"How do I get out of debt?" is usually the first question out of people's mouths when I tell them I help people get out of debt for a living.   

For me, getting out of debt will take several steps.  First, I have to take a good, honest look at my finances.  I'm not a "financial expert", but I have learned a lot by taking finance classes at college and working for United First Financial.  I know that there needs to be less money going out than there is coming in.  I've got to live within my means.  That may mean cutting out frivolous things that I just want, but don't really need.  Sometimes, those wants really seem like needs and I have a tough time cutting them out.  But to really be honest and be able to get out of debt, I've got to make sure I'm spending less than I earn.

Then, I need to figure out how much money I have left over.  I need to figure out if it will be to my advantage to pay that towards bills or to save it up.  I'm confused to death by this step and I'll probably have a computer program help me figure this one out.  After all, that's what computers are there for. 

Next, I've got to pay off my debts in the fastest way possible.  That means, I need to know which debts are the most strategic to pay off at that moment.  This step really confuses me because I don't know which debt to pay off first, so I'll use a program to figure that out for me as well.

Finally, I need to pay off the debts in the right order and at the right time to be able to be wise with my money and get rid of the most important debts first.  I know that paying more on my principle will help bring it down so that I don't have so much interest.  I know if I keep paying a little extra, I'll get big results as long as I'm using the technology I have at my fingertips to help me figure out the confusing little details like which things to pay off first and how much to put towards each bill.

I'm so excited to be planning my financial future.  I believe that being debt free is the key to financial security.  Soon, I won't be asking, "How do I get out of debt?"  I'll be asking, "What do I do with all my money?"