Take your credit cards, store cards, and gas cards out of your wallet or pocketbook and put them in a drawer at home. Starting right now, get through an entire day without borrowing money or charging anything. Pay cash, write checks, or use a debit or ATM card.

You’ll find that this in itself cuts your spending and pushes you to make only planned purchases. It will also show you what life feels like without debt spending.

Most people are surprised at how easy it is to make the switch. Even travel and car rentals can be managed with cash and checks. A bank debit (or ATM) card is an easy alternative. It can be used just like a credit card, but without the debt effect.

The money comes right out of your bank account every time you use it. Once you get through today, you can decide about the next day. And if you manage that, take on another day.

After a week or so of no-debt spending, you’ll be ready to make an even bigger commitment. Keeping credit cards in a drawer at home is like closing a gate on a problem and not locking it. If you have a real debt problem, you need to lock the gate. Cut up your credit cards. And cancel the credit reserve or overdraft feature on your checking account. This will feel like a drastic step—like slicing through your safety rope when climbing a steep cliff. But in fact it’s the access to credit that’s the biggest danger to you until you get your debt down to a healthy level.

Later on, once your finances are back under control, you can decide to ask for a new copy of one of your cards.

What about emergencies? Before 1970, people got through every imaginable emergency without credit cards. Try to imagine an emergency where a credit card would really make a significant difference. It’s not a hurricane or a flood. It’s not a fire. You’d just get cash from the bank. The only emergency a credit card can help you through is the “emergency” of running out of money in your bank account.

What about renting a car? It’s a myth that you need a credit card to rent a car. A debit card works just as well. And most rental agencies are happy to rent a car if you have good identification (a driver’s license and one or two other forms of ID) and a cash deposit (generally in the range of $75 to $300). It’s a little more trouble than a swipe of a card, and it’s worth making sure of the details in advance, but people do it all the time.