The answer is both obvious and really boring.
- Maximize your earning potential (within reason)
- Minimize your spending (within reason)
- Use the remainder to pay down debt and invest (follow MDM's investment order here.)
Some people argue for paying down the smallest debt first (the "snowball method") which can boost your psyche. However, it's mathematically optimal simply to pay down the debt with the highest interest rate, regardless of the balance (called the "avalanche method).
Most people around here find they can live a normal middle-class lifestyle spending ~$18k-30k/year - largely depending on your family size and the cost-of-living in your particular area. At this spending rate, someone earning the median salary for someone with a college degree of ~$55k/year you can become financially independent in roughly 17 years. If you can increase your earnings (#1) or further reduce your spending (#2) this time-frame can be reduced to a decade or less. Some methods for doing this include having a better paying job, a partner who also works (dual-income) or being super-frugal, usually by finding cheap/free housing (or having roommates) and/or not having a car.
Even without going 'whole-hog' most people find they can reduce their debt and increase their savings with their existing salary simply by cutting out the wasteful spending int heir lives and taking advantage of their tax breaks. Such an approach won't make you wealthy as fast, but it can put you on much better financial footing while only slightly altering your current lifestyle (often for the better).
Read the blog postings
here,
here and
here for more information.
Since you asked, we've never had what most would consider "high-paying" jobs. We've managed to be (relatively) successful by keeping our expenses down. Even with our low expenses we live pretty much the same sort of lives as our peers who are spending 2x what we are. Living close to where we work allows us to have almost no commuting expenses, and we planned it that way.
Now, some personal questions for you:What are your financial goals
What is your earning potential
What are your current debts?