This is the second article in a two-week series on setting effective New Year’s goals for getting out of debt. You can share your debt resolution with others here. You can share your debt resolution with others here.

Previously, we talked about the reasons for putting debt reduction in your list of New Year’s resolutions, including better heath, relationships, confidence, and security. Perhaps most important, eliminating consumer debt can save the average borrower about $4,000 per year in interest costs.

How would you feel with an extra $4,000 per year? Would it change how you get along with your spouse? Would you feel less at risk financially? Would you have more self-confidence?

If the answer to any of these is yes, start today. We know that the process of paying off debt can be daunting, so we’ve laid out nine essential steps that we’ve identified through working to help others pay down debt. It’s not as hard as you think and we’ll walk you through the essential steps in upcoming posts. But in case you can’t wait to get started, here are the 9 essential steps:

1. Stop using your cards
2. Get organized
3. Set family priorities
4. Get SMART. Set SMART goals for debt reduction
5. Make a plan
6. Simplify for success
7. Tell your goal to others
8. Ask for support
9. Track your progress

Through the remainder of the next two weeks, we will discuss these techniques for getting out of debt. Be sure to follow these posts as we show you how you can buck the odds this year and take steps to build a debt-free future.

We wish you all the best in the upcoming New Year.

Scott Crawford is CEO of DebtGoal.com, a do-it-yourself system for getting out of debt and lowering your interest costs. DebtGoal.com incorporates all of the techniques discussed in this post and can help users understand and get visibility to and manage their debt finances.

This is the first article in a two-week series on setting effective goals for getting out of debt. You can share your debt resolution with others here.

The New Year is almost upon us and with it comes the inevitable introspection when we decide our priorities for the upcoming year. We consider our dissatisfactions and dreams and put pen to paper to create a list of things that we imagine with make us happier, healthier, or better in relationships.

Last year, Franklin Covey reported that getting out of debt was the top resolution, topping the perennial weight loss heavyweight. Similarly, MyGoals.com reported that the debt reduction was the top financial goal for 52% of respondents.

How did we do against our debt reduction resolutions in recent years? Not so well according to government stats: for example, 2008 aggregate consumer debt was up 2.3% to $2.6T and credit card debt increased 3.7% to $876B.

For 2010, with the credit crisis and after-effects of the economic recession, you may be thinking of making debt reduction your resolution. If you are, you’re not alone. According to a May 2008 Transamerica survey, debt reduction is the top financial goal for households with less than $100,000 in annual income and it was also the top use for the government stimulus checks earlier this year.

If you’re thinking about making debt reduction your New Year’s resolution for 2010, we enthusiastically encourage you to “Just Do It!” Here are a few benefits:

1. Better financial future: The road to your financial future goes through your debt. In the short term, paying off consumer debt will save the average borrower $4,000 per year in interest. In the long term, it will position you to achieve other financial goals such as retirement or college for children.
2. Better health: Several recent studies have documented the impacts of debt stress on heath and relationships. Debt stress can lead to sleep loss and has even been linked to preterm births.
3. Healthier relationships: Eliminating the stress of debt frees you to focus on your relationship and removes the bickering that occurs over competing goals.
4. Confidence: By just starting the process of paying down your debt, you’ll find yourself feeling more in control of your life and the satisfaction of making progress.
5. Security: Debt forces us to live on the edge, at the risk of hitting a slight economic speed bump that can send us into a tailspin. Without debt, you will be better able to weather economic hiccups.

This year, you can improve your life by taking steps to eliminate debt. Over the next two weeks, we will discuss the best techniques for getting out of debt. Be sure to follow these posts as we show you how you can buck the odds this year and take steps to build a debt-free future.

We wish you all the best in the upcoming New Year.

Scott Crawford is CEO of DebtGoal.com, a do-it-yourself system for getting out of debt and lowering your interest costs. DebtGoal.com incorporates all of the techniques discussed in this post and can help users understand and get visibility to and manage their debt finances.

New Year’s resolutions run the gamut from the outlandish (sky dive, climb a mountain) to the traditional (lose weight, help others more). An atypical resolution that will make a difference this year is more than a one-line “pledge to get out of debt” – it is a straightforward plan to do so.

