Maybe it’s because he’s happy, maybe it’s because he’s eating healthy, or maybe it’s because he’s out to SPITE me, but he’s the most energetic dog I’ve ever owned.

Saturday, I went hiking and took him along to see if I could finally wear him out.

We hiked for HOURS.

Up hills, down hills, up steep mountain faces, jogging on trails, climbing through brush, he chugged along beside me. Naturally, I expected him to be exhausted and ready for a break…

But he wagged his tailless butt with fervor, suggesting no rest was necessary.

Drenched in sweat and resting my hands on my knees trying to catch my breath, I couldn’t help but compare him to my debt. I push, I fight, I struggle, but it pursues me with unending vigor. I feel like I can’t win.

My husband’s job loss and our recent setbacks have felt like an overwhelming stumbling block to our journey.

I pushed a while longer and ran a few more hills before going home. I took off his leash and tossed it on the counter. As I gulped a giant glass of water, I looked to see where my endless ball of energy went.

He was curled up on the couch fast asleep…and he didn’t wake up for a solid two hours.

I had two words for my energetic ball of fur…

I win.

Be stubborn with your debt fight today.

Eventually, we’ll win.

Hey buddy – its 60 degrees. Residents in other states call this a heat wave.

In this economy, it’s easy to complain about our ‘sad, sad’ lives as Americans but compared to the rest of the world, we’re pretty darn fortunate. I didn’t get shot at, my house hasn’t been bombed, a tsunami didn’t harm my family, I was able to eat today (though probably too much), and I can worship as I please.

Thank you anchorman. Thank you for reminding me that, even with no job and bills filling my mailbox, life ain’t all that bad.

Smile America… it’s 60 degrees.

I expected his benefits to expire but I did not expect the high cost to maintain his health insurance through COBRA. We’re looking at $250 a month for an active healthy guy who hasn’t been to the hospital for a medical reason since birth.

This expense isn’t an option for us. It’s either healthcare or our mortgage payment and since healthcare won’t keep us sheltered at night… it lost.

In light of this, I have restricted him from doing anything dangerous. He is officially banned from riding a dirt bike, surfing near sharks, standing on ladders, and clipping his toe nails. I have also encased him in bubble wrap and tied large sofa cushions to his stomach.

I think it will work.

Begin with an end in mind.

OK, so here’s the sad part, I don’t remember how exactly they applied that statement to management. BUT, that statement is HUGE for me personally.

Often times, I pick a task with no end. I want to get more fit or I want to eat a healthy diet or I want to live as a penny pincher and on and on and on. Here’s the problem: Unending goals like these will lead to burnout.

Head smackingly obvious right? Then why do I keep making these stupid never-ending goals?

I think that’s what I appreciated about the Dave Ramsey program and why it has worked for me. I was convinced to pay off one debt at a time. It’s a goal with an end followed by another goal with an end. I also think that’s why training for a marathon and a triathlon has kept me more motivated than working out without an end in mind. If I want to quit after I finish I can, but I have a feeling I’ll be signing up for another one as soon as I cross the finish line.

Rather than say, ‘I want to be debt free forever’, say ‘I want to pay off my car by next summer’.

Begin with an end in mind.

What is your end?

I don’t know how to swim.

I won’t drown, I’m simply limited to a doggie paddle and as it turns out, that won’t get me very far.

Even worse, I SHOULD know how to swim. My father set a state record in competitive swimming. As if that wasn’t bad enough, I married a competitive swimmer who also played water polo.

Unfortunately, I realized that three of the six weeks before the triathlon are blacked out for wedding events and will severely cut down on my preparedness – and I have yet to stick a toe in water. I turned my friend down but now I’m looking at the next one in March and… I think I can do it.

But that’s not the big part of the story.

I was listening to the radio last week and the announcer spoke of the success of the fundraiser to not only pay the travel expenses of the team… but for their families as well. In this economy, where everyone is scraping nickels and pennies, residents were able to pool together well over $100,000 to be a part of a life changing event for those young boys.

The city actually STOPPED accepting money because they had MORE than they needed.

Congratulations to the Chula Vista Little League team but more importantly…

Congratulations to those who made the dreams of those boys and their families come true.

We paid off our credit card last week.

We’re still working on my husband’s truck loan and the student loan but we promised ourselves little rewards for each payoff. It’s a good way to stay motivated when finishing a long stretch before starting yet another long stretch.

Surprisingly, my husband suggested a night out (surprising because I expected him to suggest something more along the lines of a macho flat screen TV or a beefy new grill). We purchased tickets to see Spamalot at the Civic Theater downtown. The tickets were $17 each (we sit in the nosebleed seats) and with dinner, we’ll likely spend a total of $100.

We get a one night break and it’s off to frugality again.

Then, he casually mentioned that the guests were old high school buddies and this was really important to him.

On the inside, our home is nice. On the outside… well, let’s just say we usually wait until the sun has set and our guests have had a glass or two (preferably three) of Chardonnay. We can’t afford landscaping so our yard is a grouping of well mowed weeds and raked dirt piles.

Before we went on this recovery from debt diet, we had planned to landscape our backyard and remodel our 50 year old kitchen. Take out another loan – it would have been so easy. But now, we’re living within our means and paying off debt. It will likely be another 5 years before we can pay cash.

It’s hard to deal with the pressures of keeping up with our peers. It’s hard to not feel a little embarrassed at our less than presentable yard (though to be fair, his friends had nothing but nice things to say).

Sometimes it’s hard not to feel frustrated but…

It’s not hard to feel relief from the lifting debt. Seeing we’re only about a year away from being debt free is like breathing again.

