Should I Pay Off Debt Now Or Later?

This wasn't actually my planned post for this week, but money has been massively on my mind this week (as I crawl towards pay day) and it's actually the thing I wanted to spend today talking about. 

The truth is I'm in a real conundrum at the moment, and although I've spoken to some friends about it, I want to throw it open to discussion because I need a definitive: this is what you should do, type of answer. 

The Situation: I have approximately £2.5K left to pay off on my credit cards (which are currently 0% interest) which in itself is easy enough to do, and if I keep doing what I'm doing it will be paid of later this year, which is fine, but I've thrown myself a bit of a curve ball. I turn 29 in July and I have got it into my head that I want to be debt free by the time my birthday comes around. Now, I totally get that this is a self imposed deadline but it's one I feel will make me really proud of myself, so I want to try and do it. 

The Problem: I can afford to pay it off between now and my birthday, if I make some sacrifices along the way. Realistically it would mean I would be limiting my monthly spend (on all things social, clothing, grooming etc) to less than £150 per month, which really doesn't stretch as far as it should do these days. It also means that what I wanted to do this year, which was spend more time travelling or making experiences, would likely be put on hold until I pay it off. 



So, do I do it? If I try to pay it off my my birthday it will cost me approx £180 more than if I pay it off later in the year, but the sooner I pay it off, the more money I'll have come July and I could then save all my travelling to the second half of the year. 

I just really don't know what to do for the best. One of my friends suggested putting aside all the additional money I would need to pay off each month and then look to pay it off in one lump sum towards the end, which I actually think is a really great solution, but having it to hand could mean that I dip into it when I shouldn't really. 

It's going to be really tough. I am really torn between paying it off and then enjoying myself later, or affording myself the luxury of being able to do what I want, when the opportunity arises after all life is stressful enough without imposing even more limitations right?

So there you have it, that is my conundrum, to be broke but debt free in six months, or debt free later in the year but have the luxury of some spare cash? Any thoughts or advice on what I should do would be greatly appreciated!