My husband (32) and I (30) are currently on a debt diet. We have a mission to pay off our debt in two years, with the exception of our $209,000 mortgage, which we plan on paying off in eight years.

We both grew up in paycheck to paycheck families and do not want that for ourselves. My husband witnessed his parent's marriage fail as a result of financial struggle, so he is completely dedicated to our plan. It's taken me some time to get on the wagon.

We started with the pyramid style pay-off of over $70,000 in student loans and one car loan. To-date, we have paid off the car in six months and will have the remaining $50,000 completely paid by February 2009.

We are very strict about our budget and are fortunate to make good salaries. My husband is in sales and makes a base salary of $25,000. This year, he will have brought home over $80,000 ($25,000 base + $55,000 commission.) I work in government public relations and make just over $50,000 per year. However, our budget is strictly based on our set salaries ($50,000 + $25,000) and after taxes, retirement savings and health benefits, comes to around $56,000 per year in our bank account. We have thrown every bit of commission (minus 25% for taxes) at our debt and it has been such a blessing to eliminate those monthly payments. We do not believe in relying on credit cards to purchase anything and we have set up an emergency account for those unexpected costs. To know that we will be debt free (except mortgage) is opening up so many new possibilities. But, we will continue to live within our means as we raise our beautiful son (and hopefully a sibling in the near future!) We are absolutely better off than we were in 2001.