We don’t see each other often. Perhaps that’s why our marriage is so great. We don’t have time to fight – heck we’re just so darn excited to see one another we don’t really… um… talk much.

He took a rare three nights off last week and we went running and cycling together every day. We made dinner. We walked the dogs. We watched movies. We remembered what it was like to be married.

I couldn’t help but think about how wonderful it was to have him around – to see him relax, even for just a night or two. He must have been thinking the same thing. He said, ‘I want to work less and live my life more.’ He has decided to work 6 days per week and 2 nights per week – and yes, that’s a cut-back (he was working 6 days and 6 nights).

I can’t agree with him more. As he toils to pay our debt, I can’t help but wonder if our self-inflicted punishment of hard labor is worse than the crime of spending. I wonder if one day, we’ll look back and regret the time we missed when our life was just us. We can cover our bills plus some without the extra work so we’ve decided to slow down.

So… we will pay things off more slowly BUT I have my husband back – and I’ve missed him dearly.

A little back story, the rapist she ran after has been terrorizing San Diego women for a while. She was far from his first victim – but she has become his last. He later killed himself in his prison cell.

My favorite quote was from her husband, “That’s the kind of woman she is, very strong — doesn’t back down.”

When it comes to our goals… may we always be very strong – never backing down.

Woman didn’t hesitate to run after attacker
By Brooke Williams
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
2:00 a.m. July 4, 2009
MISSION VALLEY — The woman who survived a suspected rapist’s attack at knifepoint in her garage on Wednesday said she didn’t hesitate for a second to run after him.

Christina Hennigan, 33, was doing laundry in the garage of her Mission Valley home when a man identified as Thomas James Parker, 39, grabbed her from behind, wrapping his arms around her so she couldn’t move. Parker, who was later arrested, hanged himself in his jail cell yesterday.

Hennigan said her attacker put a kitchen knife to her neck, the blade almost touching her skin. On his hands were black gloves with rubber grips.

“Lie down with your arms behind your back and don’t say a word,” Hennigan recalled the man saying.
So she did. Then he closed the garage door, leaving them in the dark.

As Hennigan lay with her face on the concrete floor and her hands behind her back, she heard him fumbling with a bag of supplies.

“It really freaked me out when the garage door closed and he started breaking out the zip ties,” she said.
The second stall in her garage was empty, and Hennigan told the man her husband would be home any second. He slammed her head against the floor.

Hennigan started screaming and tried to hit the garage door button on the wall but missed.
Then to Hennigan’s surprise, the man hit the garage door button, allowing light to fill the garage and took off running.

“I think he got spooked,” Hennigan said.

Hennigan said she didn’t have a second thought about chasing him. As a marathon runner, she knew she could keep up with him.

“I knew that I was probably going to be near him,” she said. “I kind of figured this guy wasn’t that fit — he didn’t look like a runner.”

She was right. But when she caught up to him, he turned around and hit her in the face. That was the first time she saw his face.

Hennigan, who was barefoot, kept running. She was determined to get identifying information. At one point, her attacker darted across Friars Road, narrowly missing being hit by cars.

On the other side of the street, an off-duty Border Patrol agent saw the chase and parked his car in the turn lane. He hopped out with his gun and handcuffs and chased Parker, eventually arresting him.

Meanwhile, Hennigan’s 29-year-old husband, Matt, a pre-med student at the University of California San Diego, was shocked to hear a voice mail from police asking him to come home quickly.

When he learned about how his wife chased the assailant, Matt Hennigan said, he was amazed but not surprised.

“That’s the kind of woman she is,” he said. “Very strong — doesn’t back down.”

Christina Hennigan said she went running the next morning but didn’t wear headphones like she usually does.
“I am already changing the things that I do,” she said. “When I drive home, I keep the car running until the garage door closes behind me, and I’m more cognizant of my surroundings.”

Hennigan said the incident will stick with her, but she won’t let it hold her back. That’s one reason she went running the next day.

“It was to prove to myself that I can do this. I can begin my life again, too.”

Union-Tribune

Look this article up at: http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jul/04/woman-didnt-hesitate-run-after-attacker/

I excited he has made it this far. It’s good for him to know his value – even in a bad economy. If his journey ends here, he can feel good knowing he’s in that top 5% – and the only reason he’s here is because he’s incredibly hard working and dedicated to learning.

The debt we have been carrying has made us feel like failures. It has affected our self confidence and made us believe we are incapable of doing anything. Digging our way out has helped to make us feel like we are more than just a number.

It’s nice to feel valued.

I am very disappointed.

This event led to the following changes:

1. More involvement by both of us. Often in relationships, one person manages the finances. When things don’t go well and money is too tight, this person feels the stress, the pressure, and the responsibility for the mess. We have both decided to dedicate and hour each week to review each transaction. Now we have more checks and balances on each others spending – otherwise, we’ll have another bad month.

2. We are refocusing our goals and setting rewards. Our next payoff is still a ways away and we’re getting frustrated and bored. We decided to give ourselves something to look forward to after our next payoff. It’s nothing huge, maybe a dinner out or a trip to the theater, but rewards between payoffs has become something we need to stay motivated.

3. Reconsidering our numbers. We went back to make sure our numbers were working for our ever changing budget. We’ve been underspending on gas and overspending on miscellaneous necessities (car repairs, house repairs, etc.). We decided to adjust our numbers and perhaps pay a little less on our credit card so we can stop panicking when things aren’t balancing. Leaving the numbers the same would be great, but it’s obviously not working and it’s causing frustration.

