Okay, so you now have a "Stuff Happens" account. It's a small amount, but enough to take care of surprises right? Good. You have money in an emergency fund in case your household loses an income source. Excellent. You are putting a little money away each month (it can be as small as $25 a month, just do something) automatically for retirement. Yes! You are now ready for the next step.

STEP 2: Kill Those Credit Cards

From this point on, you are not allowed to use, look at, even breath upon shiny smooth plastic with raised numbers and letters and magnetic strips -- not even for emergencies. That's what your "Stuff Happens" account is for.

Take the card with the highest interest rate and throw every penny you have to get rid of that balance. Again, be aggressive . . . take a second job, do contract work on the side, sell more stuff, search for coins under the couch . . . every moment of your day, everything you do, should be getting rid of that debt.

WHY?

Because credit cards are sucking you dry like a starving vampire. The longer it takes to pay these off . . . the more free money you are giving to already rich institutions. Yes, besides paying for items you've purchased, you are also giving away money . . . they call it interest charges and finance charges.

Not getting the picture yet? Let's pretend. [Harp music]

Let's say you worked night and day in a labor camp with very little sleep for 3 entire months. No fun, no real rest, awful food. But at the end of those 3 months, you receive pay for your labor . . . your entire year's salary (the same about as your current job).

Now, you have 7 months to live free and clear without working. You can: enjoy family, travel, sleep all day, whatever. You have so many plans for that money in your hand, maybe plans that will assure that you never have to work in a labor camp again.

But, before you can leave with your big wad of money, this big burly guy comes, snatches a big chunk of your cash out of your hands and runs down the street throwing it around, letting the wind catch your money and blow it away.

Feel the outrage? Want to put some violence on someone?

I mean, this guy just stole your money, the money you worked like a slave to obtain. He not only stole your money, but he threw it away before your very eyes! You would want to get gun and shot the guy, right?

Well, that's what happens when you pay interest on credit cards . . . you are just letting a big burly guy steal your hard-earned money and throw it away into the streets. Hard-earned money that could gain interest for you and allow you to retire early, go on that trip to Paris, send your kid to college . . . instead your credit card payments are paying for someone else's lifestyle . . . someone else's better life.

Unfair, you say. True. Do something about it. Get aggressive and get rid of it. Now.

And when you are finished wiping out that balance, cut up the plastic. Don't close the account (you need the accounts to remain open for your credit score), just get rid of the plastic.