What has motivated you to.....

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-22-1999
What has motivated you to.....
19
Sat, 12-04-2004 - 8:12am

...begin or continue your debt repayment process?

I have noticed over the last 2 years of reading this board a lot of different reasons for folks to get started. The ones that stick out in my mind are pregnancy, the bill collectors calling, an unpleasant surprise leading to the realization things were financially bad, etc..... I've also noticed satisfaction and a feeling of accomplishment when a debt is paid off by someone who has been working at it. It inspires them to keep going and to work on the next debt to pay off.

What has motivated you to get your financial "house in order?" Was it one event? Was it realizing you had a specific goal that debt was hindering you from achieving?

-or-

What is it that keeps you working at debt elimination? What have you done to keep it a habit? Have you had some progress that you are benefitting from now that keeps you motivated?

Please share what is making you make changes to better your debt situation!

Littlesbigs

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Avatar for cowboy4me
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Sat, 12-04-2004 - 9:56am
For me it was when I realize that almost all my credit cards (10 of them) where max out.

"Love knows hidden paths."~~German Proverb

Jenny

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-07-2003
Sat, 12-04-2004 - 12:59pm

Right now I don't have much motivation and am slipping into more debt. Part of the reason is that DF has been unemployed since Feb and has started his own business a couple of months ago but the money he makes goes back into the company. So I am paying normal bills plus some business bills and his health insurance on my salary and am not doing very well at it. I have several late fees each month and will have to get a cash advance to cover the mortgage this month. I am hopeful that things will improve in the next several months and help my motivation. In addition, we are taking on a roommate. I am mad at DF for agreeing to so such low rent ($300). I don't think that it enough but it will help. The roommate agreed that if our utilities go up he will contribute. I think part of the problem is that I get depressed paying the bills knowing there is not enough money. I know I need to cut more expenses but feel lazy or too exhausted from work at times and this affects cooking, cleaning and overall organization. Right now I am unorganized (huge stack of unopened mail) but lack the motivation to get it together.

I know once I start its not as bad as I think and try to keep my focus on that time in the future when my only bills are living expenses and not the multiple credit cards/loans I pay each month. If it wasn't for these monthly payments I would be in a much better position.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Sat, 12-04-2004 - 1:28pm
A combination of wanting my own house and hating all our money going to cc bills every month. I think it really started when my boys were bron and we couldnt do things like vacations or take them places.



iVillage Member
Registered: 03-16-1999
Sat, 12-04-2004 - 1:42pm
We have paid of tons of debt because we simply did not want to deal with it. We are making a huge push (ala Dave Ramsey) right now. The thought of having no debt at all and being able to save fifity percent or more of our income is pretty nice. The peace of mind is worth it.
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-21-2003
Sat, 12-04-2004 - 7:20pm

Hi there,

I had a time when I didn't dare to think about money - because it always meant thinking about what I had not. It added to my depressive moods, made me sick, was embarrassing, and lots more. You all know that feeling, I guess :-)

I started repaying my debt and stopped adding to it when with the help of an analyst and a lot of good friends began to understand that spending all my money, adding to my debt and maxing out on my credit card was part of a sick psychological strategy I had invented to hurt myself (other women hurt themselves in other ways, some of them more visible, some not) - instead of asking for help.

That was not one special moment. On the contrary: It took months to finally find and acknowledge the truth about it. Starting the debt repayment, and sticking to it, is part of my path to taking control over my own issues and life, not letting old injuries and depressive moods control my life. And since I know this, I have a good reason to stay with it; every time it gets tough and I feel like I'd rather not send in the payment, I can tell myself that it's better to be in charge than be charged - especially overdue fees *grins*

Greetings, Jordis

ivy_jordis

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-10-2004
Sat, 12-04-2004 - 9:12pm

The reason why I wanted to get out of debt had a lot to do with us having children.

 

Avatar for cl_beckymk
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Sun, 12-05-2004 - 4:28pm

I have always noticed that everyone has that debt threshold and once it reaches that - you freak!!!

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-14-2004
Sun, 12-05-2004 - 6:05pm
Our motivation is wanting to send the kids to private school. Paying out $500 a month on credit card bills is such a waste of money when that $500 could be tuition payments. So, 2 more years until pay-off!
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-28-2003
Mon, 12-06-2004 - 9:33am
This is a very good question. My husband and I have found it IMPOSSIBLE to reduce our debt over the past three years, ever since our little one was diagnosed with autism. First it was driving her 45 miles each way six days a week for therapy, then it was moving 600 miles with no vacation time, and then since we have moved, it has been 6-8 trips back to see our family (which needed to be done because my Mom was sick), and we have just realized that it has been a very stressful couple of years, and expensive, in part, because on some level, we have felt that even though we are getting ourselves into even more debt than before, we are doing what needs to be done for our family in the long run. I would not trade my daughter's progress (when we moved she could only say about 25 words, and it was very hard to take her out because she exerienced constant sensory overload...now, even though she is not a conversational speaker yet, she can communicate what she wants, speaks in some 4-5 words sentences at times, and truly enjoys being around people...it has been a miracle, one we would not have seen if we stayed where we were...), anyhow, you can't put a price tag on that any more than you could getting a needed heart transplant. Of course, there was a lot of money spent on things not so necessary to, as a result of the situation feeling so hopeless. But the thing that drove me back to this board is that when we moved a month ago, I got a dollar per hour raise, and because of that, i decided to go back to working full time,(34 hours per week), which is 10 hours more than I was working before. It is making me exhausted alreayd, but I want to be able to cut back to part time and feel good about it, once my daughter's therapy gets cut back in Feb 2006. That is my ultimate goal..it used to be a house, a vacation, etc, but now it is something that is a wee bit more important to me. I have not been back to Ohio since April. I don't want to go back, I feel bad for saying that since the rest of my family is there, but that is just the way I feel right now. So I am just diving into this right now, hoping that making soem progress in the finances department will make me feel a little better... Heather
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-26-1999
Mon, 12-06-2004 - 1:42pm

Well, I wanted to be able to sleep at night and live in the daytime without so many panic attacks.

I keep working at living within my means (which are not a lot and will be less in two weeks when I leave my job) because I am the only one that can take care of me. What I mean is that I have to learn to be responsible for myself and not expect others to bail me out. I will be staying with my mum and she will be helping me out, but that is to get from my current situation to hopefully a better situation, not simply bailing me out from a pile of bad choices, if that makes sense. If I don't try every day to make wise choices I'll be in a huge hole again that nobody but me will bail me out of. I hope that makes sense.

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