get out of debt

I cleared one credit card last month. I’m on track (in a month) to get my revolving expenses card down to where I can pay it off in full every month. By January, I’ll have another card cleared, leaving one card though it also has the most sizable balance. It’s where my TKD tuition and car insurance went. Ho hum.
I’ve been setting aside money into savings and for car expenses like insurance, and I’m due to start paying back my parents in January. Everything is in pretty good order aside from the new machine I’m trying to build very shortly that will set me back $1500. But really, that whole thing is pretty in the air.

I have three down and am only a couple months away from the fourth one… It’s taking some time but I’m making progress!

I just passed up another milestone, after several setbacks. IRS audit, cha ching. Brother out of work, cha-ching again. Mom needed money for doctor bills, cha-ching again. BUT, dh got a third job. I became this super-frugal freak for groceries with very careful menu planning and shopping and got our monthly bill down to, like, half of what it was. So, despite all the setbacks, we managed to get to another magic number. HALF of our monthly take home. We are really getting into this. Only problem, it isn’t in time to have anything but another super-frugal Xmas.

I’m in credit counseling and not using credit cards to get by day by day. I’ve been in credit counseling since early 2007. I’ve cut my credit card debt in half!

I’m about $15,000 in credit card debt. I only make minimal payments. I know that doesn’t get me anywhere. I’m currently not working so all I can do is make minimum payments for now. I feel so guilty for not clearing this debt up. It’s been almost 5 years since I’ve racked the cards up. I have to come up with a plan to deal with this debt. Realistically it will take me 3 to 5 years to clear it up. I know most people are more in debt then this but it is eating away at me that I can’t even save for a house in my future because this figure is hanging over my head.

Discover 1
Discover 2
B of A 1
B of A 2
Citibank
Car 1
Car 2
Student Loan 1
Student Loan 2
Student Loan 3
Mortgage 1
Mortgage 2

Paid off Lowe’s and Target! Working on the big guys now. Except for the fact that I’m using my student loans overages to pay my bills, I feel like since it’s a lower interest rate, I’ll be good. I know that borrowing more does not equal paying down. But, it feels like we’re making progress.

Wow, it feels so good to be rid of those bills… All the money I’ve made the past couple months have gone straight to car repairs and credit cards, and it’s done. I have taken the credit cards out of my wallet, so I wont ever be tempted…

The bummer is that as soon I got out of debt, my appendix gave out on me, and now I have 13,000 in medical bills… I don’t know what to do about that… but, I dunno… it’s a different kind of debt…

Here’s an update of the debt status.

1. Credit card – NO DEBT! YEAH!
2. Car Loan – Paid off in August
3. Student Loan(s) – Still collecting them. :( I’m not going to count this in my “get out of debt” program.

I am not good with money still. So I am handing my finances over to my husband. He is very good with money.

We’re going to work out a finance plan. I need to know when I’ll be out of debt and how much I can spend each month.