4. We have decided to spread our focus. It’s easy to let finances consume our thoughts and lives. Rather than let this stress grow, we decided to let ourselves enjoy other things in life. Running, swimming, yoga, gardening groups, and organizing the garage help to keep our mind free of the finance clutter in our brains.

When there are long distances between payoffs, it’s important to work at what is frustrating you. You can’t solve everything, and it will be painful, but taking steps to at least reduce stress will help to prevent burnout. I’d rather take things a bit more slowly than give up entirely.

What have you done to motivate yourself and prevent burnout?

10 years later…

I do not feel graceful, powerful, excited, or focused.

I ran for 45 minutes this morning and looked more like a stumbling 3 legged dog than a sophisticated runner. But then again, that’s how I felt when drafting our first budget. I’m always a little awkward at first.

Still running, still budgeting, still pushing.

I also told myself I’d never get out of debt.

As I watch my debt amount fall, I’ve become more confident in my ability to do my list of impossibilities. I see that I am capable of doing more than I ever thought achievable. Suddenly, a marathon looks like something that is hard… but something I can do.

I told my husband I was planning to start running and the marathon I chose to run to next year (one of the most grueling marathons in San Diego) and he said, ‘Are you sure?’

And I am.

I have just shy of one year to prepare for my 26 mile ‘impossibility’. I guess it’s time to say goodbye to my jelly donut and rolled taco diet and say hello to my tennis shoes.

Isn’t it time you stretched yourself in more than your finances? And is paying off debt giving anyone else the ‘I can do anything’ thoughts?

I’ve been debt free before.

There was a moment, for about 3 days, in college when I had no debt. My car was paid off, my credit card had no balance, and I didn’t have a mortgage.

Then, I came close again after we closed on our house. We had been saving for a year and the money returned to us from escrow was used to pay off my husband’s credit line.

That credit card debt freedom lasted a few weeks before we decided to remodel our master bathroom and take a trip to Hawaii.

My finances are like a yo-yo diet. Sure I’d love to eat healthy all the time but rolled tacos with Mexican guacamole? I can’t resist.

Just like weight loss, a diet is silly. The only real option for permanent results is a lifestyle change. Staying thin requires eating less than or equal to what you need – staying financially healthy means spending less than you make. Sure it looks easy on paper, but only those who have suffered through it (and continue to suffer through it daily) know how hard the struggle can be.

This is the longest I’ve been on a financial diet – and I know I’ve got what it takes to keep the ‘weight’ off.

Yeah, the change is lame – but the results… those are what I’m grinning at each month when the credit card statement arrives.

One day… it will say…

$0

Which is harder for you: Losing weight? or losing debt?

I hate our couches and I think they are ugly.

This week, my husband did what good husbands do – he attempted to solve my dilemma of ‘seating space’. He came home with a behemoth of a recliner and said, ‘Look honey! More seats!! Can you believe someone was going to throw this away?!’

I bit my tongue before a ‘Yes’ slipped out. Instead, I said ‘Wow hon, it’s… wow.’

‘And they have TWO! I’m picking the other one up tomorrow. How awesome is that?! Seats!!’

He happily jumped in the chair and reclined, a big grin spreading across his face.

How could I be mad or ungrateful? He solved my ‘seating dilemma’. Sure I have an ugly blue giant in my living room (err… soon to be two), but I’ve learned to take his efforts for what they are. That ugly chair is a monument to the fact that my husband listens to me and he’s doing his best to make my life easier… without spending a dime.

I’m going to stop whining about the sofas for a while. Who cares about sofas when I have a man like that?

But I guess that’s part of a journey.  It can’t be all fun right?

I worked a tough job for a ‘big box store’ to pay the bills while applying for any decent job available. I finally landed a great job in December. 

I’ve struggled with unexpected expenses – like a monthly $150 property tax hike and a 1% sales tax hike…

I’ve made lifestyle changes – the biggest one is my use of public transportation…

I’ve struggled with monotony…

And I paid off my car.

Here is where I am on my debt journey.  Somehow, we’ve squeezed $10,000 toward our debt – $30,000 to go.  Sure I’d like it to be more, but $10,000 isn’t a bad number.

I can’t wait to finish this journey and finally become…

DEBT FREE!!

I smiled and said, “The machine isn’t reliable. I am, so they send me out here.”

One of the men looked down at my dirty hands and scuffed tennis shoes and said, “That’s when I’d tell the boss to take his job and shove it. I’d never push shopping carts for a living.”

The other man laughed and said, “Oh geez, no!”

They pushed their cart toward me and left. I stacked ten carts in a line and began to push them to the cart corral. As the tears started to trickle down my face, I couldn’t help but think that those words were probably something I would have said before I lost my job. I have a university degree with high honors and over a decade of management experience. I would have never seen myself at this point either.

I stopped, leaned my head on the cart handle (I know – germs – but I was distraught), and thought, ‘I have two options. I can either quit and go home OR I can bust my butt and get a paycheck – tiny or otherwise.’

I wish I could say it was an easy decision – but I had my head on that darn handle for at least 5 minutes.

I finally wiped my face and got back to work.

If this is what it takes to pay my bills, THIS is what it takes.

Our successes and failures are based on our attitudes. We can give up and fail… or we can decide that enough is enough and bear down for a fight.

I’m ready to fight.

Are you with me?

I’m not 27 as stated in my first post…

I’m 28.

I don’t lie about my age because I want people to think I’m younger. I lie about my age because I can’t remember how old I am. I honestly forgot I was 28.

Isn’t this supposed to happen MUCH later in life?

