1. Get it all together. Either find it or, as the month goes along, grab every statement of every type of account you have of all debts.
2. Make a list of every debt starting with mortgage (rent), home equity loans or lines of credit, big loans like cars or student loans, regular credit cards, store cards, anything else.
3. For each debt do two things:
(a) set up a folder
(b) write it down in the order above
4. For each debt, you need to include: account number, total amount due, monthly minimum, what you pay each month (if that's different from the minimum), overall interest percent (i.e. 7.25%) and date due.
5. If you have one or can afford one, after you have written it all down, put it into money management software such as Quicken. Otherwise, you can create a pen and pencil method of keeping track of it by listing each debt and on a separate page with the rest of the year under the name of each account. As you get your statement, write down how much you owe for finance charges and how much you paid that month and any new charges on the account to keep track of each of those things.
7. After you have paid the bill, put it into your folder set up for that account.
8. Keep it organized by going through your mail every day when it comes in, shred what you don't need, write down the information for your debts in your book or key it into your software, put the bill in a folder marked "bills to be paid" or in a tickler folder for the date it is due, and file it as soon as you have paid it.
9. Then you are ready to start working on paying off the debt so that you can accumulate wealth. See "Eliminating Debt" for the method my family is using to pay off its debt.