Thomas and Megan Sneed's daughter, Nora, is growing fast but so are their bills.

"We're like a lot of people. We graduated with college debt, we put our honeymoon on our credit card and then a year after being married, we had a baby," Thomas said. "We found ourselves in debt, just like that."

With the holidays around the corner, they had one unique wish: to be free of debt by Christmas.

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With $14,000 in debt left to go, the Sneeds said they knew it would take discipline. To cut the biggest bill - housing - Thomas, an IT specialist, and Megan, a nurse, moved back in with their parents.

To help them address the rest of the debt, the "Real Money" team connected the Greenville, South Carolina, couple with Will Parker, another Greenville resident who climbed out of his own $20,000 debt in just nine months.

"I'm just a guy with a smartphone," he said. "Anybody can do it!"

Parker shared the following tips with the Sneeds to help them on their way to a debt-free Christmas.

1. Reach for your phone rather than your wallet. Track what you're spending on groceries, gifts and entertainment. Parker suggested using apps like Simple, WalletUp or Mint to see exactly where your money is going.
2. Eliminate late fees and higher interest rates . Average overdraft fees are at a record high of $32.74 so set notifications on your phone to warn you when you're getting close to your limits and deadlines. If you're late on a payment just once, some banks can hike their interest rates from the average 15 percent to 30 percent. If you make only the minimum payments, it would cost you an extra $18,586 in interest to pay off a $5,000 debt, according to Bankrate.
3. Be careful about where you get cash. ATM fees have risen 23 percent in the last five years to an average of $4.35 for out-of-network transactions, no matter how little cash you take out. Use locators on your phone to find the nearest "no-fee" ATMs in your area.

Parker said it was all about setting a budget and sticking to it.