Wife and I were four months into Baby Step 2 — pay off your debts smallest to largest. We are fiercely competitive about ridiculous things — on the same team against the obstacle, of course. Finances were especially competitive. In January of 2010, we turned our attention to the cost of food.

So, when we saw pasta was on sale for fifty cents a box, it was obvious we needed to get thirty boxes.

Yes, thirty. For a staggering fifteen dollars.

The pasta was just one of the many ways we made getting out of debt fun. Not to mention a marriage-strengthening exercise.

It kills us to see families having a miserable time paying off their credit cards and student loans. Wife and I are weird and we know it. I just wish more people would be weird, too. There is so much room for creativity and clever tricks and scheming.

We ate gallons of pasta over the next weeks. The law of diminishing returns definitely applied to its taste. But it didn’t matter compared to how serious we were about punching debt in the face!

Buying thirty boxes of pasta — and the determination which helped us make the decision — put us even closer to our goal of debt freedom and financial peace. We were united against a common goal, and this was another chance to be excited about achieving it.

I tell you with all seriousness — getting out of debt was a surprisingly enjoyable experience! It feels fantastic to work hard to achieve a worthy goal.

Don’t assume it can’t be the same for you.