No, I'm not going to ask you how much, if any, you have. That's your business.

I'm just wondering how much -- especially during the winter holiday season -- you think about debt.

What lengths would you go, to eliminate debt in your life?

Sell your car and other valuables? Change your spending habits? Get a second or third job?

I will sell my body on the streets. I have nice legs and will fetch good fees.

JDInteractive said:

babooshleeky said:

Why are you rolling your eyes. Is it because I stole your idea?

ThreadBare said:

JDInteractive said:

Exactly

I will buy almost all generic & shop at Aldi's for awhile. I also start working overtime when it's available.

Body biz aside, what would you do?

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[Edited 12/1/07 15:36pm]

I am in debt again, after I got myself completely out of it about 13-14 months ago. I simply don't have good spending habits.
SO - I made a very strict budget out for myself that I'll have to stick to for at least a couple of months and I've taken a second job to pay for Xmas presents and an upcoming wedding I have to attend. (Man, just being a guest at a wedding is expensive, between the new outfit to wear, bridal shower gift, wedding gift and hotel room for the night!) We'll see how I fair with the second job after about February, but I hope I can stick to it for, well, a year or so to work away at the debt I have and save for a trip or two next year. I'm also hoping my raise next year is as good as it was this year and that should help things too.

CarrieMpls said:

If my raise and bonus suck ass this year, I'm looking at a second job as well.







And i have a damned roomate to offset my finances too.

ThreadBare said:

I don't think about debt during the holidays because I save all year long for them. I do this so I don't have to use a credit card. If I did have debt, and I have in the past, I'd watch my spending.

hokie1 said:

That's genius.

ThreadBare said:

Well, it's not genius really. More like I have a debt phobia.

hokie1 said:

Well, that's a good way to be, I think.

ThreadBare said:

I think so...I have been in debt before and it just sucks. You are constantly worried about it. It's the biggest downer. It's always in the back of my mind. I hate it.

I will always try and avoid it if possible.

hokie1 said:

Indeed, indeed.

ThreadBare said:

It always cracks me up when I see people on TV saying they don't understand how they got into debt. Then they'll have an "expert" come on and tell them how to get out of debt. They'll say to make a budget, cut spending...

I'm always like, "Duh!!!"

hokie1 said:

Good job!!! I never am able to do that so I end up working a lot of ovetime to have spending money for X-mas

As the wise sage Gilligan once said:

Neither a borrower or a lender be
Do not forget
Stay out of debt.



Seriously, stay out of debt. Never use credit cards - ever. Use a debit card. If you don't have a credit card, you can never get in trouble.

CarrieMpls said:

I hope you get out of debt soon. And when you do, STAY OUT. Cut up ALL credit cards. Pay cash for everything.

It sucks and it surely changes some habits, but you will NEVER go into debt again.

ThreadBare said:

Again, pay cash for EVERYTHING. Do not borrow a cent EVER. If you can't pay cash for it, don't do it or buy it.

Don't hide your credit cards. Cancel them and cut them up and throw them in the trash. Make it impossible to borrow money or go into debt.

Only exceptions are buying a car and buying a house. But when you do these, make sure you can put down at least 35% on a car, and 20% on a house. That way, if you ever have to sell, you won't be upside down.

ThreadBare said:

I think about my debt constantly. My job barely pays me enough to cover rent and basic expenses so as hard as I try not to spend money (I don't have cable, only have the most basic cell phone plan/no land line, I 'borrow' wireless internet, don't eat out often, don't go to movies, get my hair cut at the Aveda student salon, etc) I still end up having to pay for some stuff on my credit card, which I hate to do. I also have student loans from graduate school--those don't stress me out as much (b/c I have a really low interest rate). It's the credit card debt that I hate. (Before I moved to NYC for grad school I was 100% debt free and had money in the bank. But grad school & living in NYC for four years has changed all that.)




