This Strategy Works Best For: Everyone!
Debts are like rabbits. Unless you take preventive action, they will multiply… and multiply… and multiply… ad infinitum.
It’s almost a guarantee that debts will multiply if you continue on the course that put you into debt in the first place. Instead, you must stop the debt cycle. One only way to do that is by not making any more debt. Anyone who has debt should make this his or her first strategy toward financial freedom. Debt accumulation is a habit. Debt elimination must also become a habit. But the only way to eliminate a habit is to replace it with another one. Habits occupy spaces in our brains that cannot be left empty or vacant. So replace the debt accumulation habit with the debt freedom habit. Social scientists say it takes approximately 21 days to replace a habit with another one. So you must be on your toes and extremely attentive to your spending habits and thoughts about money for about a month. Then, though you can’t forget about, the process should become easier.

Strategy Two: Ask Yourself the Big Question

This Strategy Works Best For: People who can honestly assess their needs and have the discipline to say NO to unnecessary use of credit.
Before charging anything, ask yourself: “What will happen if I don’t purchase this?” If the answer is not something catastrophic or life threatening, put the plastic back in your wallet unless you know you will pay the bill in full when it comes.
This strategy can put an end to using credit cards for the wrong reasons. It gives you the discipline to say no to temptation, so you can stay on the path to financial freedom.

Strategy Three: Freeze Spending –Literally

This Strategy Works Best For: People who tend to be impulsive ‘chargers’ and are not sure they can overcome the impulse to use plastic if it’s handy.
Put all your credit cards, except one, in the freezer. Carry only one card for emergencies only. Why the freezer? First, it will be easy for you to remember where the cards are when it’s safe to carry them again. Second, the freezer is symbolic. You are literally putting the freeze on your spending, and you are giving a “cold shoulder” to your previous debt-generating lifestyle.
By the way, if your will power is weak, dip your cards in water before placing them in the freezer. That way you will have to thaw them before they are usable in a credit card scanning machine. Hopefully during the time it takes for the ice to melt the urge to spend will have left your or you will have seriously analyzed whether you truly need to make the purchase. *

Strategy Four: Practice Safe Charging!

This Strategy Works Best For: People who are back on their feet financially and debt-free or nearly so.
Even after you get out of debt, you will need to be disciplined about charging. It’s just too easy to fall back into old habits. As I have pointed out, debt always threatens or takes away wealth.
Now that debit cards are available, I strongly suggest using a debit card whenever possible. “Safe charging” means carrying only one credit card for emergency purposes only. Do not use any kind of credit for everyday expenses or for consumable items (such as food or gasoline) or intangibles (such as movies or amusement park outings). Do not charge anything that you cannot pay off completely when the bill comes.
These actions will help to keep you from making unnecessary charges that will land you right back in debt quicksand faster than you can say “Oops!” As mentioned, the strategy of carrying
only one credit card is best for people who are back on their feet financially and debt-free or nearly so; however, some highly disciplined people might be able to carry one credit card –for emergencies only– even while they are still actively paying off major debt. If you think you can do that, great. But if you don’t think you have that kind of mettle, use Strategy Five or Strategy Six, or both. In either case, be sure you are getting the lowest interest rate available to you.
Remember that getting out and staying out of debt is a lifelong commitment, just like recover for a substance abuser. Try to think of each temptation to charge something in the same way a recovering alcoholic should think about the temptation drink. It is too easy to slide back into careless spending.

Strategy Five: Go Cold Turkey

This Strategy Works Best For: People who find it very difficult or impossible to control their charging. If you simply cannot stop spending on credit because you do so compulsively, cut up your credit cards. This is a difficult step to take, but some people find it’s the only way they can save their financial health.
Alternatively, you might put your credit cards in a safe deposit box at the bank. Or, if necessary, give them to a trusted relative who will not give them back until you can show a zero balance on ALL your cards or unless you face a life-threatening emergency.
Whether you cut up all your cards or get them out of your hands some other way, this strategy works because it takes control out of your hands and removes the constant temptation to use plastic.