2011 is drawing to a close and if you’re like one of the 150 million Americans you are in debt. If you don’t want 2012 to be a repeat of this year you’ll need to make a plan to get out of debt in 2012. It takes more than just making a New Year’s resolution to reduce your debt. You’ll need a plan and you’ll need to stick to it.

If you can follow these financial rules you’ll be well on your way to living a debt-free lifestyle.
- Pay with cash when you can. It’s hard to get in debt when you only spend what you have.
- Avoid online scams. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. You have not won the lottery, you have not inherited a massive fortune from a long lost

Let’s get started on the right foot. Let’s figure out with you’re in debt in the first place. Some of you are in debt because of a series of unfortunate events that were beyond your control. These are things like medical bills, natural disasters, losing your job, etc. But what I’ll discuss here are debts caused by lifestyle choices.
- Social acceptance. Everyone wants to keep up with the Jones’,