<prompt> Human: I just just calculated my total debt. I owe 150,000 for my house, 7500 in student loans. , 12000 for my car and about 5000 in credit card debt. I gross 65000 a year. Im married and she soon be making 100,000. What do I need to do. P.S. School used to be free for me. I am a child of a disabled vet. But I didnt get serious about school until I was 28 years old. Long after being eligible for free school  <response>: First, 150,000 7,500 12,000 5000 174,500, wheres the other 57,500?Regardless, 1. No credit card usage until your credit card debts are paid off. After that, you can go back to using them, with the very obvious caveat that you can only put the amount on them that you can pay off at the end of the month. If you feel that you cannot exercise this restraint, simply shred the cards. Keep the accounts open though, because they are good for your credit.2. Save 1000 cash. This is your temporary, minimum emergency fund. If you already have this, great, move to step 3.3. Focus on paying your credit card debt first. These most likely have the worst interest rate. Pay the minimum payments which are likely the standard payments on all other debts while you pay off the credit card debt.3. After you pay off your credit card debt, save three months worth of expenses in cash, this is a decent emergency fund. 4. Now look at your car loan and student loans - whichever loans have the highest interest rate, pay first. Throw as much money as possible at them. As each loan goes to zero, move to the next loan.5. Focus on saving for retirement, as well as saving another three months for a total of six months cash as an emergency fund.Youll notice that I skipped your 150,000 mortgage - obviously continue to make the payments. If you get a good opportunity, perhaps consider refinancing to a lower interest rate. However, chances are, your house already has a pretty decent interest rate. You also dont need to consider this in your debt, because it is asset-backed. Worst-case scenario, the bank takes your house back if you cant pay your mortgage. So really, you have 24,500 in debt. If you need help with figuring out a budget, post detailed monthly income and expenses. If you dont have detailed expenses because you dont know where your money is going, use mint.com to track your expenses and find out where your money is going, then we can help you cut back. 