Why does this come up? My co-workers talk about my age a lot. They all assume I’m 21 or 22 and they act shocked when I break the news that I’m 27… er… 28. I guess the assumption is natural. I work for slightly above minimum wage and I’m surrounded by 18 year olds.

It could also be because, thanks to the greasy hot dog burner, I’m breaking out like a pubescent teenager.

Is it just me or does everyone feel 21 regardless of the emerging fine wrinkles and stray gray hairs?

It’s this mentality that continues to make me struggle financially. It’s OK to make stupid financial mistakes in your early 20’s. It’s not OK to continue those mistakes for the next 8 years. I guess I’ve always felt young so I always assumed that I’d live forever – and conveniently, that’s how long it would take to pay off my debts… including those club cover charges… from my freshman year in college.

But the reality is, if I want to retire before say… 2078, I need to take care of my responsibilities. I need a sense of urgency.

My financial class gives me that sense once a week but I find it wears away after a few days. By the following Tuesday I’m debating the necessity of Enya’s greatest hits or a discount cashmere sweater (fortunately I decided those were both non-necessities… for now anyway…).

Any ideas on how to keep that urgency? Other than someone poking me with a stiff cattle prod whenever I pull out my debit card?

How do you stay motivated?

So this week, I’d like to share with you a story that you may or may not have heard about. It’s one of those stories where it makes you feel so good. Why? Because there is a humble person with a wonderful talent who now can share his talent with the whole world.

This man is none other than Paul Potts. He was salesman at Carphone Warehouse who surprised Simon Cowell and the rest of the judges on the Britain’s Got Talent show.

Here’s a link to the YouTube video of his first appearance: Paul Potts Sings Nessun Dorma

Here’s a link to his next appearance: Paul Potts Sings Time to Say Goodbye

I used to say that I love all types of music except for opera. I listen to country, heavy metal, new age, rap, etc. For some reason, though, I’ve never cared for opera music. But Paul here with his beautiful voice sends chills up my spine and down my arms. He has a wonderful gift and I am so grateful this opportunity came his way so that he could share it with us all.

Since this is a debt blog, there’s also a debt story here as well. Paul had some medical problems in his life when he was struck again with another blow. He cracked his collar bone when he was hit by a car while cycling. He couldn’t work, and his debt grew to £30,000 (about $61,000 USD). All the while, he never fully gave up on his dream of singing and auditioned a few years later for Britain’s Got Talent [via Paul Potts Fan Site]

Here’s another interesting tidbit about Paul. Even though he’s fairly popular right now and just came out with a CD, he’s still technically an employee of Carphone Warehouse. As shown in this nice piece about Paul’s story, he is on a six-month leave from his job. He hopes he sells enough albums so he doesn’t have to go back, but it’s there if he needs it.

Anyways, I felt like sharing. Paul’s story and his voice make me feel good and hopeful all around.

Why did it take so long to decide that it was time to pay off our debt? Why did we insist on not tackling our debt and keep on charging things? Why did we just live with our debt? What was stopping us from deciding that today was the day and we didn’t want any more debt?

So many questions, and I think for us the answer revolved around a certain theme…

We thought greener grass was around the corner. In our minds, we were spending more than we made because we thought we would make more money later to pay it off. Live life now…pay later. After all, that’s what most of the credit card companies tell you. We deserved to have a nice camera. We deserved to have a nice computer. Who needs to save up money for purchases like that? We had a nice shiny credit card with available credit. Sure, there’s something called finance charges we’d have to deal with. But they can’t be that bad…right? WRONG!

Looking back, we didn’t need greener grass around the corner. We could have started working to pay off our debt when we were making less money. Even if we were only paying $20 extra a month. We could have been hitting the debt as hard as we could with what we had. I know by looking at our monthly numbers that we could have made it work.

If I had done this exercise some time ago, we could have been debt free right now. So, if you are in debt and haven’t started a debt reduction plan, try going through the questions above. Perhaps it can help you.

So, I asked what you would wish for trying to get a little perspective on things. I found your replies very interesting and here are a few (to read them all, click here).

Sandy wished for “Good health and happiness for my children” and that was echoed by Bianca.

Kristina wished “To end all forms of violence worldwide, including sexual assault and rape, domestic violence, trafficking of women, war, starving, and all other violence.”

Kim wished “To be satisfied with the present, excited about the future and reconciled with the past.”

D wished for “Peace in my home, family and world. The rest will work out then.”

Boomie wished “…that more people would concentrate on their blessings and what they DO have, rather on what they DON’T have. It makes all the difference.”

Thank you to everyone that replied. Your wishes helped a lot and I think all of us can learn something from it because if you are human you are bound to have bad days like I had yesterday. The key is to not let them get you down for too long and a way to do that is to regain the perspective on your life.

Personally, I like reading things that make me think and that’s what your answers did. It made me think of what I value and want I want out of my life. It also set me in my place and indeed realize that my problems are very minor compared to others. It also made me realize that all the while during my rough day, I was thinking on the negatives instead of thinking of the positives. I was making matters worse!

Right now, I am feeling very fortunate for what I do have. Sure I have a lot of debt and sure I am smack dab in pretty stressful situations at the moment. But I have a whole lot more.

Meet Bryan Gaynor

For some inspiration that is debt reduction related, here’s a blogger who paid off a $20,000 student loan in 2 years

I hope you enjoy!

Mae Laborde via Yahoo.com.

There’s much to be said about life and what you can do with it. Since this is a personal finance blog, I’ll highlight a tidbit related to finance I found in the article:

“A Girl Scout leader for her daughter’s troop, she has kept in touch with most of her daughter’s friends. Now in their 70s, they’ll ask her for secrets to living a long life. She’ll tell them to never retire.

