I"m DEBT Free..Not! I Need Your Advice Again!

I have actually NEVER heard of the person before. I make decent money, and although I'm not completely debt free, at this time I only owe about $20,000. $10,000 of that is student loans(I'm in school right now). The other $10,000 is the new car that I just bought. I do have several credit cards, but they are all secured credit cards through my credit union. If I can't make the payment, or don't want the card anymore. All I have to do is cancel them.
I would strongly suggest, that you make extra payments on your bills that you owe the least on. If they are credit cards. Call the companies, and tell them to cancel the cards. Then just pay them off. Once you have those paid off, take that payment and extra money you have to the next bill. My brother did that, and was able to have all of his bills paid off in a year, and he credit was good enough that he was able to purchase a house.
I hope this helps.

Hi A.,
It took my husband and I exactly 22 months to get out of debt completely. We were at $27,000 in debt with credit cards, loans, and a remaining car note balance. Although we didn't use the Dave Ramsey method, our own method worked perfect. The first things we did away with was:
*Cable
*Any landline phone services such as caller id, call waiting
*Eating out (only twice on the weekends)

Believe it or not, but these cutbacks saved us nearly $250 a month! Perhaps you are already making those cutbacks, ok, have you considered just sending birthday cards in place of gifts for family members? Maybe not visiting distant friends or family too often, but rather just calling and sending your love over the phone- this can save you $ on gas. It did us when we started calling friends who lived in Helotes and our loved ones who live in New Braunfels. It may seem like a short drive each time because it is so routine, but cutting back (just until you are on your feet) can help tremendously. Also, dont carry around extra toys, books, shoes, boxes, etc in your truck as they waste your gas too. Another thing, energy-wise, we unplug EVERTHING(computer, microwave, toaster, lamps, etc) when not in use. Only large appliances like fridge, oven, washer, dryer stay on. We get people who laugh everytime we mention this, but we who save $ on utility bill always have the last laugh! Keep me posted on how things work out for you

Nothing personal against Dave Ramsey...but am I the only one that see's that HE is the one rakin' in the cash? Books, talkshows, seminars....hhmm?
Its this simple, like losing weight(eat right and exercise), the only way to save money......dont spend it.
I paid off ALL our credit card debt in a year and a half. I didnt need Dave Ramsey to tell me how to do it. A third grade level of math is all you need. (and maybe pencil and paper)
Buy the tires and keep saving. Clip coupons, get rid of "luxury" items...i.e. manicures, movie theatre, etc. You will always have some setbacks, but you will get ahead in the long run.

Good luck to you,
Margaret :)

We're not Debt Free yet, but we are on our way. We've just finished the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University, and I have to say, I loved it! Honestly, A., it is THE BEST class I have taken. When I am Debt Free, I am giving this class as a gift for Brides/Grooms and graduates.

Yes, we should have learned this a while back...like when we learned to how to add. lol I'm just glad I know it now. I just can't tell you how much information and how valuable the information is that you learn there.

One thing that Dave teaches is to have your Emergency Fund. I know it can be hard to get it and keep it saved. Believe me, I know. Once we got ours together, we had to replace ALL 4 tires on our car! There went 75% of our Emergency Fund. lol But keep working at it. Sell stuff to get that Fund going. It will bring you a peace of mind that you've always dreamed of.

When those tires blew, and we had that money saved, my gosh...what a different feeling I had! It wasn't stressful to me. It was disappointing that we would have to save it again, but it was so relieving, knowing the money was there!

True financial peace, comes when you are not only debt free, but as Dave teaches, when we can "give like no one else". I know, for me, I would love to donate giving parties for kids with life-threatening illnesses. I would want to pay for everything...cake, decorations, etc. I want to have the money to do that and give them and their families a magical moment...at NO cost to them! (They have enough medical bills as it is.) I want to do that; so, that encourages me to get out of debt so I CAN do that! :)

So, stick to it! Be strong and go for it with Gazelle intensity! If you need to chat more, e-mail me. I'd love to motivate one another and encourage each other. Take care, and I wish you all the best in your goal of being debt free! :) God be with you!

Hi A.! If you can take Dave's Financial Peace University course at a church in your area, I highly recommend it. It will give you some accountability with other people in the group, as well as an instructor to discuss your specific issues with. My husband and I didn't have any credit card debt when we took it, but we really weren't paying attention to where our money was going. We sat down and did our budget and had the same reaction you did. "Are we really spending EVERY dime that comes into this house!" On paper, it just didn't work and we couldn't believe it. So, like you, our first month was just a train wreck. But, we have been tracking our spending now for about a year and I can tell you that just by keeping track of it, you will save more money because it is convicting and becomes really important to you. We have paid off most of our second mortgage on our house and have tens of thousands of dollars in savings earmarked for emergencies and other expected expenses such as car repairs, gifts (as Dave says...Christmas does come every year!) and clothing. I know it is really hard, but please don't give up after just one month. Please, please, please take Financial Peace if you can (many churches offer it, so call around and find one) and stick with it. Don't get discouraged! We had to tweak our budget for several months before it started to click and we still have bad months where we just plain blow it! It's a process, but it seriously works. One thing that saved us about $100 per month was just having my hubby take his lunch to work instead of eating out every day. It's the little things that add up, so make sure you're tracking everything and you'll start to see what you can live without in order to payoff that debt faster. If you want to email me privately, I would be happy to discuss it further. I am a huge believer in this and I would hate for you to give up so soon. You guys can do it!!!

123 I'm debt free...and have been for over 10 years (not including our mortgage). I don't know anything about Dave Ramsey but debt is pretty cut and dry to me - your output is more than your input. In other words, you are spending more than you make.

Make 3 lists on one paper - 1) money you bring home after taxes each month 2) all expenses you owe monthly 3)all expenses for this month in itemized categories (food, utilities, etc). That should give you a clear picture of your situation - expenses you need to get rid of and what you need to pay off. All the advice given here is good - consolidate credit cards, transfer credit cards to lower interest rates with payback awards, shop for lower mortgage. If you really are in debt, cancel cable, cell phone, and yes, internet if you have to. That can add up to what - $200-300+ extra a month?

Hope this helps and hope you'll be debt free soon! You can do it!