1. Determine the gravity of your debt. Some families don't even realize the extent of their debt burden. Money may be tight, but many people believe they're doing okay if they manage to make their minimum payments. Unfortunately, even a minor financial setback could push them in a serious hole virtually overnight.

To determine your debt burden, add up all of your monthly consumer debt obligations and minimum required payments (not counting your mortgage). Include car loans, college loans and credit cards. If the total consumes 15 to 20 percent or more of your paycheck, you need to take measures to reduce your debt. Also, look for other signs of a high debt burden, such as borrowing to pay for necessities, missing payments or making late payments, being turned down for credit or neglecting to save for retirement or other financial goals.

2. Stop spending. "One of the first steps is to stop digging the hole any deeper," says William L. Anthes, Ph.D., former president and CEO of NEFE. "If you recognize that you're in serious debt, immediately limit spending to the bare necessities, such as food, shelter, utilities, transportation and so on. Postpone buying new gadgets or taking a family vacation, eat at home and don't buy anything on installment. Take a breather for at least a month until you have created a sound get-out-of-debt plan. Treat this month as financial triage."

3. Determine why you're in debt. If you don't understand why you got into debt in the first place, you are less likely to take the right steps to get out, and stay out.

For example, you may have held your debt load to an acceptable level—until you suddenly lost your job, suffered investment setbacks or experienced a financial crisis, such as large medical or legal expenses. This might suggest that once you get out of debt, you need to build a larger cash emergency fund, better diversify your portfolio or carry more medical and liability insurance.

4. Freeze your credit cards. "The misuse of credit cards is typically one of the biggest reasons families fall into financial difficulty," says Anthes. "They often pay the minimum required on a card, either because they can't afford to pay more or because they don't realize how costly it is to pay only the minimum." If you've accumulated a lot of credit card debt, especially on multiple cards, try to transfer the balances from the higher-interest-rate accounts to a single, lower-rate card. (Be sure it's not a low teaser rate available for only a short time.) Cancel the cards you've paid off and don't charge any new items on the card you've kept. Try to pay more than the minimum each month in order to reduce overall finance charges.

5. Budget. Everyone should have a budget or spending plan. Not having one is a major reason people get into debt. A spending plan involves accurately tracking all of your expenses—cash, checks, credit cards, personal items and so on—and making sure they don't exceed your income.

6. Generate new income. Take a second job or have other family members take jobs, even part time, and direct that money to paying down debts. Sell off expendable personal assets for cash. If you have income sitting in low-interest bank and money market accounts, consider using that money for paying your debts.

7. Suspend investing. Generally, you want to continue investing, especially for retirement. But if returns are low, consider reducing or suspending retirement plan contributions and putting that money toward eliminating high-interest-rate debt.

Also, it might be tempting to borrow money from your retirement account, such as a 401(k) plan, to pay down debt, and you may need to if it means avoiding bankruptcy. But be aware that you're shrinking the size of your future retirement nest egg. Also, you'll pay income taxes and perhaps penalties on any money you fail to pay back to the retirement plan.

8. Choose a method to pay off debt. One of two approaches is recommended.You can pay the minimum on all of your loans and debts, and direct any extra money toward the highest-interest loan. This method saves the most money in the end because you're paying off the most expensive loan first. As soon as it's paid off, go to the next highest loan.

A second method is to earmark any extra money toward the smallest debt first and pay it off as soon as possible to give you a much-needed sense of accomplishment. Once it's paid off, use that money to pay off the next smallest debt, and so on. This method can be more psychologically rewarding than the first, though it will save you less money in the long run.

9. Consolidate loans. A popular method for dealing with debt is to consolidate multiple loans into a single, lower-interest-rate loan, such as a home equity or personal loan from a financial institution. Another option is to refinance your existing mortgage to a lower rate and to take out some additional cash based on the equity in your home. You wind up with a larger mortgage balance than you had before, but you can use the extra cash to pay off other non-mortgage debts that carry higher interest rates.

You will probably have to pay an initial charge for consolidating your loans, but the consolidation can save you money in the long run through reduced finance charges. Also, it's easier to focus on one loan rather than several. However, unless done properly, a loan consolidation can actually make matters worse.