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Many personal finance bloggers are driven by a desire to reduce or eliminate debt. The combination of accountability and community seems to help when trying to conquer the debt mountain.
If you want to reduce or eliminate your debt, there are many methods, resources and, of course, BlogHers to motivate and support your efforts.
The approach to paying off debt I most often see blogged about is the "debt snowball" method, by which you focus on paying off your smallest debt first and then add the payments to the next smallest and so on until all your debts are paid.
If your debts are more pressing and you don't have time to use the snowball method, you might consider Consumer Credit Counseling Services. These organizations will work with your creditors to reduce your payments and with you to set up a re-payment plan. This field has gotten a bad rap as many unscrupulous companies have sprung up and harmed rather than helped consumers. If you are considering this route it is very important to do your homework before signing up with any CCCS organization. The source I found most often recommended as reputable is the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.
If your situation is dire - perhaps you've lost your job or have massive medical bills - you might consider bankruptcy as these are the leading causes of personal bankruptcy. As the bankruptcy laws changed last year, it is very important to educate yourself and thoroughly research all that is involved and the implications taking this drastic step will mean.
Even if you are diligent about paying off your debt, you might get threating phone calls based on inaccurate information. Check out these three BlogHers discussing "Zombie Debt:"
Money Stuffed
Jane Dough
LR Johnson
And, if you have debt, read up on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
There are so many resources and BlogHers who can guide you or whom you can support in their efforts. What follows is just a sampling. If you want to reduce or eliminate your debt, regardless of where you are at in the process, there are bloggers and sites that can help you reach your goal.
Millionaire Artist recommends the new web tool Debt Folio.
Nance Kelly is the About.com Credit/Debt Management Guide.
BlogHim, Free Money Finance, has a 5-part series on how to get out of debt.
Debt Free Renee is blogging her progress toward eliminating her debt by this time next year.
And, finally, sometimes you just have to laugh.
Do you have a debt elimination success story or tools and resources to recommend? Let us know in the comments.
