I'm close to being out of debt and followed Dave Ramsey's program (google it),

1. save $1000 in CASH for emergencies (true emergency..not something is on sale emergency).
2. make a budget and assign every dollar a place to go.
3. all funds left over after necessities go to paying off debt.

4. pay off all debt except house before working towards 6 months bills.

If you don't watch your money and tightly budget then you probably waste a large amount in what I call nickle and dime leaks.

Look at his (Dave Ramsey) program for getting out of debt. I don't necessarily agree with his investing advice but his debt strategy has worked for me. I'm about 15 months (barring any major issues) from being out of debt except for my house.