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[quote=Anonymous]I'm working on paying off the last $5K of about $18K in credit card debt.  It has taken us about a year now that we finally have it right, after many failed attempts in the past.  We've used a variation of the Dave Ramsey method

1.  Establish a small emergency savings account so that you can stop using credit cards.  In my case, it was $1K, which covers unexpected car repairs, medical bills, etc. that come up.  Any money taken out of this account gets paid back as a first priority (before any extra debt payments are made).

2.  Go through the monthly bills and cut everything that isn't necessary.  Consider eliminating or reducing cable, cell phones, and any services you don't really need or use.

3.  Figure out how much is left for everything else.  Set aside some to pay down debt and to continue to build emergency savings.  The rest is withdrawn from the ATM on payday and put into envelopes in pre-determined amounts for groceries, gas, etc.  Once the money in the envelopes is gone, it is gone.  No using credit cards to supplement.  This helps us separate needs and wants.  DD might need a new pair of shoes, but if there is no money in our "shopping" envelope she has to wait until next payday.

4.  Use the money you've set aside to pay down debt to pay off credit cards, the highest interest rate first.  Any unexpected money goes towards debt immediately (assuming your small emergency savings is fully funded).

Once the last 5K is paid off, I plan to focus on paying off our one car that isn't paid off yet and then working on 3-6 months of emergency savings.

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