One of the worst consequences of high personal and consumer debt is that it can throw you off your intended long-term course if interest rates sharply rise or investment markets behave in a way that you don't expect.

This has been seen in an extremely public way with the high-profile investors who took breathtakingly large margin loans to keep buying into a rising and increasing volatile share market - only to be in even deeper trouble when the Melbourne broker/margin lender failed.

And then there are the many more sad cases of young homebuyers struggling to meet their mortgage repayments with official interest rates at a 12-year high. The dollars are much, much less in each case but the hurt is probably much greater.

A predicament for homebuyers is that house prices, and therefore monthly repayments, have shot way ahead of rises in their wages.

The central difficulty is that many people, no matter their income level, have a tolerance to debt that is far too high for their own good. And that acceptance of debt puts them in highly vulnerable positions when things don't go according to plan.

But it seems that Australian homebuyers or would-be buyers appear to have reached the limit of their tolerance to debt. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported yesterday that owner-occupied housing finance was down by 5.9% in February - the biggest monthly fall in four years.

And loans for established housing alone experienced their biggest fall in more than seven years, falling 6% in a month.

Here are a timely few pointers from the experts on how to help keep your dreaded debts under control:

Your mortgage
The interest-rate researcher Cannex lists the "real" interest rates of bank and non-bank home loans on its website in addition to the features of the different products. There is no charge to consumers for this service. The "real" rate includes any upfront, ongoing, and discharge fees. And Cannex gives its current best-buys. Read more

A tip from mortgage experts is to avoid home loans that are packed with features that you are unlikely to use. Extra features cost money! Most basic products, however, have facilities for borrowers to redraw extra repayments if the money is unexpectedly needed - that's the main feature many borrowers probably need.

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) has terrific tips for cutting your interest and for paying off your home sooner. Read more

Your credit card
ASIC's tips for keeping your credit card under control include trying to pay off your whole debt each month - and definitely paying off more than the minimum balance required by the lender. Read more

Cannex has researched more than 250 credit cards and its website enables consumers to compare scores of products at no cost. Its best-buy credit cards are named. Read more

Choice magazine has valuable pointers on how to reduce credit-card spending that include treating cash advances from the cards with caution because interest generally begins to accrue immediately, and staying within your spending limit because you may otherwise face penalty interest. Read more

Your budget
A proper budget is essential for keeping your personal finances under control. Perhaps begin with a personal balance sheet that measures your weekly or monthly spending against your income. Once you face the discipline of writing it all down, it's usually not hard to see where money can be saved. (ASIC has an online budget-planner. Read more

ASIC's general budgeting tips include saving your pay rises, paying extra off your home loan each month, and counting personal spending in your budget to minimise impulse buying. Read more