My Story

I don’t remember the first time I took on debt.  Probably sometime as a small child saying “Mommy, please buy this for me and I’ll…”  I know through high school, my friends and I would loan each other money all the time, “I’ll get dinner the next time…”  When I went off to college, I signed up for a credit card.  I was even told by my parents that this was a good idea.  “What if someone dies and you need to get a plane ticket?”  Of course with minimal income I never paid more than the minimum payment, and eventually it got maxed out and went over the limit.  There was no way that I could pay the now $200 payment, so what did I do?  I got a new cell phone number of course.  The best way to avoid debt collectors.  I knew this was a bad plan at the time, but I didn’t really know how to fix things, so I just ignored it.  Fast forward a few years (and a few new phone numbers), and I had about $5000 in collections.  Fortunately, I don’t get calls from debt collectors all the time, but my credit is in the toilet, and I pay 17% interest on my car loan. 

Nine months ago, I married a wonderful man.  I knew him nine years ago, we were great friends, but we lost touch.  One year and nine months ago, he found me again (on myspace of all places), and well, one thing led to another and *fireworks*.  He has been a bit more responsible than me with his finances.  He always pays his bills on time, but he does have three credit cards with balances totalling over $17k.  I know, it’s ridiculous.  Add that to my $5k in collections, 2 vehicle financed, another $5k I owe my father, and it’s a pretty staggering amount.  I am lucky that we see eye to eye on getting out of debt.  We both want it very much.  I am a bit more obsessive about it, reading, and now writing, personal finance blogs. 

I decided that I should have a blog of my own.  I find great encouragement reading about the trials and successes of others with their finances, and I wish to join in the fun.  I also look forward to the accountability.  I may think twice about splurging if I know I will later have to explain it in my blog. 

Also, this is my first blog ever, so any tips on how to manage it and make a better, easier to read site are very welcome.