Before you declare bankruptcy, follow these six relatively easy steps. Just take a moment and consider other options before making a huge mistake. If you're experiencing major debt right now, I highly suggest further investigation on what options are available whilst you complete the following six steps.

1. Lay out your debt: how much debt do you have in total? How much of it are secured versus unsecured loans? What are their interest rates? How many months are you behind on their payments? Also list your current monthly expenses from bills like insurance, food, power, telephone (including mobile). In addition, log in detail all your gratuitous spending habits, including theatre spending, gym memberships, restaurant dining, etc… Once all that is complete, compile with the aid of your credit cards all your accumulated debt in each aspect where bills occur.

2. Stop your bad spending habits: With all your bills staring back, you have a general idea what you need to reduce your spending on. Although the greatest part won't be your gratuitous spending, for some people, it might just be it. With a strict budget plan removing all unnecessary expenses, you can get a better handle on your expenses and avoid bankruptcy.

3. Get the family involved: speaking to the family might help reduce the stress, that they can carry it with you. You can ask relatives for assistance as well and altogether, you can save as much money as possible whilst reducing gratuitous spending.

4. Liquidate your assets: with equity, you may be eligible to pay off your debt through refinancing or through a secured loan. If you don't cash this out after you declare bankruptcy, you won't have that privilege anymore. You could even sell the stuff you have lying around the home, like antiques, collectibles, fancy designer old stuff. You should write down all that you have available in the house of monetary value, and estimate. There are all sorts of channels you can use to sell your stuff, for example: eBay, Amazon, Facebook, Craigslist, and even garage sales.

5. Counseling Services: look for an online or local credit counseling agency that is able to provide advice for free, but they'll probably want to continue with them. These agencies provide debt management counseling and may even negotiate reducing your interest rates and overall debt, guide you towards a better situation away from bankruptcy.

6. A second Part-time Job: a second part-time job is important right now because it will add additional income to your household. No matter how small, you can do the best you can to earn as much as you can with it.

Bankruptcy has devastating consequences including the incredible length of time it would require for you to repair your credit rating (5 years). It's clear there are alternatives, you can follow them and it won't be an impossible scenario after all.

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This is a guest post. Sufi M and his staff operate The Glaring Facts, one of the leading and densely populated websites involving psychology, media-related material, history of science, and money management. We are certain you will find something that will fascinate you.