Okay, so you've decided to get rid of debt in your life. Now, a new problem presents itself: Where do I start on this herculean task and how do I pack the most punch in my fight?

Good question. Unlike myself -- who fought the good fight the hard way, the way everyone else does -- without a good solid plan, fighting debt in fits and starts that leaves everyone frustrated. You have decided to engage in an efficient fight. You have decided to work smarter instead of harder. Good for you.

Truly the optimal way to fight debt may be against everything you have learned or previously heard, but I assure you -- take it from someone who did it the conventional way and failed miserably -- this way is the best way.

Step One: You are your most important bill. You must pay yourself first.

What? You didn't think of yourself as a debt? Well, of course you are. To effectively fight debt now and in the future, you must have three things . . . three (3) things that will take care of the inevitabilities of your life so you won't have to rely on debt again:

1. Your "Stuff Happens Account," an account to insure you will never use your credit card again. It's your own personal credit card account without the interest charges. Isn't that cool?

2. An Emergency Fund equaling 3-5 months salary, just in case you lose funds through a job loss, an illness, a pregnancy, whatever. This fund is strictly for loss of income situations. And believe me, the bills will still be there even if you lose your job . . . so be smart and have some money set aside to live during loss of income moments.

3. Retirement fund - it's coming faster than you think and the most effective way to gather enough money is to put a "little money" into an account early (say, in your 20s) and let it build on itself. Let the money do all the work.

Investing small amounts and letting the small amounts of money grow over 10, 20, 30 years . . . is the best strategy. It gets impossible to save for retirement once you are 50 years old . . . seriously, if you can't save $25.00 a month now how will you ever be able to save $2500 a month when you are 50? And that's the amount you will need to save at that age -- so why don't we just bite the bullet now?

If you breathe and live and are an adult in America, you have bills. Bills are a given. Here are a few other givens in your life: You will have to pay bills in the future (even during your twilight/retirement years) . . . you will experience lose of income/job sometime in the next decade . . . you will experience "surprise moments" like a new transmission for your car, braces for the kids or medical costs for your spouse. These are givens in life . . . take care of them now instead of later . . . pay yourself first.

Not only should you pay yourself first, you should be aggressive about it. Work your butt off to get these accounts set up so you can move to the next step in your debt reduction battle. Take a second job, contract your skills out, mow some lawns, sell some stuff . . . but get to this goal:

- $1,000 in your "Stuff Happens" account;
- 3 months of expenses in an emergency fund;
- 7-10% of your monthly income automatically going into a retirement fund.

Once that's done, you are ready to go to the next step in your debt reduction battle.

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Rosalind Mays successfully works-from-home as a virtual assistant, a freelance writer and a stressed out mom. She's currently chronicling her trials and tribulations on her tongue-in-cheek blog Telecommuting Millionaire?