First, stop paying with credit cards. This is an easy trap to fall into, and most people do it at some point or another. Second, start paying off those debts with a higher interest rate cause they'll end up costing you more money in the long run. Pay MORE per month than the minimum payment amount is. After that card/item is paid off, keep paying the same amount of money on your lesser debts. . . For example, let's say that you have a Visa that you owe $2000 at a 20% interest rate. (For simplicity's sake, I'll use round numbers.) If you have a Discover card with $2000 debt at 10% interest, you'll still want to pay off the Visa card with the higher interest rate first. If the Visa card has a minimum monthly payment of $50, you should pay AT LEAST that amount every month. Meanwhile, you're still paying the minimum payment on the Discover card. Once the Visa card gets paid off, keep paying the minimum amount on the Discover card PLUS the amount that you had been paying on the Visa card, since obviously, you had been able to afford to make both payments.. . Oh, and if it absolutely comes down to it, forget about paying off your credit cards in order to make your mortgage/rent. You would rather have a low credit score for a few years than be homeless. . . If you're interested, you can visit
http://clarkhoward.com He's a finance guru and deals with stuff like this ALL the time. You can even call him and get advice if you like.