Personal debt reduction practices, the steps people take to relieve the debt in their lives and to become more financially free, are a hot topic among financial circles. American spending habits are producing more people who are deeper in debt rather than people trying to achieve financial freedom.

The amount of debt Americans go into each year is mounting as most people strive to keep up with the Jones' rather than to live within their means. The phrase "living beyond your means" means spending more money that you make, and occurs when the money that is outgoing exceeds the money that is incoming.

While there will be times in a person's life when they cannot save and may spend beyond what they make, such as when buying a house or a car, or in times of crisis, everyday personal debt reduction practices make sense to reduce debt and can then be applied to ward debt off forever.

Personal debt reduction practices begin with a reevaluation of the money you spend and the money you make, and require a commitment to stop the debt cycle.

Throw away all credit offers as they come in and choose wisely before taking out any further loans. Get to know your habits and your current financial situation and stop all compulsive spending. This requires making lists of your bills; lists of your debts and then comparing these monetary amounts to the income you generate every week and month.

Self-reflection will tell you if you have your priorities in the right place, and you can then begin to prune your spending to better reflect what is important to you as well as to save money to spend on debt. Analyzing which debt and interest accrues fastest will help you to choose which debts to pay off the fastest.

Write down your plan of action and then hold yourself to the promises you have made to yourself. Financial freedom is within your grasp with just a little time and effort on your part. Each good decision builds on the one before to create a snowball effect of success in the debt repayment game. Personal debt reduction practices make sense for the long run and offer you a way to achieve financial freedom.