Once you have assessed your situation, analyzed your spending, determined how to reduce your expenses, and developed a basic plan, it is time to take action. 

• If you identified ways to reduce your payments, such as refinancing a loan, do it now. Call the lender, make an appointment, submit the information, and follow up until it's done.
• If you identified ways to lower your expenses, such as giving up that daily capuccino, do it now. Every day, take the money that you would have spent on the expense and put it in a jar. At the end of each month (or whenever the payment is due), cash in the change and add it to the loan payment. If you don't put the cash aside, you will find another way to spend it.
• If you decided that credit cards were part of the problem, and that you should leave them at home, do it now. Take all of your credit cards and put them away in a drawer. Carry just enough cash to get you through the week, based on your budget or your plan. If you are out and see something that you must have, yet can't afford to pay cash for it, at least you will have to go home to get your credit card. This will give you time to really evaluate how necessary that purchase is.

Step 6 - Monitor Your Progress