When she was 89 Laborde took a police training course just for fun, and she still cooks for herself, paints and raises tomatoes in her garden that she sells to a local restaurant.”

A police training course when she was 89? She’s amazing.

I’m still smiling…what more can I say?

Anyways, I was feeling ho-hum yesterday. I still had my green sheet of construction paper at my desk as I worked and still jotted down ideas that came to me. There were no major developments, but at least the idea was still there. It didn’t go away and I’m not so sure it will.

Maybe I need something to help nudge me on. Something that tells me that, “Tricia…you are meant to bring this idea to life.”

Well, I received something. Actually, I received two things.

The first thing was a book that I received to read and review (and then give away on here ). The book is about attracting the job you want. In itself, the book doesn’t fit my idea and I already have a great job and I’m very happy with it. It was a quote in the beginning of the book that struck me:

“The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them” – Albert Einstein

I have been less than optimistic lately. I’ve found myself writing about the horrible stories of credit cards. While I think it’s good to discuss those things, I seemed to be writing about them a lot. Where did my optimism go? Yes, I have had some difficult times lately, but I know I need that positive outlook to make things happen. I need that back. I want it back.

The second thing was a resource that I will need to bring my idea to life. Talk about timing! And it wasn’t even something that you can order and it’s not something you think of arriving at your doorstep at a certain time.

Two nudges in one day. I can’t ignore them. It’s time to get my game face back on, kick some debt booty and get my idea going. I still need time, but I have a feeling if I work hard and work efficiently the time might be there.

Correct that…it will be there!

There are the sources of motivation that started me on this journey…

Back in April of last year, I sat down and wrote a list of 10 things that keep me motivated to become debt-free. I still do all of those, but as the days are turning into years I am finding that I zero in on certain ones.

Like the sources of motivation that are always there…

My son. My husband. My mom and dad.

Those four people are more than my family, they are the reason that I can do things when I set my mind to them. They are my inspiration for so many things in my life. Whether it’s trying to be a good person or paying off our debt – they are right there with me with unconditional love. They make me want to succeed.

Then there are the stories of others…

Whether it’s stories from other bloggers who are now debt-free or those who are working towards it. I look to their stories for inspiration.

Then there are quotes…

I love quotes and one of my favorites is this one here. It’s amazing what the written word can inspire you to do.

Then there are times where I look everywhere for some motivation…

I look at things differently now. Every movie or show I watch or story I read I look for inspiration. Like how a horse is inspiring me to reduce our debt or how a chipmunk is being frugal.

Last, but definitely not least, I have this blog…

This blog has played a major role in our debt reduction. Writing about our finanical situation daily keeps me focused and the comments of others help to keep me motivated. I do want to see the day I can come on here and write in huge bold all cap letters that I am credit card debt-free. I want to go outside and shout it. I want to hug a stranger on the street and tell them I am credit card debt-free. Okay, maybe I won’t hug a stranger, but it will be a very happy day.

Now that I’ve shared where I get my motivation…what about you? Would you like to share?

The past 11 months have flown by, and I thought it would be neat to highlight some posts to recap the year.

Almost $37,000 in Credit Card Debt – the scary truth when I added our credit card balances together in February.

I Can Be Debt-Free – I let everyone in on a phrase that I say to keep positive.

Calling Credit Cards to Reduce Your Rate – My first attempt at calling my credit card to lower the interest rate failed.

I Transferred the Wrong Balance – My first big boo-boo with shuffling my debt around to lower interest rates.

Finance Charges Paid in March – $417.49 – When I added up how much it was costing me a month to have my credit cards, the total wasn’t pretty.

Here it Goes, Here’s How Much We Make – Back in April, I projected that we would make $40,000 in 2006. Now that I have the numbers in for December, I can tell you that our income is just shy of $47,000 this year.

Maybe I Shouldn’t Have Been So Agressive – I became so focused on paying off debt that I didn’t leave an adequate buffer in my checking account.

Should I Save Up An Emergency Fund? – Probably the topic that stirs up emotion in a lot of personal finance bloggers. For me, I am choosing to forgo the emergency fund and pay off debt first.

Betray Me and I Get Bitter – One of my cards raised the rate on me for no reason. That wasn’t nice.

27 Years, 8 Months…Sounds Like a Prison Term – I ran a calculator and found out how long it would take me to pay off our debt by only paying the minimum payments. Eek!

Big Announcement – The Goal Date is Set – May of 2009 is still my official goal date to have our debt paid off. I’ve toyed with moving it to Christmas of 2008, but I haven’t officially done it.

Eight Ideas to Make a Few Extra Bucks – Making more money can mean more money that can go towards your debt. Here’s a few ideas.

Could Prosper Help Someone Like Me – My first thoughts about Prosper.com (who I did receive a loan from later in my journey).

Money, Marriage and Compromising – My husband and I sometimes butt heads because I am pretty agressive with paying off our debt.

Calling Them Finally Worked – Yes! Success at reducing our credit card interest rate by calling!

It Was Hard to Do But We Made a Fun Purchase – There is a balance to be found with spending money and paying off debt.

Introducing Credit Card #7 – I was lured by a balance transfer offer and added another credit card to the family.

Thank You Prosper Lenders – I officially received a loan from Propser.com. Now, all of my credit card interest rates have been reduced.

What a Beautiful Picture – The credit card with the highest balance (and was the one that raised their rate on me for no reason) was now paid off with balance transfers. It felt very good.

A Quick Post – I Got My Raise – I received a 7% raise at work

I Wish Those LCD HDTVs Would Quit Calling My Name – Whenever I go to the store, I still look at the LCD HDTVs. They are still tempting…I am still resisting.

