Debt management is exactly what it says...managing your debt! If steps are takent to manage debt it will control you and ruin your life. Reducing debt helps increase money for investing toward retirement.
To begin with, consider your net worth and the sources of your income. Look closely at your budget and where your money is being spent. Consider ways to save money, from eating out less to a cheaper vehicle (or using mass-transit!). Do you really need 350 channels of television? Remember, debt management takes effort!
Once you have identified a few money saving techniques, now it's time to take a closer look at your current debt and reducing this debt. What do you owe? What interest rates are you being charged? Can you consolidate some of your debt (for example, rolling credit card debt onto one interest free card)?
One of the best techniques for debt management is known as the snowball effect. Take the debt with the highest interest rate and focus as much of your extra money on paying it off. Do this until it is paid off entirely, then use that money to begin paying off the debt with the next highest interest rate. In this way, you slowly build the amount of money you have to pay off debt until everything is paid off and you've managed your debt! But it doesn't stop there, keep putting that money aside and investing it in your future!
Begin debt management by starting today! Realize that the debt you carry has to be paid off. The sooner this happens, the sooner you can become debt free!
If you have a lot of outstanding debt, focus your extra payments on one of them (with the highest interest rate). Once it's paid off, apply that money toward the next debt. This snowball effect really does work at managing your debt!