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Today is Super Bowl Sunday and hopefully you are getting ready to stack up the nachos, chill down the beer and prepare to watch a great game with good friends. It would be a good time to get your mind off your financial problems and have a little fun, except for this article I read about super quarterback Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts.

If you have even a passing interest in professional football this piece from Slate is a fascinating look into what makes Manning so freakin’ amazing, and such a pain in the ass to work with.  To make a long story short, he cares more about football than everything else in his life combined and works harder than anyone else in the game to be perfect. Not great, but perfect. When it comes to football, Manning has an obsessive-compulsive personality and speaking to his family and teammates you can get more anecdotes than he has passing yards.

When he was just twelve, Manning pushed his Pop Warner teammates to block harder. He got to college six weeks early to work out with the upperclassmen. At home, he falls asleep with the remote in his hand after hours of breaking down custom game film.

Reading all of this got me to thinking… Do you care enough about knocking down your debt to approach it like Peyton Manning would?

It’s a fair question. Football provides Peyton Manning everything that is important to him in life while massive debt prevents you from enjoying everything that is important in life. And both paths are temporary. Football players have a limited window to compete before age and injury take hold while you want to envision a time when you are living debt-free. Until then you have to focus and deliver.

So imagine what this would look like. Are you willing to break down your credit card statements looking for irregularities? Badger your card companies into lowering your rates? Get to work early and stay late to jockey for a raise or promotion? How about cutting out your favorite entertainment to save money? I doubt that Petyon Manning is going to a lot of movies on Saturdays.

Manning memorized his team playbook in days. Do you even have one? It’s called a budget and without one you’re in the financial pee-wee leagues and you’ll never be debt free.

Manning also expects other people to treat the game as he does. When a teammate left practice early to be present at the birth of his daughter, Manning asked why he couldn’t have babies in the offseason.

Here I would say that your family is on your debt-reduction team and they need to know their roles and get behind you. Or in front of you, if they are your metaphorical O-line. Make sure that your spouse knows that you’re serious about debt reduction and you expect him or her to do their part to cut spending and pay more towards the bills. And the kids. Playtime is over if it means expensive clothes, toys and electronics. Explain what the goal is, that it’s only for a short period of time and that they are helping the family win.

So go an enjoy the Superbowl today and tomorrow be ready to wage war on those bills. (Not the Buffalo Bills. You know what I meant.)

When you’re looking to get out of debt it’s important to understand what differentiates the wealthy from the poor and which habits are helpful or harmful.

I just learned that new research shows the the breadwinners in the world’s poorest families (typically the men) spend about 20 percent of their earnings on liquor, cigarettes, prostitution, soft drinks and extravagant festivals. Check out the full story at the New York Times (which I got to via  a piece at Time Magazine’s It’s Your Money blog.)

This got me thinking, and begs the question, what vices are you putting before paying off debt and the financial well-being of your family? (Hopefully it’s not whores.)

Smoking is at the top of the list for things that are terrible for you and your pocketbook. In some areas a single pack of smokes can cost upwards of $10. At those prices a pack-a-day habit runs nearly four grand. A pack a week means adding an extra car payment to your annual expenses. This isn’t a site that offers tips on quitting, but that should be a strong incentive to. New York State (which has some of the highest cigarette taxes in the nation) has a great website with resources to help smokers quit.

Booze can be pricey or cheap, and in recent years Americans have developed a more refined (and pricey) palate. Gone are the days of knocking back Miller or Bud. Now brews like Sam Adams and Heineken are everywhere and at a higher cost. Don’t even get me started on wine. Whether you drink more or less is a personal decision, but what you drink can impact how much you spend by fifty percent or more. If you can live with something from the middle or lower shelf you’ll get the same buzz and get a high from saving money.

As for whore mongering (one of my favorite expressions) you see what it cost Tiger Woods. He’s lost a ton of sponsors, tournament fees and may end up shelling out gazillions in a divorce. But on a related note, spending big bucks to impress members of the opposite sex can still land you in the poor house. Whether it’s clothes, cars, dinners or jewelry you may want to take stock of why you spend money on things to dazzle that guy or gal when your bum credit score will still be a real turn-off if things get serious.

Now I don’t know if you spend much money on those extravagant festivals that the article mentioned, but if you do, cut that crap out. You are still allowed to air your grievances against credit card companies during Festivus.

All of this is just food for thought, and a good excuse for me to use the word “whores” in a blog post. Always wanted to do that.

I am not one for New Year’s resolutions. I believe that any time is a good time for making positive changes in your life.

However, I do recognize that sometimes in life we require mile markers to help us plot our course. So now that the ball has dropped and champagne has been popped, it’s time to take stock of where you are financially and what you plan to do to improve your lot in life in the new year.

As of today, your annual income, loan interest paid and tax liabilities all reset to zero, which means that it’s not the worst time to take stock of things that matter to your personal bottom line  and attack them with renewed vigor.

As such, here is my abridged checklist of things to do to reduce your debt 2010 and continue down the path to financial freedom.

1. Start keeping score. Whether you use great online services like Mint or software like Quicken, you need to have some way of recording all of your income and spending to see where you are making mistakes.
2. Create a budget. Like almost everything worth doing in life, this is hard work and you won’t see results right away. To make things easier, invest in a budget planner like the Home Budget Book.
3. Make more money. It’s easier than it sounds; a journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. Go back to school, get your resume updated, join LinkedIn and maximize your connections, and do everything else to prepare for a new job. (You may not have any choice in the matter.) At the very least, check out our Earn More section for ways to boost your part-time income. Some crazy SOB’s even start financial blogs. What’s up with that?
4. Cut your utility bills. It’s hard to use a lot less water or heat without spending money on pricey energy-efficient upgrades. But I’ve come to find that there is one area where savings are just waiting to be had, namely your cell phone, or home phone service. Forget Verizon and AT&T, look at low-cost providers like Cricket and Smart Talk for cell service.  For your land line, look at VOIP services like Vonage  and Ooma. You can do this TODAY.
5. Call every one of your credit card companies and ask for a lower rate. It’s an artful dance, learn the steps here.
6. Eliminate one bad habit. Joining a gym or Jenny Craig is going to cost you money. Quitting smoking or drinking less will save you money, and contribute to your better health. Typical New Year’s resolutions don’t put money back in your pocket; find one that does.
7. Eliminate one luxury. Last year I cut out having my shirts dry cleaned, saving me about $20 a month. What can you do without? A daily Starbucks latte? Spa visits? Cigars? Find something that you enjoy less than being debt-free and swear off it until you can afford to never use credit again.
8. Shop smarter. Become a coupon clipper. Sign up for Bing Cashback for your online buying. Go for store brand products instead of national brands. A little time can save you lots of loot.
9. Don’t forget to pay yourself. Too may people skimp on their retirement savings, giving more money to the government than they should. We all know that extra taxes paid are only going to go to bail out the same banks who jack up your interest rates. Contribute at least 5% of your income to your retirement savings, more if you can.
10. Forget about your debt. (For a couple minutes a day.) There is no such thing as a healthy obsession, so know when you’re dwelling too much on money. It’s alright to splurge every once in a while and your health, friends and family are more important than your balance sheet. Put everything in perspective and you’ll be much happier, which is what life is all about.

I have had a great time writing Debtbeat in 2009 and I’m looking forward to learning about and sharing more ways to earn more, spend less and manage credit in the new year.

Best wishes to you and yours!

TBS