Eliminate credit card debt

1. I started using a financial management software package. I entered every single expense I had from the most significant (rent) to the most mundane (a pack of gum).

2. I saw the big picture. Having everything in one place with colorful charts and graphs and bright red ink showing me just how in the red I was really motivated me. I could see how far I had to go, but I could also see my progress as I made progress. One by one, I watched each card balance dwindle down to zero.
3. I stopped spending as much on extras. I still bought music and videos on iTunes and I still bought books and a few other little extras, but I limited myself to a quota system. No more than $x dollars a month for A… $y dollars a month for B. Sometimes I splurged more than I planned to, but overall I stuck to it.
4. I monitored my credit report and credit score. I enrolled in a service that allows me to check it once a month. Over the past 2 years I’ve watched my score climb from the mid-to-low 600s to the low 700s.
5. I stopped eating out as much. It was common for me to dine out once a week… and I’m not talking McDonalds or the Coney Island… I’d go to mid-range restaurants on a consistent basis and often I charged the meal. This became a no-no.
Things I would’ve done differently…
1. I would’ve saved some from my “windfalls.” Every large chunk of change I received went to paying down debt. But I needed an emergency fund. I would’ve applied only a percentage of those windfalls to debt and put the rest into a savings or interest-bearing checking account for those unforseen expenses.
2. I would’ve waited to buy the iPod.
3. I would’ve taken my lunch every day. Even though I’m not doing restaurants in the evenings, I still eat out frequently for lunch. The cafeteria is pretty cheap, but groceries are cheaper.