Promising to end debt a boring and cliché resolution? Be stylish and realistic in your pledge and design a good plan. Here’s an idea:

“My 2010 resolution is to improve my personal finances and the first step is to aggressively eliminate my outstanding debt. Once I am completely free of debt, I’m going to save up for and pre-pay a tropical vacation to celebrate. Staying out of the red is going to be a cornerstone of my lifestyle moving forward. I pledge to the following plan:

a) Write all of my debt down on paper, with the name of the lender, outstanding amount to be paid off, and terms of repayment.

b) Prioritize the debts from most to least pressing to pay off. (Number them)

c) List my monthly expenses and income. Set up a budget that trims unnecessary expenditures and comes up with a consistent amount that I can contribute towards monthly debt reduction.

d) Start this action plan with the month of January 2010, with a modest reward for myself if I follow through with the game plan for each of the first six months of the New Year.”

Research shows that half the battle is proving that you can set up a plan and follow it.

If your debt is enormous, this is not a reason to avoid the most important resolution you can make. Simply adjust the resolution to represent a pledge to eliminate a large percentage of it (e.g., 50%) within the next year.

The best part of using a New Year’s resolution as a promise to eliminate debt is that you can let your promise be known to friends and family in a way that feels less difficult because everyone makes a resolution. It feels good because it comes off more as a declaration than a confesssion.

Raj Patel writes for DebtGoal.com, a do-it-yourself system for getting out of debt and lowering your interest costs. DebtGoal.com incorporates all of the techniques discussed in this post and can help users understand and get visibility to and manage their debt finances.

With so much focus this season on saving while shopping for presents, one can easily forget how holiday events themselves can entail significant costs aside from any wrapped gifts. J.D. at Get Rich Slowly provides some excellent advice on Christmas frugality. Two of his best tips are:

1. Hold the family gathering after December 25th. The full range of supplies for the any celebration is heavily discounted.

2. Focus on family traditions, not the gifts. Kids enjoy consistent traditions and relaxation with family as much or more so than expensive presents with fleeting value.

Other great ideas for holidays on the cheap include:

• Sharing meal preparation with your guests to help even out the costs of food and supplies
• Building a family history
• Playing board games that you already have access to
• Watching and playing sports
• Sharing family stories and telling jokes
• Burning CDs of holiday music for enjoyment the next couple of weeks
• Playing in the snow, hitting the beach, swinging by the park, or hiking – depending on location and weather conditions
• Building and enjoying a fire in the fireplace
• Singing carols

The rituals of gifting during the holidays go back deep in history. Everyone feels an obligation to give something to someone, so if the topic comes up this year, consider asking for a contribution towards paying down outstanding debt. Such a gift will hands-down beat a moose sweater, candy cane socks, or yet another indiscernible contribution towards the tie collection.

Here’s three options on how to ask for the debt contribution:

1. “Though any present would be thoughtful during these tight times, I really need to focus on paying down some of my current financial obligations, so if you are thinking of giving me something, please make it a contribution towards my debt elimination fund. It doesn’t matter how small or large your donation is – it would be highly appreciated.”

2. “The economy has made things really tight right now, so the best gift I could receive would be a monetary contribution towards my personal debt relief fund. Thank you for all of the support – financial and otherwise. Here’s to a debt-free 2009!”

3. “The holidays are all about coming together and supporting one another – and celebrating relationships in the process. I’ve made a major decision in my life to quickly eliminate all of my existing financial obligations as soon as possible, and so I ask that you consider giving me a monetary contribution towards helping me get out of debt instead of a traditional present. The joys of becoming debt-free and leading such a lifestyle will greatly outweigh the fun of a new sweater or music album, and will ultimately make my relationships that matter – those of friends and family – much stronger.”

Here’s three avenues for asking for the contribution:

1. Email to friends and family. Write and send an email to friends and family providing an update on your life and best wishes for a great holiday season. Then conclude with your new suggested present of a contribution.

2. Insert into holiday cards. If you have a habit of sending out cards to friends and family, include a short personal note that asks that all gifts this year instead be contributions towards getting out of debt.

3. Mention during a phone call. Work into your conversation during a phone call to friends and family your desire for a contribution towards eliminating your personal debt instead of traditional gifts. This can be highly effective given the solemnity that you can display while asking. Mention that normal presents are always appreciated, but that the current economic conditions make personal financial health jump to the top of your wish list.

Raj Patel writes for DebtGoal.com, a do-it-yourself system for getting out of debt and lowering your interest costs. DebtGoal.com incorporates all of the techniques discussed in this post and can help users understand and get visibility to and manage their debt finances.