Getting started on the quest

I have not made any specific "get out of debt" goals yet -- I am still trying to find the balance of debt repayment versus living comfortably and enjoying life. While I try to find that balance, here is the lay of the land to get the quest started - this should be current as of December 1, 2007:

About Us
We are recently married, September 2006, and still feeling out our financial values. I ran up quite a bit of debt during college, and she has some debt from old medical bills she incurred while uninsured. We both work for an Ambulance Service, so we spend a great deal of time every day on the road, yielding some rather essential "extra" expenses - dining on the road and cell phones are at the top of that list.

We are both hourly employees, paid biweekly, myself a manager and my wife a "blue collar" employee. I am also a reservist, which generates some handy extra income. Since I make about twice as much annually, I usually figure on one-third/two-thirds when paying the monthly bills and each of our "fair" contributions to the joint expenses.

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Our financial summary as of December 1, 2007

My Checking (USAA Bank) - $190.08
Her Checking (KeyBank) - $43.84
Billpay Checking (USAA Bank) - $713.82

Primary Savings (USAA Bank) - $247.01
Long-Term Savings (ING) - $150.02

Universal Card - $8,496.52 (4.0% until paid) - Cards destroyed.
Capital One Card - $435.00 (15.4%)
Citi Card - $3,185.98 (10.24%) - Card frozen in large block of ice.
US Card - $10,502.03 (11.65%) - Cards destroyed.

Investment Account - $1,628.04

Car Loan - $15,855.47 (7.4%) - Asset valued at approximately the same.
School Loan - $4,499.81 (6.97%)

Misc Debt - $5,755.13 (0% until 12/2008)

Current Net Worth = -$29,842.99
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So, the picture is not a bright one. The credit cards are a problem, the lack of savings is not good, and the interest is rediculous. Luckily, I never have a problem meeting the monthly payments - just in hammering down the principle.

Over the next week, I will outline my current plans and goals for each category. I hope to post once every couple of days, to include progress reports, new ideas that I'm trying, and other personal finance tidbits that I pickup along the way.

Until next time,
Jonathan