Debt can be like cancer. At first, it seems that everything is just fine. But it is growing slowly and killing your finances without you realizing it. Then suddenly, it hits you. You realize that you can't keep up with your bills and you are devastated because your home may be foreclosed, your car would be gone, and everything just goes downhill.

Fortunately, help is just round the corner if you are willing to take the bull by the horns and work on your debt problem. Here are 5 simple steps that may help you resolve your financial issues.

Step 1: Accept the financial responsibility.

Step 2: Look at the current situation.

Step 3: Seek out the professionals.

Step 4: Explore your options.

Step 5: Execute the plan.

Step 1: Accept the financial responsibility.

Before looking at anything else, you must first accept responsibility for the situation that you are in. You are in debt for a reason. Perhaps it's your lifestyle. Or maybe it's your spending habit. It may also be due to poor cash flow management skills. Take a good look at what has gone wrong so that you can learn from the mistakes. You don't want to settle your debts and then get into the same situation again because you repeated the same mistakes all over again!

Step 2: Look at the current situation.

This means facing reality - don't skew the situation. Don't make the numbers appear larger than they really are (or smaller). Be as specific as possible. At this stage, it's a good time to consolidate your debts and find out how much money you really owe. It may be $10k, or it may be $100k. Chances are, you will start to feel better once you start working on the numbers. That's because deep down, you know that this is a problem that can be overcome given some time.

Step 3: Seek out the professionals.

Once you have your numbers at hand, seek out the professionals. Be prepared to share intimate financial details because the pros are there to help you. They cannot offer solutions if they don't understand the situation that you are in. Holding back information may lead them to propose inadequate solutions, which may be harmful to you.

Step 4: Explore your options.

Financial specialists are aware of the solutions that are available. Therefore, they are in a much better position to provide alternatives. Work with the service providers to come up with a plan that you are comfortable with. For example, consolidating your debt may lower interest payments. That allows you to clear your debt quicker.

Step 5: Execute the plan.

Here comes the hard part. When it's time to execute the plan, be sure to harden your will and stick to the plan! If you say you are going to spend just $1,000 a month on personal expenses, then do go out on shopping sprees and splurge on luxurious items. If you are tempted to stray from the plan, remind yourself that the situation is just temporary. No matter how hard it is, your problems will be over soon - but only if you persist!