How and Why My Family Got Out of Debt

Based on personal observation, there are two schools of thought for consumer debt (car loans, credit cards, HELOCs, etc). One is a need it now mentality, if I can make the monthly payments, I will be ok. The other is the idea that I can get along without the item until I have enough saved, and avoid the interest payments by buying it now. As of the last couple of years, my wife and I have chosen to delay our wants and save for those items.
Since we paid off our last consumer debt (our mortgage is our only debt), my wife and I have been discussing the reasons that we made that choice. Listed below are the hows and whys of our choice, ideas that we've held to while getting out of debt and solidifying since we became debt free.

Why we got out of debt

• We hated the idea of paying interest for things that had little value
• We wanted to save more money
• We wanted to reduce our financial stress levels
• We hated the idea that if a payment was late, the financing company could charge us late fees
• We hated the idea that if for some reason we couldn't make the payments on our family car, the repo man could show up and haul it off
  
• We hated the fact that on our credit cards, the bank could change the terms of service (interest rate, when they could start charging interest, etc) at any time, and only with 25 days written notice

How we got out of debt

• We live on a cash budget, which helps us control our spending
  
• We gave up our personal blow money categories to speed up our debt payment process
• We set a goal in December, 2008 to be debt free by August of 2009. By staying on top of our finances, we paid off the debt in June, three months earlier than our original goal.
• We got fired up, and regularly reviewed our spending. When we had money left over at the end of the month in a budget category, we made adjustments the next month and the difference went towards debt payments.
• We told others about our goals to become debt free
• We got our young kids involved by saying things like "when we've paid off the car, then we can go out to eat," and "when the car is ours, no one can take it from us"
• We got rid of our credit cards and closed those accounts
• We skipped expensive family vacations
• We had cash only birthdays and Christmases (I only received about $30 worth of gifts from my wife and kids last Christmas, and it was one of my favorite Christmases yet)

Since we paid off the debt in June, we've been able to set aside savings for new furniture and emergencies. It's a great feeling to know that we can keep most of my paychecks every month. If you carry debt, what are your plans to get out? Please post comments below.