The Light at the End of the Tunnel

This certainly has been a productive last seven days.  As was reported in the last post, I had trimmed my debt from $70,000 on 11 cards to $30,000 + on three.  It gets better:

With interest, the largest one had grown to over $34,000 and I was given the opportunity to settle the debt for half of the balance.  Excitement grew until I attempted to get a loan from the three banks with which I have accounts.  I was sadly disappointed that the credit union I belonged to since 1980 would not give me a signature loan.  There has never been a loan with a late payment with them.  I was sadly disappointed.  Sure, the realization is that the credit union is a business and has to answer to the shareholders, but I, too, am a shareholder.  That account will be closed soon.

Back to the settlement: I was able to secure $8,000 to offer as a settlement and called them up with the offer.  I believe it was all in the presentation.  At first they balked as my offer saying that it was less than 25 cents on the dollar.  I presented the fact that they haven't been able to collect even one cent on the dollar lately and that I was sadly considering bankruptcy as an option.  If bankruptcy was pursued, they would get nothing, as this is an unsecured debt.  They then offered to take my $8,000 as a down payment and to pay $900 a month for nine months. 

Unacceptable.

I stood firm on the $8,000 as it was a "take it or leave it" offer.  They took it.  Of course I have to pay $100 a week until the $8,000 is paid off.  If there is overtime available at work, it will be paid off much sooner. 

My other card balance of $1,720.08 was paid off with an offer of $1,032.05.  It is done. Finished.  I have paid over $9,000 in the last week, but I was able to erase over $26,000. 

What a relief!

If I can, so can others...keep the faith!

Have a great day!

Where Does It All Go?

We have been working toward eliminating our credit card debt by saving money. How do we save the money? We keep track of all that we spend and eliminate the ways that are not productive. For example, I like to have an occasional adult beverage, particularly in the summer (and especially after the yard is mowed). If I were to go to a local establishment to purchase a beer, it would run $4.50 (depending on where you went).

Ouch!

Instead, I can purchase a case of 30 (which will last quite a while) at a store for around $0.60 a can. That means that I would save $3.90 per drink. If that case lasts the entire summer (and it may), I will have saved $117.00. Wow! And it saves me the gas to drive to an establishment and the time, yada, yada, yada. You see, it is the little things that add up.

That is why having a budget and keeping track is essential to gaining control of your finances. Rumor has it that when Michael Jackson passed away yesterday, he had amassed nearly $200 million in debt. Our credit card debt may not be anywhere near that amount, but when compared to our income, I am sure that some had nearly the same rate of debt. He didn't have control over his spending habits and it caused him financial worry. Everybody has the ability to gain a little more control over their finances, but you have to make a decision to be informed and willing to work at it. The good news?:

You CAN do it! Have a GREAT day!

23 Skiddoo

Although the jury is out, some put the meaning of the phrase 23-Skiddoo as a popular slang phrase of the 1920's meaning to "get out while the getting's good." Well I am not getting out of here, but the 23rd day has been reached, and there are just seven days remaining to make it 30 days without grocery shopping except for perishables. I did happen to go to a Cardinals ball game again last night, but instead of buying a $6.00 soda with supper, I just settled for a $6.25 nachos (ouch!). That, and a hurried breakfast on the run (overslept a bit) had my spending at $9.53 for the day and brought my savings for this period down to $119.37. Still over $100 and more than I would have if no effort was made. See how the little things add up?

One chapter of my upcoming eBook is on saving by keeping accurate records. Without a map, (or as some might say GPS) it is hard to know where you are, much less how you are going to get to where you are going. One of the most difficult things is to develop the habit of keeping track of every little thing that you spend your money on. It really doesn't matter how you keep track, it could be on a pocket notebook, a laptop, a printed budget form...whatever. The important thing is to keep a record. Having taught Excel at a local college for a semester made it easy for a spreadsheet to be set up. Now, there is a budget set up on which I track every cent that comes in, and every cent that goes out.

A casual asking on where your money goes will often result in the shrugging of your shoulders. Not any more. When you are determined to eliminate your credit card debt, it is imperative that you know exactly where your money is going. As has been mentioned before, there are many sources for assistance with this including mint.com or typing "personal finance worksheet" into Google and coming up with a result like this. If you need help, help is there.

Here's to eliminating your credit card debt and to your financial success!

And So It Goes

The 100 dollar mark looms oh so close. There will soon be a payment mailed (or submitted electronically) to lower credit card debt. This is great news for those try to find solutions for their credit card debt. A simple change in lifestyle has now freed up over $1,000 to first eliminate the debt and then have that money to build for the future. Some more good news:

The "Credit Card Holders' Bill of Rights" cleared the House of Representatives yesterday (May 2, 2009) and it now heads to the Senate for approval. One of the key elements of this bill (information here) is that it will be illegal for credit card companies to engage in retroactive rate increases. These are rate increases that are announced at the end of the billing cycle, but applied to the billing cycle for which you just received a bill. It would be like having dinner at a restaurant. You went there for a $4.95 dinner special, but when the bill came they told you that they are changing the price to $6.95 and it took effect when you ordered your food. Would you be angry? Would you ask to speak with the manager?

