Debt 101: Where to start

So, let’s talk debt.  My biggest pet peeve next to poor manners is debt.  I abhor debt because it means I have managed to manage my money poorly and someone else is going to make a profit from my poor decision making skills.  So, how do I eliminate this debt, how do I manage to make this debt go away in the quickest and easiest (LOL, I cannot believe I used easy because this is anything but easy) way possible to get out of this little predinky dink?  My hubby and I have read all the books, or at least he has and then has verbally regurgitated it all back to me, and we understand the procedures that Mr. Ramsay, Mr. Kiyosaki and many others have told us over and over.  I am great at debt stacking and if you are unsure of this reference it simply means:

“By taking into account the interest rate and amount of debt, debt stacking identifies a way for you to pay off your debts. You begin by making consistent payments on all of your debts. The debt that debt stacking suggests that you pay off first is called your target account.
When you pay off the target account, you roll the amount you were paying toward your next target account. As each debt is paid off, you continue this process. Debt stacking allows you to make the same total monthly payment each month toward all of your debt and works best when you do not accrue any new debts.  You continue this process until you have paid off all of your debts. When you finish paying off your debts, you can apply the amount you were paying towards your debt toward creating wealth and financial independence! ( http://www.primerica.com/public/debt-stacking.html)”

   The key is to not accrue any new debt.  Easier said than done so, the mind-set must be there and each person must identify the numero uno reason why they are in debt.  For me, I am an impulse buyer.  If I want it I buy it but instant gratification is not the way to go.  Make your list of needs, not wants before grocery shopping.  Keep a list on the fridge and check your coupons regularly.  The little things will eat you alive and your financial pocket will hemorrhage from those numerous little buys so, #1, write down every penny you spend, and this is not just the big purchases, I mean every penny you spend.  This will make you aware of where your money goes.  On a monthly basis, write down all of your bills.  Divide the monthlys into reoccurring such as rent/mortgage, water, PG&E, etc. then the bills that you are tackling to pay off.  With this pay-off, write down the monthly payment and also the payoff amount.  I am a visual person so I need to see where my financial enemy is and the best strategy to eliminate it.  Two books I recommend reading are, Dave Ramsay's, The Total Money Makeover, and Jean Chatzky's,  The Ten Commandments of Financial Happiness.  And the last thing, be diligent about being on time with payments, even if it is just the minimum.  Late fees will make your bank account and pocket hemorrhage even more and this includes balancing your checkbook so you have no overdraft fees.  Check out your bank to see if they have classes on balancing if your unsure of how to do this.  Your bank can be a great resource.

   So, this is my journey, our journey, the hubby and I.  We are going to commit ourselves to becoming debt free and this is no small or easy task but one well worth the journey, well worth exploring the path because in the end, we will free up money for our future and in the end, we are rewarding ourselves with a trip paid in full with cash, no credit.

Lets talk debt and and where the relief comes in.

I have not blogged in awhile.  Maybe because my journey to find out why I eat to self soothe has been a long drawn out journey.  Sometimes the reason we do things goes much deeper.  This year has been not just a hill to climb but a mountain conquest.  I started a new job almost one year go.   I love my job, my career and I love the possibilities it brings to my life, the incredible possibilities that lye before me.  Now it is my job to lay the groundwork and to learn and teach as I go.  This year we moved into a new home after raising our family for 20 years in the last one.  Our new home brings new memories to fill it with and we feel stronger in this home.
This year brought great loss in my life.  Sitting here now and fully grasping what has been lost is very overwhelming; one of my best friends, Rosanne, who if it were not for her in my life I would never have been on the road I have been on for the last 13 years.  She was an amazing friend and I called her sister.  I loved her very much and I miss her every single day.  I see her daughters and I know she is forever here.
  Just this past April, We lost my father-in-law.  My memories of him are constantly around me.  I see him in my husband and I hear his voice with every joke told by my children.  I miss his hugs and the way he would laugh when he told a joke.  What we learn when we endure tragedy and heartache is up to us.  I know that when I feel the need to tell someone what they mean to me, I tell them.  I tell them because no matter what, people are important.  The ones we care about should be told of their importance in our lives and so I have taken up this philosophy.  Be mindful of your words and and your actions.  They can hurt like a sword.  Forgive every chance you get.  Forgiveness is not for the other person, it's for ourselves.  Negativity eats at the soul and makes a person very bitter.

  With all of this said, I will blog about something I know how to do; get out of debt.  I will share our road with each of you.  This journey is not for the weak at heart, but for the strong minded and strong hearted and each day I pray for the four of us to do what needs to be done.  No eating out, no extra clothes or impulse buys, and no more wasteful spending; time to plug up the holes where money tends to leak out.  Debt can cripple families, destroy couples and defeat the strongest of individuals, so, Chris and I are starting off with a pledge to one another and to our family that we are getting out of debt and we are including our children in this process because we want them to be aware of the debt pits and to not stumble INTO them.  We are starting with credit cards.   We will share how we talk to the credit card companies, how to deal with them, debt stacking, how to travel on a shoe string budget and best of all how it feels when that final payment is paid.

  I hope you join us this little adventure.   It will be a bumpy ride filled with a lot of emotion but in the end you will want to ask yourself, "why didn't I do this sooner?"

  Stay tuned....