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"Since I am currently reading The Smart Cookies Guide to Making More Dough, I thought it would be interesting to talk to one of the authors, Andrea Baxter, also known as The Debt Buster, about how she got out of debt. To give you a bit of background on Andrea, she was 28 years old and had $18,000 in debt between her two credit cards and no savings. Within a year and half, she increased her salary by $20,000, paid off her debt and saved $3,000! If she isn&amp;#039;t an inspiration for those who want to get out of debt, I don&amp;#039;t know who is! I asked her for her top three ways to get out of debt\u2014here&amp;#039;s her advice: 1) Figure out what you&amp;#039;re bringing in and what you&amp;#039;re spending. She calls it &amp;quot;knowing your numbers.&amp;quot;  2) Make a spending plan. It&amp;#039;s essential for those who want to get out of debt. 3) Slowly start digging away at your debt. This might mean changing your money moves such as cutting back on eating out, getting a second job, downsizing your home, etc. Lastly, she recommends that you plan your perfect day. This means that you decide where you want to be working, where you want to live and what you&amp;#039;re doing on a day 2-5 years from now. It should be a clear snapshot of what you want your life to be. Write down everything you want and then determine if your current financial actions fit into the bigger plans you have for your life. If they don&amp;#039;t, you should begin to change those actions immediately so you can ultimately get the life you want. My perfect day is owning a house, traveling frequently, working a job that allows me to have flexible hours and spending time with family (future husband and kids included!) and friends on a regular basis. What does your perfect day look like? Tell us in the comments or email me at debtfreecrystal@gmail.com. Your perfect day may be just a few financial adjustments away. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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