No Cheating Allowed

Any debt reduction or income increase plan takes both discipline and sacrifice, as Cavazos points out. Langemeier emphasizes changing spending behavior. "Spendaholics keep repeating the cycle."

Cavazos might let you cheat a little but in a positive way. "The conventional wisdom is to pay the highest interest card first," he says, "but if it makes you feel better to eliminate at least one card, pay the smallest balance first."

Then you can say, "I used to have eight credit cards, now I only have seven."

Just like the 40-pound weight gain, you didn't get in debt in a month or even a year. But you might get out much faster than a couple of decades. Cavazos says his counselors don't let you come out of the process with bad credit, either.

"I had clients hug me and say, 'I feel like a 1,000-pound weight came off me,'" Cavazos says.

Star Lawrence is a medical journalist based in the Phoenix area.

Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD on February 1, 2007