pay off all my debts

ok, I need to report this: before I even started writing about it, I would just avoid the topic, but I must say that one day I came across a very profound quote by Julia Cameron in her book : ‘the right to write’ : “If you can write about it, you can handle it.” It is so, so true ! Next thing, I told my new boyfriend about my spending addiction, it was very hard and I felt stupid, but I thought that it was a good sign because I had just realized how stupid the situation looked from the outside indeed. Yes, when you tell about your addictions to other people, it feels as if you were watching your own behaviour from an external point of view and you picture yourself as a character… and that’s when you stumble on the truth and you suddenly stop and start thinking… I’ll tell you what: truth doesn’t hurt, it’s just an act of reflection on things and consider it rather as the energy you would normally use on spending. The more you think, the less you spend, for you are too tired anyway to go shopping for windows. No, but seriously, I started reading another book by Julia Cameron (the writing diet) and it works just as much for overeating as for overspending. Those are the following questions I slightly tranformed :

when in situation, ask yourself :

1. do I have the money?
2. Is THIS really what I want to buy?
3. Would I use it NOW?
4.Is there sth cheaper I can get elsewhere or is there sth else I need to spend my money on (something more important?)

Watch yourself, keep a journal, don’t judge and write down what you spent your money on and how much you have left. Start saving for a project you’d love to see come true (even if it’s just pennies). Save a coin everytime you can because you have a cash-flow. I call it my ‘emergency case’. It works for me and it’s just the beginning. Consider your life like a kindergarten full of uncontrollable kids. Do you see the one with their parents’ credit card? take the hint : THIS HAS TO STOP.

Less than $6,000 to go!

I’m finally down to a mortgage payment, which I should be able to pay off nearly ten years early, and one personal loan…YEAH!!!

The personal loan should be paid off by Christmas. I hope to have enough saved up to buy a new car this time next year, without any additional debt.

Just got my sister completely paid off! Now I just have my parents and my student loan. My car had to get towed and needs an alternator, so that will slow me down for a month or so, but I should still be on track for the end of next year.

Down to $7000 total!

I got offered extra hours at work – so I’m very excited to see my next paycheck. All the extra can go straight to debt, yay!

Down to under $8,000 total!

this will be very hard and take a lot of discipline considering my career as a part time hippy who is self employed as a jack of all trades and master of a few.

*i don’t spend on make-up, hair products, tanning anymore.
*i rarely buy new clothes {mostly second hand}.
*i mostly cook dinner every night, as well as make our lunches.

My 18-month track to pay off my unsecured debt has become a little derailed due to a terminal illness in the family. Haven’t seen the insurance pay-off, but we racked up about $50K in debt. May have to accept the family’s offer to help. I’ve avoided that route since they didn’t create my debt so they shouldn’t absorb the cost of my decisions.

In November I realised I couldn’t return to work as we moved away and I was looking after my daughter, so I wasn’t getting any money in but now I am. So I should have my loan by the end of the month a whole 10 months early as I am getting some money from a mistake the bank made, which is great. I will then only have to credit cards left to pay off, I have £3000 on one and £1200 on the other. My plan is to pay off £150 plus the interest off the high interest card which is the one with £3000 on it then the minimum payment plus interest on the other hopefully my plan of being debt free by the end of 2010 will work.