I don’t think a day passes without me dreaming about getting rid of all my crazy debt. I can’t believe I let our debt get so far out of control. My debt feels soul crushing. I know I’ve made progress since starting my debt reduction but every time I look at my total credit card debt, I can’t help but feel hopeless.
A few weeks ago I found some old credit card statements and old credit cards, still attached to the paper they came with. I guess I’ve been playing this losing credit card game for at least 13 years! To tell the truth, I don’t really remember doing that but I saw it in print and plastic so there’s no denying it.
Lately I’ve been wondering if getting out of debt is like dieting. They say loosing the weight is the easy part, maintaining the weight loss is the hard part.
What if becoming debt free is easy and staying debt free is the really hard part?
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Sharon 05.28.08 at 11:48 am
I had the same amount of debt that you have, and it is stressful to think about it. It doesn’t take long to accumulate that much. It seems forever for it to go down. We were “lucky” in that my husband received an unusually large bonus this year, and we were able to pay it all off in one full swoop. (Although we still have a HEL in the amount of $38000). So really our debt totalled $75000. Now that the cc’s and cars are paid off, it’s a struggle to stay that way. I find the pf blogs comforting AND it keeps me in line. I’m counting on my blogger friends to help me keep in line, and I’ll cheer you on all the way!! Keep going, you are doing great!!!
Maria 05.28.08 at 12:38 pm
Coming from someone who is still on this debt reduction journey, it doesnt seem easy, but I know when it’s over that I will have learned something and it will be worth it to never go into debt again.
Jim ~ mydebtblog.com 05.29.08 at 8:24 am
It’s easy to go into debt. Losing weight can also be easy too. The issue is being smart about what you’re doing after you have reached a point you want to be. Avoiding unnecessary spending and having an emergency fund prevents going back into debt. It would be stupid to do all the right things to lose weight and then go back to old habits and expect things to stay the same. I’ve paid off at least 10k so far and lost 30 pounds, why go back? When you can control what you eat it’s easier to control spending. You are a few months in and will most likely have things slow down your progress. The most important thing is to keep moving forward and don’t look back.
Anne Marie 05.30.08 at 12:04 am
Hi:
I just today found your blog and read through it and have a few questions:
1. How did you find yourself with so much debt? Where did the money go? Have you done a “networth IQ” to track your progress?
2. Is your husband aware of your financial situation? It seems to me that while he earns the money, you’ve taken on responsibility for money managment in your household. My thinking is you need to become active partners together - understand your current situation, outline a plan to fix the situation, then set goals for your financial future which includes college education for your ohildren and retirement for yourselves.
3. DO NOT CASH IN ANY RETIREMENT MONEY. It is sad to read that you’ve not been managing the “old 401(k)” account. I would advise you to roll the 401(k) over into a TRADITIONAL IRA and then invest it in a variety of growth stock funds. The second thing I would suggest you do is open up an IRA for you - even though you don’t work, the IRS rules allow for IRA contributions for non-working spouses. Your IRA should be a ROTH type, and again, go for agressive growth stock funds.
4. If you’ve not done so yet, you should sit down with a financial planner and discuss your current financial picture, your plan to improve it, and you priorities for the future.
Good luck.
Foxie 05.30.08 at 6:04 am
In today’s society, it really does take a lot of willpower to stay debt free. There’s always *something* that will throw you off track, whether old habits or a visit from Murphy. What counts is that you’re not one of the people who’s content to spend their life with debt and are working to get out, a lot more than what some do!!
Not only do you have the support of other bloggers, but by blogging you become an inspiration to others. Someday you’ll be able to look back on everything and realize that you’d never get to that point by not working towards it, even when it feels like it’s all for nothing.