Over the last year, Becca and I have been Paying off debt and trying to catch up on finances.  It’s been a long hard process.  I mean, debt didn’t happen overnight.  It took time to accumulate.

This month we will mark a milestone though.  We will have every debt taken care of that is under $1000.  That payment will be $420 and made next week.  Then onward to the big debts.

 

To some, that may seem like a small thing, but to others… that’s huge.  These little debts are a pain in the butt.  There were so many and so spread out that it was too little money to budget to pay minimums on all of them each month. 

Here’s a few things that we changed to get to this new place and a few things we are going to do to continue to get caught up.

 

Abandon the Credit Cards.

We had plastic surgery.  We did this a little after we got married and cut up all the cards and called the card companies and told them to “shove it” (or something of the sort).

This was a hard process.  It took time to get used to not having that “safety net” of immediately available fundage.  Money in case the car broke down, money for that one thing you can’t live without at the electronics store, and for that cup of coffee down at the coffeeshop…. all of it, gone.

Now, we had to only use money we actually had.  It could seem like an easy step, but It’s really hard if you’ve gotten used to it being there.

That selfsame safety net is still a net and it can ensnare you.  Now that the net is gone I can breath easier.  The night I paid off Citicard, I slept better than I had in years.  Probably because they weren’t calling to wake me up in the morning with a debt collector.

 

Decrease expenses, Increase income.

I am a pastor, so this is tough.  Lots of times I end up just taking parts of my paycheck and putting it back into the ministry expenses.  While it seems like this couldn’t be a bad thing.  I do believe in the ministry, but if I am going to be a good steward of my money I need to not let the church finances overshadow my own family life as well. 

When the ministry income falters, so does my paycheck.  I soon learned to budget less than I actually made and make more than I needed to budget.  Then “budget” the remaining amount toward savings and debt repayment.

I got extra jobs.  I sold things on eBay.  I did websites for other people.  I became a professional blogger at one point.  I considered many other creative incomes too. 

As a husband, I have a desire to provide for my wife and the things she desires too.  Sometimes I had to tell her no on things and tell myself no on things.  It’s harder to refuse her than she thinks at times too. 

 

Big Bites are Better (When You Can).

About a year ago we tried to just pay minimums on everything and slowly shot ourselves in the foot.  We had been late so many times before that after paying the minimum, we realized the interest was so high at this point that we actually owed more on some of our debts after paying the minimum payment than before.  It was an exercise in futility.  (Citicard are you listening?)

We got serious after than and took one month and paid $2000 off in a month just to get rid of that one.  (Can you guess which one?).  Of course we ate lots of Mac and Cheese that month and beans and rice.  But they were gone.  They were done.  I seriously contemplated driving down to Florence, KY and delivering it in person.  I think If they ever mail me anything again, I am going to put as much trash as I can into that pre-addressed stamped return envelope and mail it back to them. (probably not, but I may consider it)

 

So even while I am still learning a few of these lessons the hard way, maybe they will help you in the same way they helped us once we learned them. 

So what’s the next debt? 

$1170.43

 

donations accepted…lol