How One Woman's 'Spending Fast' Helped Her Pay Off $23,000 in Debt

"Could you cut out all discretionary spending for an entire year? Anna Newell Jones did. After a year-long 'spending fast,' during which she bought only essentials, and a few months on a "spending diet," the Denver-based blogger paid off $23,605.10 of student-loan and credit-card debt. In the process, she cut her own hair, used coffee grounds as a facial exfoliator, made her own laundry detergent, and learned how to distinguish wants from needs." read the details, suggestions and cautions at: http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2012/10/01/how-one-womans-spending-fast-helped-her-pay-off-23000-in-debt
Note how she told her friends about her spending fast to explain why she wasn't going out to eat with them and how "going public" can help you stick to your plan.
Also by Susan Johnston:
One Family's Journey Out of $26,000 Debt:  "Back in 2008, Brad Chaffee and his wife were $26,076.75 in debt when they decided to pay it off and forsake all future loans. They're now living debt-free with their three children in Charlottesville, Va., and hope to put 100 percent down on a house. Chaffee's wife works part-time as a nurse and a top eBay seller, while Chaffee is building a T-shirt printing business and blogs about debt-free living at EnemyofDebt.com." http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2012/08/06/one-familys-journey-out-of-26000-debt