If you feel overwhelmed and constrained by the debts you have accumulated, you are not alone. Consumer debt is so prevalent that the Estes Valley Library and Common Cents Counts are sponsoring a special seminar devoted to the topic -- featuring proven methods for breaking the chains and living debt free. Did you know the average American household is carrying more than $6,700 in revolving credit card debt? More than 20 percent of homeowners with mortgages are upside-down, meaning they owe more than their house is worth. A student graduating with a four-year college degree, on average, has $27,000 of student debt. More than 40 percent of all Americans live paycheck to paycheck, all of the time. It wasn't always so. Forty years ago, the credit card was practically nonexistent. Only the very rich had credit, and most of them didn't even think of using the privilege. To buy something, you paid cash or wrote a check for the money that was already in your account. If you applied for a mortgage or bought a car, the bank required money down and proof you could cover the payments. But now, for millions of Americans, debt has become a way of life. Owing money has become normal in this country. How did it happen? First, the laws began changing in the late 1970s, lifting the restrictions on how much interest the credit card industry could charge. (Credit card debt has become the single most profitable line of business for big banks.) Then, in the 1980s and 1990s, more people found themselves looking for a temporary fix to financial problems. Job layoffs, health insurance cost, medical bills, college tuition and divorce rates pushed upward, just at the same time the credit industry was looking for new customers. Is it possible, in this debt-ridden society, to break the cycle? To pay ALL your bills on time each month? To finally be free of past debts? To save for a happy retirement? And maybe even have some money for just-because-you-feel-like-it-fun? The resounding answer to these questions is YES. And the sooner you start, the better you will feel. It takes some learning, a little time and effort and a bit of practice, but facing down the debt monster will eliminate your money worries and create profound changes in your well-being. To get you started, Common Cents Counts is sponsoring a free workshop on Monday evening, Nov. 5, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., and again on Saturday morning, Nov. 10, from 10 to 11:30 a.m., in the Wasson Room of the library. The workshop is entitled, "Getting Out of Debt." Reserve your seat online at estesvalleylibrary.org or call the library at 970-586-8116 to make a reservation. This workshop could put you on the path to financial freedom.