Total Credit Card Debt – Under $30,000 – We reached a big debt milestone in July.

I Can’t Believe It – They Raised My Interest Rate – After calling and successfully reducing my interest rate, my credit card raised it.

Ways I Save Money – My Husband and I Work Opposite Shifts – It’s not the easiest thing for a marriage, but working opposite shifts is working for us so far and saving us money.

The 10 Things We Did to Erase Almost $9000 in Credit Card Debt in Less than 6 Months – I sat down and wrote down everything we were doing to pay off our debt.

Welcome New Visitors – I was given the pleasure of speaking with Scott Burns of the Dallas Morning News and he interviewed me for an article.

Money and Marriage – Tightening of the Financial Belt to Fight Debt – As with many things in life, you have to seek a balance if you and your spouse do not see eye to eye in regards to your finances.

It’s Official – My Car is Now a Pure Asset, Baby! – I don’t talk about our non-credit card debt much, but paying off our car was a wonderful event.

My Ever Confusing FICO Score – This was back in September and my FICO score still confuses me LOL.

The Ways I Make Money With My Blog – My blog is making around a few hundred dollars a month now. If you are blogger and are interested in seeing what programs I use, this is a post for you.

Running the Numbers – What Sending Even More Money to Debt Can Do – I could be debt-free in November of 2007 if we paid $2,000 a month towards our debt. That is very unlikely, but neat to think about if we could increase our total income.

Tricia…Read the Darn Credit Card Statements – I made another boo-boo here and wasn’t paying attention to my statements.

Did You Hear That – It Was My Jaw Hitting the Floor – Make sure you read those “Change of Terms” notices that you get from your credit cards.

Am I Close to the Point Where I Just Need to Earn More – There is more that we could cut in terms of spending, but it would diminish our quality of life. The other solution is to earn more.

Do We Still Use Credit Cards – I believe that credit cards can be used for “good” and we still use our cards if we can turn around and pay it right off.

Thank You for Listening to My Problems – What can I say? I have awesome readers

I Finally Did It – I Gave My Notice to One of My Jobs – It wasn’t easy (and I’m still not “done” working this job yet because I have a few things to wrap up mid-January), but it was time to let go of one of my part-time jobs.

A Very Special Interview with My 4 Year-old Son – A short interview on my son’s thoughts about money. I loved his answers.

Why I’ve Been Quiet Lately – Another one of the times where I was feeling down during this journey.

Debt Does Drive Me Crazy Sometimes – The title on this one says it all.

When You Make More Money You Spend More Money – It’s tough. When you make more money, you spend more money on things that one may consider necessities. Before, when you were making less money getting those “necessities” wasn’t even an option.

Woo Hoo – We Officially Have Health Insurance – After 5 years without – we finally have health insurance again.

My Heart Broke Yesterday – I couldn’t go to an event at my son’s school because I had to work. It’s tough trying to juggle family and work, especially when I am working hard to pay off our debt.

Credit Card Debt – Under $25,000 – Another big milestone is reached in mid-December.

And, that’s a recap of 2006. It was fun going through all of my archives. I sure wrote a lot!

Here’s to 2007!

If someone asked me last year how much debt we could pay off in 2006, I would have politely laughed and said, “Yeah, right.” That was my attitude back then. I didn’t think we had it in us to increase our income and buckle down on our spending. But, we did have it in us…it just took us a while to find it.

Thinking back, probably the hardest part was making the decision that we had enough of being in debt and it was time to do something about it. It’s not all that different from someone who decides to lose weight or someone that wants to quit an addiction. There comes that point where you just decide that things are going to change.

Once that hurdle is overcome, then it’s a matter of planning and putting that plan into action. For us, it was a matter of trying to make extra money where we could and then sending as much money as possible towards our debt. Seems easy enough when you think of it that way. But you need motivation to keep going.

Lack of motivation is one of the biggest saboteurs of a good plan. Even the best plan can fail if the motivation behind it is lacking. Where did we get motivation from? Everywhere we could find it! Movies, other bloggers, quotes and my own feelings…you get the idea.

There are days where I am clearly not motivated to reduce debt and I even get the urge to go on a shopping spree. I am human, and a nice LCD TV still makes my head turn. But I am learning to live with those urges and making sure that I do not act upon them. The amount of information that I have learned since starting my journey is amazing. I’ve learned things about myself and about personal finance.

Now, if you ask me how much of our debt we could pay off in 2007, I will look you straight in the eye and tell you we will pay at least $12,000 more. No laughing this time, just a realistic answer from someone who is motivated to make it happen

Would you say that we were lucky?

Luck is a term used often, but sometimes I think there is no such thing as luck. Yes, there is something to be said about being in the right place at the right time. I think that can have a lot to do with what happens in our life. Then the question becomes, “Why were you in the right place at the right time?”

I believe it all has to do with one word – attitude. A positive attitude can do so much. Not only do you generally feel happier, your eyes are wide open to be able to see something that can make things happen…opportunities! For most of us, life is an upward battle and opportunities can take us to the next level.

Without a positive attitude, your head might be held low and opportunities can pass you by. When I was out of work and searching for employment, our credit cards were only a few hundred dollars away from being maxed out. I briefly lapsed into a depression because I didn’t know what to do because we were running out of borrowed money to live on.

During the time I was depressed, I wasn’t looking for work. Opportunities were passing me by and all I could do is basically feel sorry for our situation. I did snap out of it and I knew that if things were going to happen for us – I had to make it happen. I had to hold my head up high and believe in myself. Believe in my love for my family. Believe in my desire and power to make our life better.

