fresh with.
Student loans will still be a liability...
do some research and see if that is a potential solution..

Roll down debt is great 80 20 rule yes,
But we need to get smarter ...

We have a group in Miami Florida, To learn how to smart use and pay credit cards.
The book Eliminate Debt 101 Will show you How to make all credit card 0 interest.
Cancelling interest with Cash flow. We put our money on a checking account at 0 interest as soon as we get the salary. And we are paying interest in all the money we borrow.
ask me questions and I will post the answers... so we can all share.
Do you know how to use the "budget your expenses to pay your credit card's, to invest in to principal."

The rule is simple:
First budget your expenses for next week. Pay that amount towards the credit cards due next week ..... then pay the bills with the credit card. It doesn't matter if you don't pay the full balance .... still your average debt will be less and you will be charge less interest. More money will be going to principal with the same payment.

We just need to learn good financial habits... to get out of Debt faster. I don't believe in the answers: save money, spend less and dont' use credit. People today is financially stress situation. They can't spend less, and their salaries are less and they use credit for food and Gas to keep working.
"Is not that we don't see the Solutions. It is that we don't see the problem....."

There are different ways to getting out of debt. The Debt Snowball Plan is just one of them. There is also debt consolidation and debt settlement. If you want to consolidate your debt, you have several options within this option. You can go through a debt consolidation company, you can also consolidate on your own. It is the same with debt settlement. You can use a professional or you can settle on your own.

MY NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION
will save me a hundred thousand dollars

New Year’s Resolution
What will it be?
Do something different
To be debt and stress free


Enjoyed our home
Twenty years it has been
Now we owe more
Than when we moved in

How did that happen
Payments were all made
Never a late fee
No statement unpaid

Wanted a new car
Twas twenty grand
A home equity loan
Now I shine it by hand


Master cards, Visa Cards
For well deserved joys
Spent forty thousand
On travel and toys


Refinance your home
The banker advised
To pay our home loans
And reclaim our lives

Now thirty years owed
Starting over again
The ten years paid
All went down the drain


Do something different
U First Agent said
Follow this plan
To get out of the red


With Financial GPS
And 20/20 Foresight
Living debt free
Is now within our sight

Our New Year's Resolution
To be debt and stress free
We now found the solution
My Money Merge Account™ and me


by Walter Seward
December 2009

What a great poem.. it sums it up...simple and too the point.. Happy New year

I agree with ResidualCents! Use the debt snowball! If you guys put any additional money towards your debt, you'll pay it off rather soon. Good luck!

Another option is debt settlement, where you make an upfront, lump sum payment to the bank to settle an entire account for less than the amount owed, often as little as 25-35% of the balance. Many television commercials would have you believe you need to pay a company to do this for you, but you do not. You can call your banks directly and negotiate settlements yourself. I did. I reduced $212,000 to only $15,000 in about a year and had over $130,000 in debt forgiven entirely.