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.

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.

If you'd asked me a few years ago about debt settlement companies, I probably would have told you to avoid them.

Rolling all of your debts into a single loan is a good idea - in theory. In fact, it can be a great idea.

Even in the days of the tightest credit in 2008, HELOCs [ home equity line of credit ] and home equity loans were being made.

Take the cards out of your wallet. A debit card is accepted just about everywhere that credit cards are, and you'll be spending money you have - always a good thing.

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