Let’s Do This

I was pretty nervous to come out of the debt closet (as Kahea put it).  I suspected I wasn’t alone, but I worried that was just projection.  I also suspected that I wouldn’t regret admitting to my debt, but when I woke up Monday morning knowing that there was no going back into the closet, my stomach was in knots and I almost didn’t want to read the comments.

Of course my initial instincts were annoyingly accurate, which made all the fretting for not.  Even my best friend was beyond cool about it.  I am not the only one burdened with debt and I am certainly not the only one who understands what that feels like. Like most secrets, once it was out there, it didn’t seem like such a big deal.

One thing I did not expect was this general response of, “I’m in debt too.  It sucks.  Let’s do something about it.”  That was really moving to me.  I am already pretty crazy motivated right now, but the idea of doing this with other people took it to a new level.

I am still planning on blogging my personal story out of debt, but if anyone wants to use this as a place for accountability or venting or sharing ideas, I would love that.

This is already posted under the My Plan page, but I thought I would get into more specific detail about what I’m actually doing, since we’re probably all on different pages here.  A few people recommended Dave Ramsey to me.  I had actually already been listening to his podcast.  He’s the one who finally broke through my denial.  I have a few issues with Dave, but listening to him is super motivating.

So, here’s what I’m doing to get out of debt:

1. Working as much as possible. I’m saying yes to every work opportunity I have.  Knowing that I’m working toward a goal makes the long hours not so bad.
2. Cutting my expenses to the bare minimum. My bills are limited to rent, food, car insurance and gas, cell phone, and debt payments.
3. Restricting spending. This includes all non-necessary spending, like eating out and buying clothes and stuff.  As Dave Ramsey says, I’m working will gazelle intensity right now, so I am being super strict here, trying not to spend any extra money except for pretty rare occasions that I have budgeted for.  I might not always be so strict, but the motivation is high right now.
4. Budgeting every month. Right now I am planning out my finances all the time and not just at the first of the month. I want to keep my eye on my money and know where it’s going, budgeting for every dollar.  I’m the kind of person who thinks budgeting is fun, though.
5. Paying down debt using the Snow Ball method. This means that I have listed out all of my debts and am paying down the smallest first. This is another Dave Ramsey thing.  He advocates smallest to lowest (over, for instance, highest interest rate to lowest), because paying off your smaller debt quickly will motivate you to keep going.  It doesn’t win as far as numbers, but it works for getting people to follow through.  (It happens for me that the interest rates actually correspond so that the highest is on the card with my lowest balance).
6. Blogging to hold myself accountable. I don’t want to use this blog as just the place I confess when I’ve messed up and make goals to not mess up in the future.  There will be some of that, but I’m trying to work through some issues and also keep my motivation up.  Talking about it is a way to keep my head in the game and be reminded that I’m not alone.

I think getting out of debt is a lot like losing weight where everyone knows how to do it (make more than you spend), but it’s actually doing it over an extended period of time that’s a challenge.  There really aren’t any tricks, but you do what you need to do in order to keeping moving along, because the goal you’re working toward is worth it.

Related posts:

1. From Dave Ramsey