Do you ever worry about where the money is going to come from to pay off the latest charges on your credit card? If this sounds familiar, you may be among the many Americans who spend more than they earn.

Take back control of your life by creating a plan to begin getting out of debt. The overall process is pretty simple, right? Rein in your spending, and throw all the money you can at one debt at a time until each is paid off. Unfortunately, “simple” isn’t the same as easy. Here’s a more manageable way to approach reducing your debt, one step at a time:

1. Stop overspending.

There’s no way around this. If you want to be debt free, you have to stop getting further into debt. If your monthly bills are higher than your income, a good first step to take is to put away your credit cards and start using cash to pay for everything.

2. Analyze your monthly expenses.

Start by writing down the amount of money you bring in every month and comparing it to your expenses: bills, groceries, gas, entertainment, etc. You can do this by analyzing your credit card and bank statements from the previous month, and also by looking closely at your monthly bills and the receipts in your wallet. Put all the numbers on a spreadsheet and label each transaction as a bill (which you have to pay), a necessity (things you need but could spend less on, like groceries), or optional spending (things you don’t need and could go without, like movie tickets).

Add your costs for the first two categories together. The difference between the number you come up with and your monthly take-home pay is what you can use to pay down your debts. (This number will change over time, so don’t be discouraged if it’s small or even less than zero right now.)

Once you know where you stand, start taking steps that will help you get out of debt. Among the things you can try: contacting lenders and asking them to lower the interest rate you are charged; and finding ways to bring in more money, such as volunteering for overtime at work or taking on a second job, then using all of your extra earnings to pay off debt.

Once you are debt free, see a financial professional who may help you determine the best places to put your money. Before you know it, you could be paying yourself in interest.