Having the tools for the trade.

One of the biggest keys to being able to eliminate debt is to figure out how much money you have coming in and going out.  Its one of the most tedious parts of the process, but is very important if you are serious about trying to get out of debt.  Working online with my check book has made a difference for me in keeping track of where my money is going / coming from.    There are several good reasons to do this.  The obvious reason being so that you don't overdraft your account and therefore have to pay extra ($35 - $50) NSF (No Sufficient Funds) charges.  But also, its good for creating a budget further down the road.  Lets you see what you bought, possibly finding things you don't really need to buy, or even some cases paying for something you should not be!

Before you begin, some notes about working with your bank information on your computer.  First, get a good virus scanner!!!  This is because there's plenty of viruses and trojans out there you don't want or need.  These can cause several headaches down the road, so just eliminate the risk now.  There's plenty of good FREE ones out there, so there's really no excuse to not have antivirus software.  Also, try not to leave your account number and passwords in a readily available location.  Especially if your a college kid who doesn't want roommates trying to access your accounts.  If you absolutely have to have them, because you forget them all the time, then its good to have a password on your PC to login before you get to the desktop.

These are tools that I used, and the purpose for the tool, later on we can discuss how to use these tools to help get started on the right track.

Money Managing Software.  The most common products are Microsoft Money and Quicken.  I personally use Microsoft Money, but my opinion isn't valid because I'm still using the 2003 version.  There is a free product called Mint, which is made by the people who make Quicken, that has gotten favorable reviews that may interest some people as well.  I've tried it and I do like it, but it does require your bank to be online, and it will download statements from the bank for you.  I probably would be more inclined to use it if

Bank Statements.  You need these to compare what you think you have vs. what the bank has.  If they do not match, chances are there is an error.  And chances are, the error is in your checkbook.  Not that the bank is perfect, but the odds are slightly in their favor. 

Checkbook.  This is for comparisons sake, because most of the time people use the checkbook to see how much money is left.  It may be accurate, but it may not be.  And when your working on trying to get out of the debt hole, almost is not good enough.

Getting all these together, and making you checkbook accurate will go a long way towards helping you recover from money problems.  You can't get to the finish line without getting to the starting line.  Any questions at all don't hesitate to ask!