I don’t think luck had anything to do with what happened in our situation. I believe it all had to do with a positive attitude and believing in ourselves. That’s something that we all have the ability to do and we all have the ability to be in the right place at the right time and make things happen.

Living in the projects of Chicago, he began contributing financially to his household at the age of 6. He took something that was essentially free to him (rocks on the street), painted them and with hard work and determination went door to door to sell them.

His story definitely didn’t stop there. He kept going and through other ventures he earned his first million at 14.

Stories like Farrah’s remind me of something that I keep in mind whenever life throws us a curveball….

Adversity Brings Innovation

If you are truly comfortable with your life, what is the motivation to think outside the box and improve things? I believe there needs to be some element of adversity to make things happen…to seek out improvement…to make a difference in your life.

That little boy is now 21 years old and while he won’t mention his net worth I am sure he is very comfortable financially. He took the conditions he grew up in and did something with his life. He faced his adversity head on.

“My story, though unique, is not unlike others who began with nothing more than a dream fueled by sheer determination. I believe my story will remind you of the kid in all of us who know no limits and believes anything – and everything – is possible.” – Farrah Gray

What a wonderful source of inspiration.

I stopped by her blog today, and I am happy to report that she has paid off her debt!!. I am so happy for her and I am so glad she has shared her story with us.

If you have a moment, stop by and give congrats. She started off with almost $20,000 in debt on 5/14/05 and it is now gone!

I wish her all the best with the new, debt-free chapter of her life and I wish her the best with her move to Thailand (which she will be blogging about).

Again…congrats!! You set your mind to it and did it!!!

- Phil Keoghan, No Opportunity Wasted

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.”

- Helen Keller

“It doesn’t make any difference whether what you face is something that affects your work, your personal relationships, your sense of security, your appraisal of self-worth, or your appearance–the way you think about your situation largely determines whether you will do anything about it and what you will do.”

- Dr. Arthur Freeman

If you haven’t already, take a peek at Debtspiration. As the name implies, it is full of quotes that provide inspiration for reducing debt. As a “get out of debt” blogger, I found the about page inspirational as well.

I hope you will enjoy the site like I do.

Even though I have realized things that I need to work on with myself (like a possible tendency to overspend and I need to learn to dream bigger), I have realized that I share some traits with millionaires:

1.) I spend great care keeping track of my finances. Most millionaires interviewed for the book can tell you what they spent on certain expenses at a certain time. I can do that too, thanks to being real picky with Quicken and keeping track of everything (including cash). I am a big believer in keeping track of where your money goes.

2.) When it comes to vehicles, most of the millionaires in the book lean towards practical purchases versus “glitsy” ones. An example given is how can you go fishing with a Rolls Royce and throw a fish in the back seat? My thoughts exactly! Just give me a ‘ole pick-up truck that runs and I am happy

The more and more I read this book, the more I wish I had an opportunity to chit-chat with some of the millionaires they talked to. I think they are the type of people I wouldn’t mind going fishing with. Before I read this book – I didn’t have that viewpoint. The stereotype of a millionaire I had in my mind is being broken down.

I was fortunate enough to catch the movie “Seabiscuit” on ABC last night. I have previously watched this movie and enjoyed it – but now since I have the goal of becoming debt-free it holds even more meaning for me.

In a nutshell, the movie is about a horse named Seabiscuit that no one imagined could be a race horse. With work and determination (in regards to the horse and everyone involved with the horse) he was soon winning races. This non-traditional race horse also had a non-traditional jockey named Johnny “Red” Pollard played beautifully by Tobey Maguire.

I don’t want to give the whole story away, but I want to mention one thing that Red said to another jockey when discussing Seabiscuit. It’s something that hit close to home with me with my goal of debt-reduction. Unfortunately, I didn’t write it down, so this is not word for word. But, the meaning is there.

Red told another jockey that Seabiscuit knows what he wants and he wants to achieve it when it comes to winning a race. He has the heart (motioning his hand to his chest) to make it happen.

Even though Seabiscuit is a horse and his goal is to win a race, his experience can easily relate to the goal of becoming debt-free:

Do you have the heart to make it happen to become debt-free? Do you have the desire to achieve your goal? Are you willing to do what it takes to defy the odds to make your goal of reducing your debt happen?

My answer – YES!!!

If you cannot answer those questions with a resounding “YES” then I suggest renting Seabiscuit when you get the chance. I think the motivation obtained from this movie is well worth the few dollars it takes to rent it (it’s an older release).

Always look around for sources of inspiration even in odd places. When you find them – hold them close to your heart and remember them. Make your goal happen

Post included in the Carnival of Debt Reduction #34 at Frugal for Life.

Come on over and check it out. Some are fighting debt, others are keeping track of their savings and a few are even tracking their progress with losing weight (as Mighty Bargain Hunter pointed out – losing debt is a lot like losing weight).

A thanks to everyone at the NCN Network for welcoming me over there

Oh my….

That means I would be 56 years old before my credit cards are paid off!!!

Going further with that scenario, I will pay $26,024.44 in interest if I only pay the minimum.

That’s not funny, it’s pretty darn serious. And it is adding more fuel to the fire to become debt-free!

Need some motivation? Get your credit card balances, interest rates and minimum payments ready and use the calculator at CNNMoney.com Debt Planner.

Tags: debt+reduction, debt, credit+card

I’ve improved since earlier, but I will take things easy and just share a quote on determination today. I hope you enjoy, and I hope I am back to my regular self tomorrow

“It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.”

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Tags: determination+quote, quote

But how can you keep motivated?

