Hello and welcome back to Money Girls quick and dirty tips for a richer life.

I'm Laura Adams.

Last week I mentioned that my new audio book, Money Girls 10 Steps to a debt-free life

recently went on sale.

Since I often get questions from listeners about how to get out of debt,

I'll release another free excerpt from the audiobook for this week's show.

It's from the step that deals with managing long-term debt. I hope you enjoy it.

For more tips on getting out of debt,

including how to reduce short-term debt,

such as credit cards,

get your very own download of Moneygirls 10 Steps

to a debt-free life at audible.com or in the iTunes store.

In the context of personal finance, long-term debts are obligations you've made that are

due to be repaid more than five years or so into the future.

Having long-term debt is generally thought of as less dangerous than having short-term debt.

So once you've confronted your top priority short-term debts,

you're in a position to deal with the less dangerous ones,

the long-term debt.

Long-term debts, such as mortgages and student loans, are as common today as blue jeans.

That's because even the average price of homes and the cost of a basic college education are out of reach for most. These high ticket items

become affordable only when the price is stretched out over many years. If the

principal amount and interest rate of long-term loans are reasonable, then the monthly payment can

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