You can prevent personal bankruptcy from happening by not having too much debt.

The first step is to prevent your debt from increasing. Start by contacting each of your credit cards and ask them to lower your spending limit. If you limit what you can spend, you will limit the amount of debt.

Then cut up all but one of your credit cards. If you can't use your credit cards, you can't increase your debt.

Next, whenever you go shopping, use cash, checks, or a debit card for all of your purchases, instead of lines of credit or credit cards. If you don't borrow to spend, you will not increase your debt.

That's how to keep from increasing your debt levels. Now you need to start reducing your debt. Start by paying more than the minimum payment on your credit cards each month. Even a payment $100 higher than your minimum payment each month will lead to a reduction in your debt every month.

Next, make a list of all your debts, and arrange the list from highest interest rate to lowest interest rate. When you have extra money, pay extra on your highest interest rate debts. By reducing your high interest rate debts first, you will get out of debt faster.

Finally, when making major purchases such as a car or a house, save as much of a down payment as possible to reduce the amount of debt you must carry.