Most people would rather ignore debt than attempt to get rid of it. Unfortunately, it is precisely this mindset that probably creates the debt in the first place - an unwillingness to grapple with reality, to look at all options available, and to take a reasonable, corrective course of action.

If you've already built up giant piles of debt, but have no reasonable means of paying them off in the periods specified by your creditors - if you're already beginning to ignore and default on payments - then it is time to do something about this problem. If you don't your credit will slowly shrivel away - and for no real reason at all - then you need to consider using some form of bad debt consolidation.

Now, what's important to note is that you have several, not one, means of obtaining a bad debt consolidation. A good place to start, however, is to take a general survey of your debt to determine the amount you owe, the amount you're delinquent on (should have paid), and what your interest rates and payment schedules are for all of your sources of debt.

If you're not delinquent on any payments yet, but things are spiraling out of control, that's actually good news. You more than likely have good credit now. This means that you can use credit card consolidation as a means of bad debt consolidation. You should start by finding and applying for several 0% APR trial-period cards. Once you receive these cards, you will want to use the transfer balance option to move debt from your current cards to these 0% APR cards. This will allow you to simply make the minimum payment each month for the entire year without accumulating bad credit or interest. In fact, your credit will actually improve by making minimum payments.

Now, this takes care of your unsecured debt - or debt not backed by securities, such as a home - but for your secured debt, you wont be able to use a credit card. Instead, you'll have to take out a bad debt consolidation loan. If your credit is still reasonably good, this wont be too hard. If you've already defaulted on several payments, you will want to contact a debt consolidation company and talk to a debt counselor for free. He/she will take account of all of your current debts and then help you find a best course of action. In many cases, the debt consolidation company will even bargain with your creditors on your behalf, getting as much debt canceled as possible.

One thing you will want to consider carefully when entering into a bad debt consolidation contract is what your monthly payments will be and what your interest rate is. If you were already struggling with payments, it is probably a good idea to go with the lowest payment plan available (i.e. the longest contract) and the lowest interest rate possible by putting up securities as collateral.

If you follow the steps outlined above, you should have no problem consolidation your debt and starting down the path to a debt free life - or at least a considerably less stressful one.