Watch out! It is possible to get too carried away with paying down debt. Make sure you balance it with building up some savings.

When it comes to personal finance, one of the biggest questions you must answer is whether you are going to pay down your debt or save for retirement. In the perfect world, you wouldn’t have any debt to pay down — but that is rarely the case in the real world.
Your answer to that question depends on multiple factors. The main factor is how long you have to left before retirement. If retirement is 20 to 30 years away, paying off your debt to get debt-free is almost always the way to go. In the long haul, you’ll save money …read more

Some relief can be obtained from the recently passed stimulus bill. Before the end of the first semester of this year, people will be receiving the windfall from the recently passed “stimulus” bill:
individuals = $600
couples = $1200, $300 additional for each child.

This can be part of a source for shoring up personal / household finances. One use of this windfall which can serve as an umbrella against subprime fallout would be to pay down as much debt as it cover (i.e., credit cards & mortgages).
Image from Microsoft Clipart