Here's a slow but sure way to get out of debt

DEBT is like deceit: a minor transgression can trigger a series of increasingly darker ones, each to cover up the previous one, until the situation is worse than anything you could have imagined.

- MARTIN HESSE

On the financial front, the scenario might look like this:

Transgression #1: You don't pay off the full amount on your credit card because you need to settle an exorbitant dentist's bill that the medical aid wouldn't cover.

Transgression #2: You go into overdraft on your bank account because the rising debt on your credit card is causing your monthly repayments to spiral.

Transgression #3: You miss a repayment on your car loan because you have maxed out both your credit card and your overdraft.

Transgression #4: You take out a personal loan at a prohibitively high interest rate to get your arrears car payments up to date, after some threatening letters from the vehicle finance company.

Transgression #5: You approach another bank for a credit card, but owing to your deteriorating credit profile, the bank politely declines your application.

Deeper and deeper...

How to break the spiral

You need to act decisively to break this spiral into misery, and the sooner you do it, the easier it is: swallow your pride, recognise the seriousness of the situation, and take steps to turn things around.

Having covered this topic extensively, cobbled with a good dose of common sense, I offer the following get-out-of-debt plan: