Welcome to My World

Welcome to My World

Debt is stressful. I know. I developed a debt habit straight out of college and increased my debt load gradually, into my late 20’s. I fell for the ease of credit, and I made poor choices. I also relied on the safety net of family members to bail me out. I thought my problem was an income problem. It took me a long time to realize I had a spending problem. And an attitude problem.

I wasn’t a wild spendthrift. I just didn’t live within my means. I thought if I needed a car for work, I should buy a new car. And to me, financing a new car through the dealership was what people did. I thought having store credit to make consumer purchases was the way to go, so I had credit cards for my favorites:  Sears and JCPenney. I fell for the common belief that homeownership is always smart, and that a house is an asset (not necessarily). And when it came time to buy the first house, I believed that one should buy as much house as one could qualify for. (one shouldn’t)

I never once considered  interest rates. In fact, I didn’t consider debt to be an issue as long as I could meet the minimum monthly payments. The only time my debt was a problem was when the car broke down, or when Christmas came around, or when I went over my credit limit and my card was declined at the checkout counter.  Debt was an annoying, but acceptable, constant in my life. It shouldn’t have been. My schooling cost me nothing. I became an RN on a state grant, and I never worried about employment.

I married young, and became a young mother. My husband and I both shared an attitude that went something like this:

You only live once. Our families will never let us fall through the cracks. We’ll have more money when we’re older. Everyone has debt. Nobody can save. Life is hard; we deserve to have fun.

We believed these things and said them aloud. My husband and I shared our debt journey, but when we parted ways after twelve years, I had a chunk of debt all to myself. No problem. I had my safety net—and, for a while, I coasted along with my mother’s help. And then--

She said no. Other fine family members who had provided a safety net also declined to help, and I fell into the biggest funk of my life. Once I picked myself up, I took a better paying job and started facing my dilemma. I worked extra shifts when I could, and slowly started to wrap my head around my mess.  

Cue my sister, Cat, and her own newfound frugalness! Cat started paying attention to Amy Dacyczyn’s Tightwad Gazette Newsletter, and opened my eyes to the concept of frugality. She seemed to have fun with clever money-saving tips and shared cool ideas that made my synapses fire. I mean, when I discovered that attaching a piece of used nylon stocking over the end of my dryer hose and letting it blow into the house could help heat my home AND humidify it, I was hooked! (by the way, use extreme caution and keep the nylon lint free - try this tip at your own risk)

The first Tightwad Gazette book came out in 1992, and included appealing tips like: “How to slice your bills in half,” and “How to be frugal without feeling deprived.” Cat and her husband practiced frugal hacks and to my astonishment, they paid off over $25,000 in consumer debt in eight short months. This, on modest salaries. How the heck does anyone pay off ALL his or her debts? I was newly interested in spending less, but the thought of actually being debt-free was a completely new concept for me. I mean, everyone has debt, right? You just pay the minimums. Forever.

Inspired b y Cat and The Tightwad Gazette, I challenged myself NOT to spend money. I made my own bread, planted a garden, sewed my kids’ clothes, made and froze many home cooked meals, and had fun doing it. I learned to live within my means. I stopped charging things, and started paying down my debts. It took a very long time- a few years, actually. Admittedly, I didn’t do it alone. After a time, I dated again, and when my now husband moved in, he shared the rent and utilities. I learned to make smarter choices as new people in my life introduced me to retirement savings (401 K-duh!), and taught me about compounding interest, and buying cars second hand (always!) instead of new.

My debt habit, over time, gave way to a savings habit. Debt acceptance became debt intolerance. We lived below our means and slowly paid off all existing debt. The satisfaction of becoming debt-free pushed me toward desiring to live well below our means.  I had an attitude adjustment, and it went like this:

You only live once, so be smart about it. You should never expect others to be your safety net. We’ll have more money when we’re older because we saved it. Most everyone has debt, but they don’t have to. Most anyone can save. Life is much easier when we have fun we can afford.

Living debt-free and having money in the bank changes people’s lives. I’m a nut about it because money habits directly impact quality of life. Money habits make and break relationships. Money habits impact mood and emotions. Most money problems are fixable, and most money problems can be turned around quickly. (I said most; not all. Some people have situations beyond their control-like medical catastrophes and hurricanes.) The principles required to change your trajectory and become financially independent are simple, and they start with deciding that enough is enough. Have a conversation with yourself, and with your significant other, if you have one. Decide together that enough is enough, and get on board with doing what you need to do to change your money life. Then, welcome to my world.  I’ll walk you through tried and true steps to get out of debt and start living well. And, without delay, here we go:

Step One

It's a new year, so for some spendy-pants, it represents a new start. Before learning frugal hacks and building wealth, the first step is to become debt-free. Here's how to begin, regardless of how much debt you carry:


Step 1- If you live paycheck to paycheck and do not have an emergency fund, work toward saving $500 in a savings account. This $$ is hands-off, except for true emergencies. You may have to sell some items, or give up cable TV or Starbucks coffee to stash this money away, fast. Just do it. To follow the steps in order, just click next.