Some people are more naturally motivated than others. If you are they type of person that is having troubles getting yourself in the right frame of mind to become debt-free, here are some ways I have found help keep the motivation strong.

1.) Start a Blog! Having your financial situation out there for all to see has created a sense of accountability for me, even though it is anonymous. The last thing I want to do is to write how I spent my tax return on a huge HDTV that we really didn’t need (although, I admit – it is sooooo tempting). There are also comments that others leave that can make you feel like a million dollars, like one I received on this post.

2.) Read Personal Stories About Others Fighting Debt. Not only can you pick up some great tips that may work for you, you will also be able to follow someone’s story and share in the good times as well as the bad times. A great place to find personal finance blogs to read is pfblogs.org.

3.) Read and/or Join Message Boards. There are some great message boards out there for reducing your debt. Not only will you find some great information, message boards can be a place to “sound-off” when things are getting rough. There are many people in the world, and finding someone in a similar situation can help wonders if you stick together.

4.) Keeping Track of Your Debt Balances. There’s a big difference in knowing you have debt versus being actually being able to see the concrete numbers in front of you. It may come as a shock when you see that grand total, but it’s something you need to do. As you start paying off debt – keep making reports that show the progress you are making. Seeing the progress can help add “motivation fuel.”

5.) Add Up All of Your Monthly Finance Charges. Look at that number – that is the cost of your debt. That is all money that you would have if you were debt-free. There are many other things I would rather be doing with that money. Let that amount motivate you to reduce it to zero.

6.) Add Up All of Your Monthly Minimum Payments on Your Debt. For me, this was a HUGE eye-opener. After seeing all of the money that I have to use every month to pay debt, I realized that there is a very large chunk of money that could be used for other things, like perhaps saving for retirement someday or getting health insurance. The things that we just can’t afford right now because of all of our monthly debt payments. Use it to fuel your motivation and determination because there are other things in life you want to do.

7.) Try Not to Get Depressed. Depression is a big motivation-buster, but it is so easy to go into when your debt is making your life miserable. I still get depressed sometimes, and when I am I do not go shopping and I just stay away from financial decisions while depressed. Then, work on feeling better by focusing on what you do have instead of what you don’t have.

8.) Allow Yourself Mistakes!! No one in this world is perfect, and we are all bound to make mistakes. We just have to figure out what went wrong then pick ourselves up and keep going. Learn from your mistakes and try not to dwell on them. Use them as motivation, because once you make a mistake and learn from it – it won’t be made again. Look at the positive side of your mistake.

And here are a few motivators for those with lower incomes like myself:

9.) Don’t Compare Lifestyles. It may seem like all of the stories you read in the media about debt success stories are for families with larger incomes. To fight debt they have eliminated expenses such as landscaping or trading in their expensive SUV’s. They do have more discretionary spending to cut. It’s hard, but do not focus on that! Rather, just look at the success story behind it and how they were motivated to make a change in their life. The goal to become debt-free is what binds us all together. Share in their success and keep yourself heading towards your goal.

10.) Realize How Strong You Are!!! When you have a lower income, you do have to go about reducing your debt differently and have to forgo what some consider “necessities”. Just remember that every time you lower your heat to 60 degrees during the day or everytime you purchased used clothing instead of new – you are really showing how STRONG YOU ARE!! If I could, I would visit every one of you that are having a hard time seeing this in yourself and I would be your personal cheerleader. Why? Because it is so true! You are already very strong, and already have the potential to move mountains. Get motivated and determined to become debt-free. You CAN and WILL do it!!

Now, with all of these ways to get motivated – let’s get to it everyone. Let’s become DEBT-FREE!!!!!!!

Post featured at the Carnival of Debt Reduction #32 at Consumerism Commentary.
Technorati Tags: motivation, debt+reduction, debt+free

“What this power is I cannot say; all I know is that it exists and it becomes available only when a man is in that state of mind in which he knows exactly what he wants and is fully determined not to quit until he finds it.”

- Alexander Graham Bell

Technorati Tags: determination, quote

I’ve heard that alot, and here’s my latest one:

If I had a nickel for every time I’ve goofed up on my road so far to become debt free, I’d be a millionaire.

Okay, so I haven’t goofed up that much – but I have made some blunders.

Like the time I initiated a balance transfer to the wrong credit card.

Or, like the time I paid my credit card late by one day.

Or, like the time my husband received an inheritance and it was spent unwisely.

The point I’m trying to make is that we ALL make mistakes. Just learn from those mistakes and don’t make them again. Reducing your debt is not an easy thing to do. If it was, there wouldn’t be so many of us blogging to track our progress to get rid of it. Just pick your head back up, look straight ahead at your goal, and reach it.

Now, will I ever enter in the wrong credit card number when doing a balance transfer again? You bet yer britches I won’t!

*Article included at the Carnival of Debt Reduction #31 at Canadian Capitalist
Technorati Tags: debt, credit+cards, debt+reduction

- Robert Hughes

MY THOUGHTS:
You can have all the tools in the world, but they will not mean a thing if you lack determination. And it has to be true determination – the kind that you feel from your heart and you feel in every inch of your body. I truly believe that with determination, you can make things happen.

Technorati Tags: quote, motivation

Those 4 words mean alot to me. It stresses how important I feel it is to have a positive attitude.

Instead of saying “maybe I can do it” you need to be saying “I can do it.” Remove all of the doubt in your voice.

For me, it means instead of saying, “Maybe I can be debt-free” I am saying “I CAN BE DEBT-FREE!”

A positive attitude can go a long way when you have goals to reach

Technorati Tags: debt+free, positive+attitude