The exercise we went through with the credit cards was just a warm up to get you started in understanding your finances. Our next step will be to get the info we need to see what else we are obligated to pay each month.

This can get to be a bit tedious particularly for our instant gratification society. Digging up bills or tracking them down online will probably not replace video games as a form of entertainment. Don't get bogged down at this point. You've already invested the time getting your credit card info. Now its time to take the next step.

If you compare repairing your credit and managing your debt to say, a road trip from New York City to Los Angeles, wouldn't it be easier, and less expensive, to have a map than to just point the car towards the setting sun?

Think about your gathering of information as creating a road map. Your trip is from bad credit to good credit. From daily stress to peace of mind. And if you put in the effort, you'll be on interstate all the way with no detours down back roads.

Oh. The name of this map is My Personal Budget!