I mainly try to cut expenses and change spending habits but I do sell stuff on ebay--sold a ton of Prince stuff last year and am planning to sell more. I have also been looking for a new (higher paying) job for about a year now. What really sucks is that I lost between 2 & 3 pant sizes over the last 2 years so none of my clothes fit well and I can't justify spending the money it would take to buy new clothes. I don't eat lunch so I save money on groceries/food (that's why I lost weight!) Before I moved I used to walk home from work (about 1 mile) so that I would save money on subway card--now I live too far away. My family knows that I essentially have zero disposable income, so they do not expect gifts from me. It does make me sad that I can't buy things for my niece and nephew, but I do have savings accounts for both of them that I put a teeny tiny bit of money in each month. (Luckily they're only 5 & 3, so I'm hoping by the time they're 18 I'll have been able to contribute more.)


Luckily something really good happened to me (not a new job...yet) that is going to alleviate some of my debt. It happened about 3 weeks ago and I cannot tell you how much less stress I feel. Even though I still have to be very budget conscious, knowing that I have a bit more of a cushion has made it feel like a huge weight was lifted off of me. If I can just find a new job soon it will be the icing on the cake.



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[Edited 12/1/07 16:28pm]

RodeoSchro said:

I would include college/grad school in that. Education is an investment and no one can ever take it from you. The bank might repo your house or your car, but once you have your education it's yours for life.

ThreadBare said:

I definitely have changed my spending habits, and at one time, was working a second job (evenings) in order to get rid of credit card debt. I've learned my lesson about excessive spending, NEVER AGAIN! If I can't afford something, I just won't buy it.

The only debt I have is my student loan but that's a big one. I've been requesting (and succeeding) to postpone the repayments the last two years and I'll try it again for next year, but I don't think they'll be so kind this time. I guess my stress level depends on how big the debt is compared to my income and at present the ratio doesn't look too good.

#1 way to get out of debt = earn more than you spend.

A moderate approach is best. Decide how much a month you can afford to put toward your debt and make it slightly ambitious. Then just put it in a monthly budget.

Every month do a budget and track/keep close watch on all your expense to make sure you're within budget at all times.

Make more than minimum payments.

Have good fiscal sense in all your transactions.

Seek the lowest possible interest rate wherever you can find it.

I have a HUGE student debt but have less anxiety around it, the more discipline I keep around my finances.

To pay it off, I have:

1. Negotiated with my boss to make my monthly loan payment rather than pay for health insurance. (The problem is, I'm still uninsured )

2. Put more of my "disposable income" toward my loan.

3. Increased my income by working extra jobs.

4. Consolidated my loans so that they now accrue very low interest.

5. Have a strict monthly budget that I follow closely, so that I don't risk going deeper into debt.

we are about $180,000 in debt (of the home loan kind) but we have a line of credit thing going, so all our income just goes straight into it and we pay everything with a credit card which is paid in full each month. We paid off our house in under 10 years with this thing.

I'm miss thrifty though, so it isn't any wonder lol. I buy generic and aldis wherever possible, and choose our green grocer and butcher over the supermarkets too, MUCH cheaper, local produce. I don't buy shoes, or take-out hardly EVER, don't get coffees everyday, smoke, or drive when I can walk. It is amazing how much money those things cost

retina said:

Same here. I deferred as long as I could but I had to start paying a few years ago. That shit hurts every month

One thing I'll never do again - use credit cards regularly. Everything, everything, EVERYTHING comes out of what I have available in the bank - if I don't have it, I don't get it. The ONLY time I use credit is to make a big purchase (furniture or something). I climbed out of about $23k in credit card debt a few years back & I never, EVER wanna be under that kinda shit again

We have zero debt of any kind except mortgage basically because we are smart with our money as opposed to making so much we don't run into problems. Although I know plenty of people who make way more then we do and don't have anything to show for it.

We both save more then 15 percent of our gross salary (hers mostly into savings and mine mostly into retirement)as well so we should be okay if we run into any problems in the future.