Q.
I'm not upfront with my spouse about all of the spending I do, and this has put us into debt. How can I start to get us out of the hole?
A.
To start digging your way out of debt, you've got to come to terms with how deep you are and to be honest with your spouse about these secret purchases. Why? The more you keep this a secret, the more it'll snowball into a huge problem. Do you know how much debt you have and how much your habit is costing you each month? If not, pull out your bills and add up your balances and interest rates so you can look at a concrete figure. Then start finding extra money -- by either reining in your spending or working a few extra hours -- so you can begin to pay that figure down. Even an amount as small as $10 a day can make a dent in your debt. Then start throwing that extra money toward the debt with the highest interest rates first.
Nestpert Jean Chatzky is a money coach, the financial editor for the Today show, and the author of of five books
-- The Nest Editors
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