Probably so.

Too often these things have been happening to consumers and we have been powerless against the money and power of the credit card companies. But change is in the air, but we cannot be too reliant on others to do things for us, we have to take matters into our own hands, particularly if we are to eliminate credit card debt from our lives. You have the power to be in control.

Take action today!

Fifteen and We Are Halfway There

Wow, still going and the savings add up. Now the total stands at $80.14 and the sweet scent of success can be felt. Last night, a pot of black-eyed peas and rice was scrounged up that will make 4 or 5 meals for the next few days. Not only are those items low cost to purchase (they were already in the pantry), but they are low-fat options for taking my lunch to my day job (which solves a couple of issues at one time). If you work at a job which has a refrigerator available that you can take your lunch in and save money, here are some ideas that you could use that will allow you to survive the day without blowing your budget or diet.
* Try making a pot of soup (better, for some reason, in the cooler months of the year). You can find some great recipes out on the Internet such as places like recipes.com.
*There is always the good old sandwich routine. Buy a loaf of bread, a package of lunch meat and perhaps even some cheese. You will be able to make quite a few meals that work out to be less than $1.00 a meal. When I was a kid, we often would be packed a peanut butter or bologna sandwich. Hey, it has worked for people for years.
* Make some casseroles and take the leftovers. I haven't been as good with eating leftovers until the past few years. Who says that a good meal can only be eaten once?
* There is always a bowl of low-cost ramen noodles. There is a wide host of recipes available as well.
* Frozen dinners and pot-pies give another low-cost option. There is no need to spend a fortune when many of the "bargain" meals can run right at $1.00 per dinner (Hint: You need to keep your eyes open for deals at your local grocery store or Wal-Mart. Look online for specials and coupons as well.

Keep up your success and you will find the money that has been mysteriously slipping between your fingers! You can then eliminate your credit card debt.

Have a great day! Visit my website if you like.

Fourteen = Two Weeks

It is difficult to imagine, but now it is at the fourteen day mark (only shopped for perishables) and the savings now stand at $71.81. That's $71.81 that can be used to eliminate credit card debt and push further toward the path of being debt-free. A few years ago, if one would have asked for $71.81 (okay, let round it to $70) in two weeks time, I would have thought that it would have been impossible to come up with the extra money, but now i am learning that the money is there, you just have to be wiser with the spending of it.

You can find "extra" money as well. You see, you just have to look for it, and you will most assuredly find it. As people are fond of saying that "you do what you have to do", once the mindset is there to save money/pay off credit card debt, the doors will open wide. You will think twice about buying a candy bar on impulse at the checkout lane of the grocery store or when picking up a box of nails from Home Depot: that "only a buck" will add up to wasted money in the long haul. Stores count on consumers to pick up things on impulse. Usually those items are marked up slightly (yes, I can remember when candy bars were bigger and cost only a quarter) if not a lot. Why do you think that there are impulse items at the checkout lanes of Wal-Mart? It certainly isn't that we need those items, it is that the stores need us to help line their pockets with a little more of our hard earned money.

Stand your ground! Buy only what you need and make do on less so that you can enjoy life more. I have lived most of my entire life from paycheck to paycheck when, in retrospect, I could have done without the soda and still lived, and had a lot more to show for life. You can too! I am just trying to be a guide for you (it is the teacher in me that wants to share this with you).

Here's to a happy, successful and financially worry-free life!

(visit here for a free report)

Cheaper By the Dozen

It's the name of a popular 2003 remake of a movie. As the name implies, things may be cheaper by the dozen. That is true, but you have to watch and make sure. When saving money for elimating your credit card debt, it may be best to purchase some things in bulk (I will explain shortly). I am attempting to show some simple ways that you can save money so that your hard-earned money will go further and that you can make smart decisions so that you can help eliminate credit card debt from your life.

First, an update: No groceries were purchased yesterday so the twelve day savings now stands at $55.14 (and we have not even reached the halfway point). There will more than likely be an adjustment to the budget for food expenses (a decrease) an a corresponding increase to the budget for eliminating credit card debt!

