Happy Monday Everyone!!!
This is the second of a twelve post series where I look at each of the tactics Trent at The Simple Dollar outlined as necessary in getting out of debt. His article struck such a chord with me that I thought it worthwhile to write an individual post on each one so I can come to grips with my shortcomings with debt repayment and maybe discover some positives of areas where I am doing good.
Yesterday, I posted on the first tactic of knowing exactly what you owe. There is one after-thought that came to me about tactic one…it gives a measure of success. If you look at my BSoD Finance page, I have the date in August that I added up all our debt and the total that we owed. I then update that monthly and put the percentage change. However small, it is still an encouragement and a motivator to see that number change (for the better) and can visually see my success.
Today, I look at tactic #2, figure out a plan. I must say this is not an easy one.
Tactic #2: Figure out a plan
After having the debt written down in black and white, I knew that we had to do something. I could no longer ignore that the debt existed. It was now reality, and I could no longer lie to myself that everything was just fine. It was far from fine.
The Fall was a tough time for us. Hubby was still recuperating from his back injury and had not gone back to work. We were down to practically nothing. Most of the credit card payments were cutting it very close every month to the due date, and I was making installment loan payments in the grace period. I started doing research on the Internet and came across this whole world of Personal Finance bloggers. We’re In Debt was the first blog I ever came across. I was a lurker for a long time to this site and eventually branched off to others. My Google Reader is so full of PF blogs because I find inspiration in all of them.
I didn’t have a plan last Fall, but I decided that until I got one, I would start blogging to have an outlet for myself and to have some sort of accountability, even if it was accountability to myself. I had no clue that I would actually have readers and that they would be interested in what I wrote.
I feel like I have been on a non-stop roller coaster for months. I can truly say that this has been a learning experience. My debt-free plan has changed several times to the point where my wishy-washy self is getting on my nerves. I start one plan and then I would see what someone else was doing. I would try that for awhile, and it wouldn’t work for me, so I would try something else. It was all quite annoying and overwhelming. I think as I get more financially mature, my focus needs to narrow so that I am not trying to do everything at one time. One step at a time.
I’m still not convinced that I have a solid plan of action, and I’m still a little wishy-washy. I set weekly and monthly goals and never follow-up with them. I change them midstream. I add more. I delete some. I set a budget, but then I ignore it or don’t figure out a way to cut the costs if I go over budget (groceries–huge culprit). I lack consistency in my personal finance, and I believe the lack of consistency has probably hindered me from accomplishing more since I began to seriously pay off debt. I lack consistency. Let me repeat…I lack consistency. I have the heart, the determination, the common sense, the intelligence, but I am not consistent.
There are a lot of great plans out there to become debt-free. Eventually, if you follow any of them, you will get out of debt. One may take a little longer or another may not minimize your out-of-pocket interest costs. Regardless, with determination and consistency, I can have debt-free living.
During the rest of May I will be writing the BSoD business plan. Every successful business has a business plan, right? That’s one of the many things I learned and actually did in Busienss school. I’ve heard many times that a household should be ran as a business…looking for ways to cut costs, be efficient, maximize opportunities, and create shareholder wealth. A business plan will hopefully cut down on the chaos of our lives and our finances. I’m sure that when I present this to my high-school educated husband, he will look at me like I’ve gone mad. But, one day, he will appreciate all my effort as we are sitting on some exotic beach sipping daiquiris. Lord, I hope I still look decent in a bikini then.
Tactic #1 Know what you owe
Tactic #2 Figure out a plan
Tactic #3 Get caught up
Tactic #4 Negotiate
Tactic #5 Consolidate
Tactic #6 Get some inspiration
Tactic #7 Don’t rack up more debt — have an emergency fund first
Tactic #8 Automate you minimum payments
Tactic #9 Trim away some fat
Tactic #10 Snowflake
Tactic #11 Watch your progress
Tactic #12 Don’t let up