The first step is understanding what your realistic fixed costs are, what your savings rate can be and what your excess discretionary spending is.
Once you do this very little debt is required because you’ve properly identified needs vs. wants and we will have prioritized needs over wants.
We got here by the irrational belief that we should be able to have all of our wants first because credit makes those available with ease.
In doing so, we ignored our needs and created a negative feedback loop of consumption above all else.
We got here by flawed principles. Those can go on, and have, for some time. Eventually they break the money, forcing everyone to look in the mirror. Only then can money can be reset to something that has sound principles and provides economic stability that encourages productivity, proper capital & resource allocation that restores growth.
Until we root out waste and destroy all of the excess spending and remove the negative feedback loop of overconsumption the problem will not be solved and will only worsen. However, it will be painful and many attempts will be made with credit like tools that will only extend the inevitable. Bonds are fine tools but can only be issued from entities that have excess capital, are productive, and encourage proper rate functions (risk/reward).