Debt’s good for one thing and one thing only: holding you back. But you don’t want to be held back. You want to thrive—and the thriving starts here. You’ve got $1,000 saved up so in the event of an emergency you can use that money instead of going deeper into debt. Now you can attack debt with the vengeance of a knight saving his kingdom from a fire-breathing dragon. Slay that dragon using the debt snowball method. Pay off one debt at a time from smallest to largest, gaining momentum until you deliver the final blow of victory, aka become debt-free.

The debt is gone. Bye bye, debt. Talk to you never. Now, you’re going to beef up that emergency savings fund so it’s strong enough to stand up against bigger problems, like job loss. Figure out how much money you’d need to live for three to six months if your regular income went away. (If you’re a one-income household, aim for that “six months of expenses” mark. Two-income households can go for three.) Save up that amount, and store it in a high-interest savings or money market account with check-writing privileges so you can get to it if you need to.

Retirement can seem like tomorrow’s problem. But that kind of thinking will leave you working for the rest of your life. Baby Step 4 demolishes that idea and gets you on the path to the golden years of glory. It’s time to start putting 15% of your gross household income into retirement accounts.

No kids? Fully grown and gone kids? You can skip this step and move on to the next. Otherwise, it’s time to start researching and stashing away cash for your kids to further their education. One important note: you’ll be working on Baby Steps 4, 5, and 6 at the same time, but you’ll start them in order.

Why wait to worry about the kids until after you start saving for retirement? One reason is that your kids may or may not go to college—but you will retire. Also, there’s no reason to send them to overwhelmingly expensive universities that’ll leave you unable to pay your bills when you quit working. Putting retirement first is not selfish. It’s wise.

The average American has a monthly mortgage budget line of around $1,400. What if that disappeared, not because of magic, but because you paid off your house—in full. You’ve stopped renting from the lending company, and that home sweet home is yours all yours. It’s nearly impossible to imagine, really. But it’s possible to achieve, really.

Now it’s time to grow your wealth beyond your wildest dreams,—though they won’t seem as wild anymore because you’re going to reach them. And when you do, you’ll not only be living like no one else, you’ll be in a position to give like no one else. Your money won’t be tied up in debt or mortgages or worry. It’ll be free to share with your favorite charities or your church. You can be in a position of easy generosity. What a beautiful feeling this will be.