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This is a guest post from Debt Lead, who has a debt consolidation website by Kimberly Credit Counseling.

Are you one of those people that are in way too deep when it comes to debt but just don’t know it yet? Are you one of those people that don’t have enough money to pay the bills without juggling things around? Are you one of those people that can’t buy groceries? Are you one of those people that say they will start saving for retirement tomorrow, not realizing that tomorrows add up to too late?

There are plenty of people out there that have a mortgage and an auto loan and are managing their debt wisely. They have no credit cards and in return, they have less stress when it comes to finances. Some people are even strong enough to have a credit card and pay it off in full each month.

However, most people out there are not that strong!

How do you know if your debt is out of control? Below may be some signs that you are having financial problems:

• You only make the minimum payments on your credit cards.
• You let bills slide for a few days or even a week.
• You don’t have any savings or emergency funds available. You may take out loans to make ends meet.
• You buy everyday items and pay bills with your credit cards and hardly use cash.
• You have more than two credit cards with very high balances.
• You have no money at the end of the month after your bills are paid.
• You have maxed out your credit card(s).
• You don’t even know how much you owe on your credit cards.
• You are charging more than you are paying each month.
• You have been declined for credit.
• You bounce checks often.
• Your creditors call you looking for payment.
• You hide your spending and the credit card statements from your spouse.

If any of the above are true about your finances, you need to realize that you are in debt trouble. Right now, you are in over your head.

You need to re-think your finances and change your financial ways as soon as you can. It isn’t worth the stress having that financial burden, and you should start taking steps to paying off your debt and take control of your situation. Money shouldn’t control you, you should control money.

Start with listing all of your debts. Be honest and list everything so include interest rates, monthly payments and balance due. This will let you see exactly where you stand financially.

Next you should create a budget. This may take a month or two to get budget worked out. Look at it closely to find ways you can trim your spending and pay down your debt. You may find that you have to sell something or get a second job to get started but that’s okay.

One more thing you should do is get rid of those cards right now. Also set a few financial goals and try and reach them. You will never want to charge again when you see what it is really costing you. Take action against your debt situation now.