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"Since turning 40 this month, I decided to set up a series of financial and personal goals for myself. My first goal: Pay off the $2,243.85 in credit card debt that I&amp;#039;ve accumulated. A lot of this debt was amassed on frivolous spending, such as meals out or cool new shoes for my daughter. The days of mindless spending are over for me now, and I&amp;#039;m not a bit sad. I&amp;#039;m grateful. I have learned to align my spending more closely with my values and I&amp;#039;m feeling much more fulfilled. How will I achieve this first and most important goal? I have always felt that in order to realize any aspiration in life, you must first break it down into small, doable steps; like a roadmap to get you to where you want to be. Here&amp;#039;s my plan: \u00E2\u00A2 Allocate $300 of my monthly expense budget toward my credit card debt. \u00E2\u00A2 Allocate $150 of that money to my highest interest rate card and the other $150 will go toward other cards. \u00E2\u00A2 Once my card with the highest interest rate is paid off (I can&amp;#039;t wait!), I will focus on the card with the next highest interest rate, paying $150 a month until it too is paid off. This is what personal finance experts refer to as &amp;quot;snowballing&amp;quot; your debt. For more on this method, click here. \u00E2\u00A2 All income from writing this blog will be applied toward my credit card debt. I will not increase my standard of living because my income is higher. Instead, I will strive to do the opposite and look for new ways to save and reduce debt. My new mantra has become: &amp;quot;I will live beneath my means.&amp;quot; \u00E2\u00A2 I will apply any additional &amp;quot;found&amp;quot; money toward my credit card debt (money I&amp;#039;ve accumulated through my change jar, rebates, bonuses, etc.) I plan on having this debt paid off in the next six months. It will take discipline, thoughtfulness and hard work, but I&amp;#039;m committed. My secondary goal in all of this is to show you that, if I can do it while being a single mom, so can you. Share your goals with me and how you plan to reach them. I would love to hear them and gain even more inspiration! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/life/a45513/how-to-say-goodbye-to-credit-card-debt-for-good-1537/>