I would like suggestions on how to get out of debt

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20. Some helpful thoughts (I hope)

We have always found it tough to balance keeping money in savings versus buying when a fantastic deal presents itself.

I've taken what Sheryl Crow says and tried to adjust myself:

It's not having what you want
It's wanting what you've got

Seriously, when I'm hand to mouth only and need to treat myself to keep from being insane, I make sure to find a treat that's a dollar or less.

My goal is to have 6 months of bare bone survival expenses saved. To make progress I look for deals that will save me money. For example, if I have one month of expenses saved now and I see tuna on sale for half price, I buy one month's worth of tuna. Money saved on a consumable by buying at a bargain price doesn't actually hit your savings until you've used it up. At the end of that month assure that those dollars have actually gone into savings.

Learn how to fix things yourself. Change your own oil.

Shop ahead for predictable expenditures. Holiday and birthday presents, clothes, shoes, etc.

I travel a lot for work. I use skiplagged.com to find cheap flights and frequently orbitz.com and hotels.com to find places to stay.

If things are getting serious and you're behind in rent or mortgage, consider bankruptcy. Talk to a lawyer and/or a financial consultant you trust. I've read that the average millionaire has gone bankrupt a few times before making it.

If you must buy food at restaurant prices, at least try to pay with a credit card that earns you points (that you can use) or cash back. But most all, minimize what you spend. Consider cooking in volume for the week ahead. Make a pot of soup that you add to a sandwich to round it out. Have some chopped vegetables on hand to make a salad and have a decent meal. Try to get away from drinking soda. I use bottled water at $3 a case and augment that water from a Brita pitcher that I keep in the refrigerator.

Check the internet. Facebook has number of pages dedicated to frugality and saving.
Enter contests. My wife twice won coupons for chicken for a year.

Write down every dollar you spend. If you don't know where it goes and why, your money will harder to hold on to.
Try to barter for things. Often it costs you money to make money. If you have children in daycare, and both work, consider having the partner who makes less stay home. At minimum wage, job that has you working 35 hours a week will net maybe $200 but then subtract what you pay for in lunches, gas/bus fare and any tolls or parking fees. Lunches at $5/day and an extra $20/week for gas or the bus leaves you with about $155. If daycare is more than $30/day, you're losing money by working.

Getting a $500 tax refund check is nice but, if you've got debt that charges interest at credit card rates of 20% or more, having your withholding adjusted to net you an extra $10 a week may net you more than $50 saved by year's end.

Best of luck.