Ever receive an invoice boldly stamped “Paid in Full?” If you have, do you remember the good feeling it gave you? The debt is paid, in cash, and the transaction complete. That experience became increasingly uncommon over the last 60 years.

Ever open a credit card statement with a zero balance? If you have, remember the sense of satisfaction? You’re out from under the debt. That feeling has become increasingly uncommon during the past 20 years.

In both scenarios, the feeling of personal freedom flows as comprehension takes hold. In the first, one has practiced smart spending. Thus, they avoided what I call a form of self-incarceration that is part of going into debt. In the second, the feeling flows with the realization that you have finally been released from “debt prison.”

How does one practice “smart spending?” How does one stay out of “debt prison?”

The answer is simple, though not always easy: Don’t make “debt mistakes.” Pay cash in full and use only money you already have in hand. That’s “smart spending.”

Smart spending is the opposite of “foolish financing.” It takes only one foolish debt mistake to self-incarcerate into “debt prison.”

Regrettably, in our consumption society, the credit system and other special interests consciously promote “debt recidivism.” And the government is a very bad role model.

As a result, many people walk the streets foolishly spending plastic dollars – made available by debt prison administrators – while simultaneously serving their financial debt sentence.

How bad is it?

U.S. household debt – mortgage and consumer – exceeds $11 trillion. Credit card debt totals are just under $1 trillion. The total number of open accounts recently increased to 380 million.

Is it possible to get out of debt prison?

Yes.

By making installment payments – on time, every time – for the length of the debt repayment sentence, the additional cost incurred can be limited to interest charges. Still, the interest you will pay is considerable; and is always an addition to a “smart spending” cash transaction.

Despite the sense of release that drives the “debt finally satisfied” feeling, it can never match the “Cash – Paid in Full” feeling because smart spending always trumps “foolish financing.”

Can the same theory apply to our public debt? Absolutely.

Explosive government debt is one effect, among the many, that now weighs down upon productive citizens and our nation’s economy. Unchecked, such debt will lead inexorably to national default.

What can the government do to get out of debt? Adapt the same realities every serious individual must: “Do the time” and implement smart spending.

Spending reduction is the sole key. Not tax increases – whether politically targeted on the few or many. Nor is the answer a combination under the mantra “shared sacrifice.”

Significant spending reductions immediately lighten the load on every productive citizen, serving to promote individual responsibility and increase personal freedom while shrinking government costs.

In turn, such action births private reinvestment and the job creation needed to strengthen and grow our domestic economy. As the economy rebounds, every new tax dollar is applied directly to debt reduction – not new spending, not new programs or expansion.

Richard Olivastro is president of Olivastro Communications and founder of Citizens for Change. A professional member of the National Speakers Association, he is available pro bono for charitable fundraisers and public forums and can be reached via email at RichOlivastro@gmail.com or by phone at 1-877-RichSpeaks.