How I'm digging myself out of $80,000 in debt

It's not easy, but I've made a plan and I'm sticking to it

For the last eight years, every time I've made a purchase, I've done so knowing I have a huge weight hanging over me to the tune of an $80,000 tax debt. There were a few years I didn't file (something I don't in any way recommend) and all that untaxed income added up to a very scary figure I was content to largely ignore, because it seemed so insurmountable.

When I turned 40 in 2015, I finally started to get serious about tackling the debt and set up a payment plan. That lessened the specter of menacing letters from the IRS, but going solely by that plan, which requires me to pay just $400 per month, would take me decades. So I've revised my strategy and taken a much more aggressive stance, knowing that any economic sacrifices I make now will lead me that much closer to the freedom of being debt free. I realized that there is a light at the end of the tunnel — I just have to focus on it, rather than feel sorry for myself. Here are five things I'm doing to pay off my debt:

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Rachel Kramer Bussel

Racher Kramer Bussel is the editor of over 60 anthologies, including Best Women's Erotica of the Year 1 and 2. Her writing on sex, dating, books, and pop culture has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Marie Claire, and O, The Oprah Magazine, as well as other publications. She teaches erotica writing classes in person and online.