Twenty Is Plenty?...

...for some, but as the Carpenters song goes: "We've only just begun". On the quest to eliminate credit card debt, twenty days have passed, and so has the $100 mark. For those keeping track (I know that I am) the total now stands at $104.30. The only shopping at the grocery store that has been done has been for perishibles like bread, eggs, and milk because those have a limited shelf life. The amazing thing is that there is still plenty of food to be had in the pantry (it is certainly more than enough to last 10 days, and one might estimate that there should be enough to last for sixty days).

New, and frugal, habits have certainly been engrained into my lifestyle and I hope that you can find some habits that will help you to save money where you have been wasting so that you can pay down your credit card debt, or, if you are fortunate enough to have none, save for the future or for whatever dreams you may have.

Being broke and struggling to pay even the bare minimum on your credit cards is a drain on you mentally, physically, and spiritually. I have worked nearly sixty hours a week for the last five years in order to stay afloat, and it has only been in the last year that the credit card debt level has plummeted from $71,154.15 to the present $61,926.44 (one of the "secrets" of gaining control over your credit card debt is to know exactly where you stand at all times). It may hurt to sit down and actually calculate where you stand, but the pain will make you stronger.

One of the best sources on the Web is dinkytown. Better than the calculator that comes with your computer, they have 350+ calculators including mortgage, retirement, credit card and debt,...so forth and so on. Or you can set up your own spread sheet in excel (or for some of us "old school" people, you might use Quattro Pro). Whatever method you decide to use, just choose and use, it makes you more in control of your life.

Until tomorrow, have a great day!