How did the balance get so big??
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| Thu, 07-14-2005 - 1:36am |
I am in shock. Not that it's a good thing, but I thought I *only* had $25,000 in debt. Lo and behold, it is actually $36,000. :( Oh my gosh. I live with my boyfriend and he has no idea it's this high. I thought I was making large payments. I guess I am, but with all the eating out and the other unnecessary expenses, I have been racking up a huge amount of debt. There is good news...I just paid of my car and it's still in working order. So there's an extra $250 a month. The interest rates on my cards are good. I have five cards. The highest interest rate I have is 14% on one; three of them are between 4-8%, and one is at 3%. So I don't have high interest rates. Maybe that's why I didn't notice the huge balance. :( I always make way more than the minimum payments. I guess I just need to freeze those darn credit cards until I get them paid off. I worked out a plan to pay them off in 5 years at about $800/month. That seems like a lot, but I know I'm paying more than that now. I'm just not good at budgeting.
So, anyway, I just wanted to say hi! I've enjoyed reading all your tips about saving money and paying the cards twice a month, etc.
Shannon

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Shannon,
IMO if it were the only option, it would be worth buying. But there are a number of really terrific debt authors, and any one of them will help you. My personal favorite is Mary Hunt, but many people swear by Dave Ramsey and Suze Ormann. There's also Jerold Mundis and a number of others whose names aren't coming to mind right now, but others can point you in the right direction.
Or, see if your library can do an inter-library loan.
If it comes down to it and you can't find another option, check out half.com or amazon and see if you can get it used for cheap.
Good luck!!
Hi Shannon!
I have read suze orman and a few other authors who i didn't get all the way through. Suze orman has alot of good things to say but never had a plan that i felt like i could implement, i have one of her books but never went through the whole thing. I just feel like this book gives me concrete things to do, such as implementing a "freedom fund" that you put money into each month and divide into parts for those things that come up that always lead us to need the charge card b/c we say they are "unexpected" for instance the car needs breaks, well you take the money out of the freedom fund and use it and don't have to charge it. There is so much more i love about this book. She really gets to the heart of why it is so bad to use charge cards, how much it truly costs use etc. What i did was this, my library has a website, and all the libraries in the county are connected via the website, so i can go in, see if they have the book in any of the libraries and then reserve it, it was not in my main library but they delivered it for me from another branch. I have to say that i too have a hard time spending money a book that is about getting out of debt, it just seems contrary to the purpose:) , but if i were to buy one this would be it. (but i would go to amazon.com)
Shannon
Yes, talk to the librarian about getting the book there. Most libraries welcome suggestions from their patrons. And if you are interested in it, probably other people are, too. Ask about Interlibrary loan or other regional lending that might be available.
But if you buy it, go to half.com. I've had good luck getting good prices on books there. You can check a used bookstore in your town, too. Support those local businesses!!
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