Reduce debt.

I forced myself to sit down and focus on paying all the bills as soon as I got my paycheck. I hate doing it because then I gave to see how much we owe and how little we have right there in black and white and then I have to make decisions about which bills to pay and which to push out a little further. Yesterday I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the mail. We recently bought a new to us car and I traded in my other car. The payoff was made on what we still owed and after all was said and done evidently there was some left over. Now, the question is how do divide it up among what I didn’t get to pay on Tue. I’m holding on to it for a couple of days so I can think it through.

I hate oweing anyone anything and recently due to the birth of my second child and an emergency visit for my husband during my maternity leave my medical bills have skyrocketed. I can deal with oweing for the house and my new car but these extra bills are cutting into our regular bills and I’m often paying them late while at the same time getting the colletion phone calls from the medical balances. There are so many different payments to make that I’m felling overwhelmed and stretched to the limits.
deep breath
I’ve promised myself to make a list monthly of the medical bills that we still owe, total them, and next to the balances write what I can send for the month (even if its just $10) At least that way I can keep my head above water until I can figure out some other way to approach this.

My wife and I had an embarrassing amount of credit card debt. In the past two years we have taken care of all of it (over $30,000.00) We started by calling all the companies and explaining that we could not even afford minimum payments and would be willing to settle with them. They all refused so we stopped paying and started saving. We cashed in a couple IRA’s and put them in a savings account put together around $20,000.00. Credit card companies turned over their debt to collection agencies who called us, our neighbors and family. We did not respond until they started sending settlement letters. Some settled for 20% or so and some for 60%. Now our credit sucks (600 or so) but our debt to income ratio is very high. I do not think this is for everyone but it is for those who are settled and do not need credit. Our total debt now is our home mortgage and we are working on that.

I understand in this day and age, it’s virtually impossible to live without some kind of debt. I also understand that having certain types of debt is sometimes helpful and necessary for various reasons (establishing credit, etc). I would like to have paid off all loans (from individuals, not institutions) by December 31, 2010.

Current debt:
~$5,000 (12/20/07) – Personal loan
~$1,000 (12/20/07) – Financial responsibility for auto accident.

Update:
12/22/07 – Paid half of the auto damages off today! (Made arrangements to pay the rest off on 1/20/08.)

Update:
1/27/08 – Paid remaining auto damage debt! (At a cost of $200 borrowed from my dad.)

Current debt:
~$5200 – Personal loans

Update:
1/31/08 – Borrowed another $500 from dad to make ends meet.

Current debt:
~$5700 – Personal loans

Update
3/7/08 – Made a $200 repayment.

Current debt:
~$5500 – Personal loans.

Update
7/24/08 – Made a $200 repayment.

Current debt:
~$5300 – Personal loans.

Update
7/29/08 – Made a $200 repayment (to Dad).

Current debt:
~$5100 – Personal loans.

Update
9/26/08 – Made a $60 repayment.

Current debt:
~$5040 – Personal loans.

Update
4/8/09 – Made a $500 repayment.

Current debt:
~$4,540 – Personal loans.

7/24/09 – Made a $250 repayment.

Current debt:
~$4,290 – Personal loans.

9/29/09 – Made a $1,000 repayment.

Current debt:
~$3,290 – Personal loans.

I need to do this for my mental health…I hate worrying about money and not having the disposable income that I should have.

Reduce debt.
Get out of debt quickly at

http://get-out-of-debt.u-mean.com/

Get a debt consolidation loan and reduce your monthly payments by 50% to 80% on what you are paying out already every month.

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2 years ago I got out of debt and have never looked back. It’s a great feeling and empowering.

http://www.Reduce-Debt-Help.com

I received a healthy return from taxes, and I put a chunk of it toward debts. Happily, the store cards are all paid off and a credit card with a rediculously enormous APR is also down to $0 now.

Still, I have a long way to go, including reading this book and just generally changing my attitudes toward money and the way I think (or don’t think) about debt.

I’ve started a new book, which looks quite motivational and helpful. I’m psyched about it!

How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt, and Live Prosperously

It seemed intimidating but I found a simple site that got me out of debt and making more money at http://www.10-days-to-wealth.com