Act 1: Getting my financial house in order

Over the weekend I read and reread my post "Never Satisfied" and reflected on things that I want to accomplish to reach satisfaction within the next two years. The item at the top of my list is to pay off my credit card debt. First of all, let me say that I have excellent credit. My credit score is in the 800s. However, the blemish to my credit that keeps me from sleeping well at night is that I have high debt. I HATE owing anything to anyone. The problem is that even though I pay my bills on time, my bills are too high (and adding a new car to the mix didn't help). So, I have developed a plan to get my financial house in order and have already put some of it into action. The good thing is that this plan enables me to both pay down debt AND save for the future.

Here are some of the steps I've devised to get my financial house in order:

1. Talk with a financial advisor - My former landlord is a financial advisor, so I've reached out to him to discuss what I can and should be doing to pay down my debt while saving money at the same time. (I should have done this a long time ago.)
2. Make adjustments to allowances on W-4 form - I've increased my allowances on my W-4 form so that instead of waiting for a big tax refund at tax time, I can get my money up front each month. I'm going to use this money to pay off my bills.
3. Transfer the balance of my high interest rate credit cards to my lower interest credit card - This is a no brainer and something I should have done a while ago. I'm going to consolidate two credit cards with moderately low balances but ridiculous interest rates to my card with the ridiculous balance but low interest rate. I was trying to pay them separately, but it's easier to only have to pay on one card each month. That way I can put more of a dent into the debt. Also I WILL NOT close these two accounts once the balances have been transferred. I've learned that closing these accounts (which I've had for a while) can hurt my credit score because it erases my credit history...And like I said before, my credit is excellent. I don't want to erase that. So, I'll cut these cards up instead. No access equals no spending.
4. Cancel my current savings account and open an ING Direct savings account - The interest rate for the savings account at my existing bank is 0.56%. I received an offer in the mail last week from ING Direct that offers a 4.4% interest rate AND will GIVE ME $25 to get started. Um...that's FREE money, people. And there are no fees for minimum balances or anything else. You can't beat that.
5. No more frivolous spending - This means no more eating out, no more shopping for things I want versus things I need, and just no more wasting money!!! Again, a no brainer.
6. Maintain a check book - It's been forever since I kept a check book, but I'm starting back at it today.

Anyway, that's just some of the steps I've put in place to get started. I'll maintain a status report of my progress in the coming months. Wish me luck!!!