at the moment, i am spending too much money. i have a loan i am paying the bank back for and i have am also paying off a painting that i bought that is worth $1200. it'll take me until June to pay it all off and the bank loan til November.
funny thing, is that i had to take my bike to the garage last month for a sudden break down and that put me in the hole by $550. it hurt real hard too.

but the good thing is that if i am down to the wire i will stretch a dollar like Plastic Man making love to his woman from across town. reminds me of when i lived in expensive London. i learned how to watch that dollar real good.

heartbeatocean said:

The CC bank will (or at least should) put in a claim against the estate. And if the estate doesn't have enough money to pay off the balance, well, the bank is basically out of luck. They'll write it off and get a tax break. Game over.

What the bank cannot do is collect any remaining balance from the heirs, unless one or more of them is jointly liable on that account. So you're probably safe.

ThreadBare said:

Love it. You can categorize every expense and then run reports easily comparing how much you spent on gas last year compared to this year, for instance, or how much you have spent so far this month and where it has gone. It really keeps you on track.

matt said:

Thanks for the info. I'm safe except for there goes any inheritance and who's gonna pay for the bill when he gets sick? It still feels like a burden, emotionally, if nothing else.

Which brings up the topic that how you handle money effects your RELATIONSHIPS in more ways than one. Another good book is Suzie Orman's book 9 Steps to Financial Freedom which delves into this aspect and our emotional relationship to money. She shows how to cultivate an attitude of responsibility, love and respect around ourselves and others through our use of money and how to heal destructive habits.

Well, I didn't have debt.

But I moved into a house two years ago and bought a shitload of expensive furniture which I'm still paying off and will probably be paying off for another two years.

But I'm enjoying my home and didn't want to live in an empty house or wait to furnish room by room ... so I can deal with this debt. I'm paying huge amounts monthly to get it down.

I'm getting better each month. However, I still find myself without a penny in my pocket, the week before payday, each month.

It's amazing how resourceful you can be, when forced into poverty.

My top tip is to leave your ATM card at home when going out with friends or shopping for non-essential items like new clothes. Set yourself a budget, take the money out of the cash machine earlier in the day and pay cash.

Oh - and don't write cheques. Pay with a cash or debit card. I cut my cheque books into pieces when the bank sends them through the post.