Starting next month, mailboxes will be stuffed with government-issued checks that President George W. Bush wants us to spend to stimulate the economy. It would be better if we stimulated personal debt-reduction plans.

The March figures from the Federal Reserve show that American revolving consumer debt -- think credit cards -- amounts to $947 billion. That's a lot of impulse shopping.

Ignoring the bills doesn't make them go away. Nor do minimum monthly payments.

Budgets work -- over time. There are no quick fixes to debt. You can charge on a whim, but it takes perseverance and discipline to pay off debt.

So make a plan. If you're computer savvy, check out our links to budget spreadsheet templates. Otherwise, you'll have to sharpen your pencils.

The first step is to compile your monthly income and expenses. Income should be easy enough for most people, but tracking spending habits can be time-consuming.

Plastic got you into this problem; it also can help you out of it. If you shop exclusively with debit or credit cards, your spending habits already are documented. Simply check your statements from the past couple of months, and you're set. Even better, some online banking customers can view their transactions by vendor.

If you can't track them electronically, you'll have to take a month to document all of your expenses.

Once your fixed expenses -- rent/mortgage, car payments, child support, insurance premiums, groceries, utilities, gasoline, etc. -- are documented, look for places to cut.

Simply eliminating a couple of lunches out per week and getting your breakfast at home instead of at the drive-through can free up more than $1,200 a year for most people. But don't tighten your belt too tightly -- bank overdraft fees can be a killer.

Next step is to consolidate your high-interest credit cards, but be careful of the transaction fees listed in the fine print. Be sure not to miss a payment; this could jack your interest rates back into the stratosphere.

Then start throwing all of your extra money at the credit card debt by paying down cards with the highest interest rates first.

It's not fun, it's not sexy, and it's decidedly unAmerican. But in a year or two, your bank account -- not to mention your credit rating -- will thank you.

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If you don't have a spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel or Apple's iWork bundle, consider the program Open Office for your personal budget needs. It's a free program that offers pretty much everything that Microsoft Office provides. It runs on all major computer platforms, and it includes a spreadsheet component. You likely can find other freeware spreadsheet applications at sites such as download.com.

Now, on to the budget templates:

• I like this template. It seems to run slowly on my computer compared to other spreadsheets, but it has so many useful categories that I don't mind. Plus, it doesn't have any macros, which can hide viruses. Still, be sure to scan any files that you download for viruses.

• Macintosh users might find the Numbers Templates Forums to be useful. Those using iWork for their budget probably should start here, since the other links on this page deal with Excel (and Open Office) template downloads.

• The bottom of this page has a link to a basic monthly budget. It might be ideal for those who don't have unchanging monthly expenses. Still, I recommend the yearly budget templates.

• Here's a link to a collection of Excel budget templates offered by Microsoft. Some deal with business, some with family, some with specialized hobbies like gardening. You'll likely be able to find something useful here.

• People with a bunch of different debt - student loans, car loans, mortgages, personal loans, multiple credit cards - might find this to be useful. It's a consumer debt manager. This will break down the percentage of debt that each account is responsible for - probably not the most important information, but it will help you judge if your good debt outweighs your bad debt, which is one of the considerations that go into your credit score.

• And this page at About.com includes a list of links to other free budget spreadsheets.

-- Brian Estadt, News editor