***New*** Then and Now Thread...
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***New*** Then and Now Thread...
| Mon, 05-02-2005 - 2:32pm |
Okay - at Heather's request (excellent one, I might add), let's all take a bit of time and write down our stories once again.

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Sorry, I meant to say, but I forgot:
about 10k in medical bills,
about 15k in my house flooding, twice.
i owed money on the taurus, but broke even selling to my
cousin, although I did lose the downpayment.
$7500 WOOT WOOT that is december ZERO ZERO ZERO
unless my second job picks up LOL
boxster in june 06, leave this cra p hole by late 06 early o7.
I commend and congradualate everyone out there that has tackeled debts.
Hi Everyone,
I'm so happy this thread has started since it helps to motivate me by looking at what we've accomplished. On July 4th, 2004 we were in extreme dire money straits. We had fallen behind on our cc's since we had some unexpected expenses (no savings whatsoever). Of course, the cc co's took this opportunity to jack up our interest rates. I have always been the one in charge of our finances. DH remained in the dark and preferred it that way. I spent the 4th surfing the net (especially since all this had led to sleepless nights) and came across iVillage and this board. It was quite a blessing. It always helps to hear you're not alone (misery loves company?). I read many posts about cc negotiations and decided to take the bull by the horns and start calling.
The very first company MBNA, after hearing our situation put us through to a debt management company, Take Charge America. They were great and I think I was afraid of some sort of verbal reprimand or something. They were so understanding. When they totalled our debt, it came to a grand total of $70,000. Thought I was going to have a stroke. Talk about a wake up call.
They negotiated for us, worked out a payment plan and off we went. I took the initiative to cancel each card (husband was reluctant, but remember I was in charge). I looked at anything and everything that could be reduced or eliminated. YMCA membership, which we rarely used - gone, cell phone - history. Sold whatever was sellable on ebay. Started reading the Tightwad Gazette books (checked out of the library) and started using and reusing, scrimping and saving in order to get by.
That was 10 months ago. We've paid our debt down $11,000, have stepped up to an accelerated mortgage payment program, have an emergency fund (automatically taken from our paychecks) along with contributing the max to our 401K and increasing the kid's college fund. We're looking at being totally debt free in the next 4 years, including having the house paid for. That's 2 years before my son goes to college.
My husband thanks me all the time for taking control, I thank this board.
Thank you, thank you, thank you all.
Della
Wow! That is a very impressive story! Looks like we started working on this problem at the same time. Thanks for sharing.
Kelly
Wow, these stories are *really* inspiring! Thanks so much for posting!
I got my first credit card when I was 19, and had NO financial skills whatsoever. During most of my 20's, I included what was available on my credit cards as part of what I had available to spend. By the time I was 29, I was more than $8,000 in credit card debt and had absolutely nothing at all to show for it. So I started working on it, slowly. I found this board about three (?) years ago and it changed everything for me! I read the recommended texts, Jerrold Mundis, Mary Hunt, and so on. And I really dug in on it. I started using a budget, didn't use the credit cards, and it worked!
I became debt free (for the first time) and started saving. I bought my tiny house in December of 2003 and kept saving as much as I could. In June of 2004, I left a terrible job and lived off of my contingency savings until it ran out and I had to go back into debt a little, but with MUCH more awareness and determination to keep it under control. After a 6-month job search, I found a wonderful new job. I just became debt free (for the second time!) at the end of April of 2005. Now I'm slowly working on getting the contingency fund back up to $5,000. And I'm re-wired for financial well-being, which is the best part of all.
This board is absolutely wonderful. I'm not sure I could have done it without the help and focus of this place.
bump!
Anyone else want to share?
~leanne
deciding to be happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect, but that you had decided to look beyond the imp
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