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You know, I don't always follow my own advice, or make the best financial decisions. This summer has been a great example of this. I bought a second iPod, a laptop, went to Europe for ten days, and blew several hundred dollars more on God knows what else. By and large, I spent money that I didn't have, by using my credit cards. When the 'Ooo! Shiny'-ness of it all wore off, I was stuck thinking about how I was going to pay off my now inflated credit card balance.

My first thought was to sell the items that I had frivolously purchased. I knew I could make money on eBay on the laptop because I had bought it during one of Dell's random $750 off laptop sales. The iPod I could get what I paid for it, so I debated getting rid of it as well. But I didn't get rid of either item, for a number of reasons, and I'm glad I didn't because I use both items regularly. The laptop, especially, comes in handy when, for instance, the power at my house goes out randomly like it did today. And I use the iPod daily. But anyway, I had $3400 in credit card debt that I didn't have when the summer began. $3400 might not sound like a lot to you, but it is to me, because I don't make a lot of money as an intern in my field.

I've spent the last two months digging myself out of the hole that was so easy to get into. I sold some stock from my employee stock purchase plan. That brought me $1000 closer to zero, and then I depleted my small amount of savings. That brought me another $1000 closer. (I decided to nearly zero out my savings only because my cash flow during summer months is much higher than during the fall and spring when I am in school.)

That left me with $1400 to get rid of, the hard way. On top of this credit card debt, I had several smaller bills from earlier in the year. In February, I spent a week in the hospital, and the (tiny) part that my insurance didn't cover I needed to. On top of this, there was a misunderstanding with my cell phone carrier while I was overseas, resulting in a hugely inflated phone bill. To make a long story short, I was able to get my cell phone bill reduced by more than half, and the hospital would allow me to make payments over time (which I loath doing). In all, these smaller bills added up to right around $1000.

When I was younger, my mom used to make me fold my own laundry, which I absolutely hated doing. (Even now, I'd almost rather gouge out my eyes with a hot poker than fold laundry.) But I went about it the wrong way. I would fold the socks, shirts, underwear, and all the small items first, which left me feeling immensely frustrated. You see, when you fold the small items first, the pile stays the same size, and you feel as though you aren't getting anywhere. One afternoon, my mom came in and told me to start with the towels and pants. She said that it would make folding the laundry less awful. (I didn't believe her.) I didn't try it that time, but I did the next time. And she was right. When you start with the big towels and the pants, the pile disappears quickly, so that by the time you're down to the small stuff, you feel like you're almost done. (And when you're taking small things out of a small pile, the pile actually shrinks, too.)

The same idea applies to getting yourself out of debt. While it may make mathematical sense to pay the most money towards a card that has the highest balance and interest rate combination, the reality is that if you don't feel like you're getting anywhere while you're doing it, you're more likely to relapse into debt spending. If you've got debt in lots of different places, try starting with some of the smaller holes, and working your way towards your larger ones. This will give you a feeling of accomplishment, and may even turn this chore into something of a financial game ' it certainly has for me, and for the millions of other Americans who have discovered that doing things purely by the numbers sometimes doesn't make as much sense as you'd think it would.

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