How to get out of debt, step 6:
Determine how much money you will need to get out of debt.
Previous: 5. Triage all your debts to develop a plan to pay off debt by priority.
6. Determine how much money you will need to get out of debt.
Ingredients: your monthly income, your monthly expenses, the amount of your debts.
Depending on the size of your debt, you will need to clarify how much money for how long it will take you to eliminate it. In some cases, that amount of time is determined by the nature of the debt. In others, you can pace yourself.
However you must do it, set your expected time limit for getting out of debt. Plan to tackle the pressing and expensive debts first, and the other debts into a more long-term process. In eliminating the priority debts short term, you may need some emergency measures for that period of time. They can include a drastic reduction of expenses, and some extra income of a temporary nature. In this stage, you are setting the concrete numbers. How much money will you need for each month of your plan to get out of debt?
Once you have set the target amount, you have more knowledge and therefore more power. The next phase will see how to hit that target.
Next: 7. Do an alternate income source "brainstorm" to find ways to increase income.