Debt has a way of hanging around, unless you take serious action to eliminate it once and for all.

You've never been inside a clothes dryer while it's running. But if you're caught in the cycle of charging on your credit cards because you have too much debt, and you have too much debt because you keep charging, you can imagine what a tumble dry might feel like. If you're ready to stop getting tossed around, use these five tips to reassert control over your finances.

Home equity for debt consolidation

Your home equity may be your biggest ally for debt reduction. Home equity loans are popular debt consolidation tools because they usually carry lower interest rates than credit cards. Reducing the rate has some obvious benefits: lower interest costs and lower payments, and/or faster debt pay down. The trade-off is that you're putting your home on the line, so you must be seriously committed to being debt free.

Redeploy your savings

Using savings to pay off debt is a touchy subject-you may feel decidedly uncomfortable with the idea of having no money in the bank. You may even prefer to swallow the risks associated with a home equity debt consolidation loan rather than deplete your savings balance. But tap into your inner bean counter for a moment. Say you have a $10,000 deposit earning 3 percent interest. And you have a $10,000 debt balance on which you are paying 14 percent. Do the math, and you're losing 11 percent. Why not pay off the debt, and redirect those monthly payments into your savings account?

Shell out more

You already know that debt disappears faster if you pay more than the minimum balance. The trouble is, you may not have more than the minimum balance to pay. Cut corners in other parts of your monthly budget so that you can make bigger debt payments. Clip coupons, ride your bike to work, buy stuff that's on sale, etc. Keep track of the money you save, and increase your debt payments accordingly.

Favor your higher rate balances

When you have more than a couple of debt payments, it's tough to divvy up who gets what percentage of your money each month. Try making the minimum payments on all accounts but your highest rate debt. Then, send as much as you can to that high rate account. Once you work that one down to zero, move on to the next highest. This is the most efficient means of debt payoff, particularly when you're dealing with revolving credit balances.

Ask Uncle Louie for a loan

There may be someone in your family who's willing to overlook that old rule about not lending money to family and friends. Raise enough in family loans to pay off your debt, and then redirect your newfound cash flow to pay back your benefactors.

Get serious about interrupting the cycle of debt. The sooner you start, the sooner you can enjoy the freedom of being debt free.