Are you deep in debt? Maybe the economy has hit you and your family hard and the bills have added up and now you find yourself in over your head. Consumer debt solutions are being advertised all over the internet but maybe they just don’t seem legitimate to you.

The good news is this: Often, our debts aren’t quite as dire as we believe and much of our financial troubles can be handled without the help of one of those questionable companies. All you need is a little bit of education.

Job #1 is to get a current copy of your credit report. This can be done for free at annualcreditreport.com. Study these reports very closely and look for any errors.

The second thing you should do is get a clear picture of your debts. Open up your favorite spreadsheet program and enter the amount of the debt, the interest rate, what kind of debt it is, and how far behind it is. It would also be helpful to write down the name and the address of the company who holds the debt. This can be found on your credit report and contrary to what you may read, you don’t need consumer debt solutions companies to help you do this.

Next, sort them by priority. Pay a minimum payment to each of these debts to keep the bill collectors from constantly calling. After that, it would be best to pay the highest interest card and work your way through your debts.

Of course this is easier said than done. A friend of mine, Ryan Bauer, has written a great series of ebooks about debt and gives you ways to get your debt under control without the help of a consumer debt solutions company. This system is called the Debt Annihilation Formula. The information provided above is just a small sampling of what is contained in this ebook series. He talks about how to get rid of your debt in a practical way.

In Ryan’s ebook, he gives you more than 60 pages of real ways to make extra money. These aren’t those work at home scams. They are real, legitimate ways to make extra money to work off your debt. Can you write articles about topics you enjoy? He shows you how to make extra money working when you have time writing articles on topics of your choice.

One of the best parts of his ebook series is the advice he gives about improving your credit. These aren’t those scam or illegal pieces of advice. They are legal, practical ways to negotiate with your creditors. While the debt repayment calculator may say it will take 6 years, with this system, it will take much less.

You don’t need consumer debt solutions companies. This ebook series will give you everything you need to get your debt under control.