If you need to stabilize your finances, maybe you need to take a
time-out. To take a time-out you might need to call your creditors and
tell them that you intend on paying them fully in the future, but that
right now you are struggling to get your finances under control, and
you're wondering if they will work with you. Most creditors are happy
to work with people who are truly sincere and worried about paying
their debts.

Once you have that taken care of, you need to refrain from creating
any more debt and avoid any big new expenses for a period of one to several onths, until you regain control over your finances.

What taking a time-out does is buy you time to think and come up with
a plan. This will give you the opportunity to develop some financial clarity for ourself. Once you begin feeling some level of control, you can begin to heal your financial life.

-adapted from Money Drunk/Money Sober by Julia Cameron and Mark Bryan