The interest rate you receive, however, is contingent on your credit score.

By definition, saving - for anything - requires us to not get things now so that we can get bigger ones later.

Turn down offers for new cards or credit line increases on your current cards. Credit's tight, and chances are, you're not getting many offers anyway. But if you do, remember that the less credit you have available, the less trouble you can get into.

In about one-third of credit card consolidations, within a short period of time, the cards come back out of the wallet, and in no time at all, they're charged back up. Then you're in an even worse position, because you have the credit card debt and the consolidation loan to worry about. You're in a hole that's twice as deep - and twice as steep.

You'll get much better results by being upfront, answering creditors calls, and responding to their letters. Delaying the inevitable only digs a deeper hole.

If you have even a smidgen of doubt that you'll be able to stay away from racking up additional debt, don't do it.

You really don't need to hire a debt settlement company to negotiate with your creditors.