Debt Diet Update:
** no idea what I'm talking about?
Please refer to this post:
The Debt Diet
Might help jog the memory.
If not interested in personal wealth or living a pure debt-free life
this may not be the post for you.
Me?
Still working on that part.
Baby Step 1
$1000
emergency fund
Check.This is a good step 1.
Usually happens pretty fast.
Purpose of Step 1:
Having $1000 in an emergency fund will allow you to
STOP swiping your cc and start using using cash.
Check.
Remember,
emergency fund money is for just that,
an emergency.
Emergency Fund Hints:
Not for the purchase of much
needed piece of furniture on clearance
Not for family vacation
Not for Christmas presents
Think broken A/C in 100 degree heat
Ah.
You got the idea.
I know...
it's not easy.
We are striving toward debt-free,
remember?
Okay.
Next step
Step 2
Debt Snowball.
This one is a biggie
and may be a bit more painful
and take a bit longer than Step 1.
Step 2
means stamping out all
credit Card debt.
What?
Does that sound un-American to you?
Well, we are here to forge a new path.
Freedom, baby.
That's what we are going for, right?
FINANCIAL FITNESS
is our goal
Would love to hear your success stories,
or
stories that perhaps aren't so successful.
I'm here for you.
Believe me.
Have found this to be a subject of passion.
Feel free to dish...
I understand what you're going through. We're trying to curb our spending way back too. For the first time I have really started watching where the money goes and see all of the money we waste on ridiculous things. I am pumped to start saving, and paying off debt. Good luck with your goal!
ReplyDeleteThe worse thing ever is credit card debt. We try to pay them off but when I was late on a J. Crew card, the interest was over 20% plus a huge late fee. We have been trying to save too and it does feel like a diet! Ha! At least reading blogs are free :)
ReplyDeleteMary Ann
I didn't even notice we were neighbors :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, I love this post. I am absolutely obsessed with using mint.com to manage my money. If you don't have an account, you need one stat!!
~SW
I love/hate this subject! After years of having debt I'm finally debt free... You said you wanted a story. Well About 5 years ago I was fairly debt free and at a job I hated, A great job opportunity landed in my lap and I jumped on it- even though it was a HUGE pay cut. I loved this job and I had been told within a year I would get promoted and with that a raise, so I knew I would accrue a little debt but I figured once I started making more money I would be fine- YA RIGHT. Anyway to keep this sort of short about 2 years ago I hit an all time high on my credit card balance (plus in this time the promotion did come when it was promised, and I NEEDED clothes and some new decor, blah blah blah). When my furnace went out in the middle of the Utah winter and I didn't have the money to fix it HAD to go on my credit card, ugh. I finally decided that I had to get this fixed the balance was going up and not down. I sold my car and drove a '82 Chrysler LaBaron (Google it and find the most beat up, rusted and ugliest color and that will be this car!) at first I was only going to drive it for 4 months and I figured I would be able to get out of half of the debt, but when 4 months was up I was still so excited about all the debt I had paid off that I kept driving it! A few bumps and financial struggles occurred along the way but in just over a year all my debt was gone! I won't bother with the number cause it's embarrassing but what I accomplished was no small feat and just shortly before I had every thing paid off I met my husband and we started a long distance relationship, which wouldn't have been possible had I still been in debt up to my eyeballs. When we got married I was so glad that I had paid all that debt off and I didn't have to bring it in to my new life! I think good things come to those who work hard, good luck and keep at it! Hope you enjoyed my success story, haha.
ReplyDeleteGood advice to a newly married girl like myself! I loved the pictures too.
ReplyDeleteMr. Jones and I are currently working on this very thing. We have made big progress but we're not there. We've improved spending habits, saved money for emergencies and paid off a lot of debt. Nice to see those interest payments going down.
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