Now, on to the explanation promised earlier. Let's imagine that you need to buy eggs (eggs are a low-cost food item and are also used in a variety of recipes). The grocery store has three selections: a six-pack for $0.79, a dozen for $1.29, and 18 for $1.67. You hover in the decision because you do go to the grocery store often, so it isn't like they aren't accessible or seasonal. Doing the serious math you can break the cost per egg down to (figures are rounded) to $0.13 (six), $0.11 (12), or $0.09 (18). The cost between each egg is fairly insignificant, but remember that EVERY PENNY COUNTS!! In the world of money, one must be penny-wise. Retailers cound on us to not worry about a few cents. If they have 1,000 customers a day, four cents per customer is $40.00 a day. That means $14,600 a year. And that is just one item.

So, be wise, take the time to do some math (most cell phones have a calculator feature on them) and watch every cent so that it will add up to dollars in savings and you can use those dollars to help eliminate your credit card debt. (Please visit my website)

A Perfect 10

Wow, one third of the way there and so far, so good. It will take a bit of a ding today because there is one vice that I have (and thank goodness it isn't the expensive habit of smoking): I enjoy a can of Diet Coke in the mornings. I used to buy a bottle of Diet Coke from the local convenience store and waste a buck on there, but now it is a can from a case that I buy occasionally that costs closer to $0.25. That is a savings of $273.75 per year. I am not ready to give up that habit yet, but it may come to that. I know that consumption has been trimmed by at least half.

But we are hear to help you free up money in which to eliminate your credit card debt. Yesterday, we talked about saving with your cellular phone plan. Let's talk about television/cable/satellite spending.

Since the television bill is being paid today, let's talk about television/entertainment spending. Do you need 150 channels and seven channels of HBO and Cinemax. How many movies can you watch at one time? If you are like most people, there are probably a core set of about 4 to 7 channels that you watch on a regular basis. You could easily spend $150 a month on cable or satellite (depending on where you live). I called up my satellite provider and simply asked them if there was any way that I could lower my bill because I was getting a better offer from their competitor. They found me a lower package that got all of the channels that I regularly watch plus I got a three-month free trial of Cinemax. Now, I have a bill of around $70 a month (there are three receivers) and my bill is cut nearly in half. Sometimes, all you have to do is ask. Because competition is so fierce out there, they will be willing (usually) to cut you some sort of a deal.

But, you have to ask.

Keep in touch, look for savings everywhere you go so that you can free up money to eliminate your credit card debt. Please visit my website (I have been challenged to have 1,000 visitors in the next week, just visit is all I ask)

Nine is Fine

It is hard to believe that we are up to day nine of the challenge to not spend money at the grocery store needlessly and the total savings now stand at $61.52. And that is just one category that most have each and every month. That savings, after the month, will be used to help eliminate credit card debt. It is amazing that there is so much waste in our lives that we are sitting on abundance when it seems like we are sucked deeper and deeper into financial ruin.

It doesn't have to be that way.

Let's talk briefly about saving on cellular phone service. Fifteen years ago, there weren't that many cell phones (or cell phone companies) around to choose from and you paid a lot for very little. That has changed. You get a lot more talk time for less money than when the cellular phones started to hit the market. It is difficult to go anywhere without seeing people with cell phones in the hands or on their persons. You don't have to spend as much as most do. If you take the time to analyze your cell usage, you may find that you are paying for more than you need. Do you really need everything that is available for your phone? Probably not.

A good tool to use is a cellular phone plan comparison like here. You can find cellular plans that will get you what you need while not paying for what you don't need. I was paying for a much bigger plan than I needed that had over 1,000 minutes of anytime calling. I didn't use nearly that much and went to a smaller plan that saved about $25 a month, or $300 a year. In twenty years, I would have paid $6,000 more than I needed.

$6,000! That would make a dent in the credit card debt and will go a long way. And that is one one small area of saving. You can do it too. Simply spend less than you make and eliminate things that you don't need.

For more ideas, please visit my website.

Have a GREAT day!

So Far, So Good

Four days and counting. Today will be the day that some milk will have to be purchased, but so far no grocery shopping. At $8.33 per day for groceries, the potential savings (and subsequent debt pay down) stands at $33.33. And that is only in four days.

When you develop the mindset to eliminate your credit card debt, there seems to be so many little things that can be done to get you to where you want to be. Save a few cents here, clip a coupon there, eat less (and being gravity-enhanced, it is a good thing to decrease your size)...there are so many things that, on the onset, seem trivial and trite, but they weave together to form unbreakable cables of strength that you never knew that you had.

There are occasions that my family goes out to eat. It used to be a daily occurrence, but now, most food is eaten at home. One thing that I know adds up is merely the price of a soda. Twenty years ago, a soda with your meal might be 75 cents, but $1.79 seems to be the going rate, even at McDonald's. With a family of four, it could be $7.16 + tax that could be saved, or, at once a week, it figures to $372.32 + tax. I don't know about you, but I always could use an extra $372. Now I know where to find it.

You are always welcome to visit my website or for a great program to help you eliminate your credit card debt, click here.