ladies, i had a moment of clarity a few weeks ago about our money and how all these years of only "kinda knowing" what was really going on was getting us nowhere.


so i now put away my check card (i froze it in a block of ice) and its been there for 17 days...i also check my online banking each day and im consigning things, having a purge garage sale in 2 weeks and am craiglisting things each day.


so you know whats different about me now? i have no desire to go to target, i have no interest in leafing through the sunday ads and i dont pay any attention to the mommysaver formums of online bargains and whats in store.

i am just not buying stuff, im using what i have and i cant stop thinking about it. its hard though, cause part of you wants good deals but the other part knows that the spending needs to stop.

i am so crazed about paying down my cc debt that everytime i "find" money (consigning, rolled coin, returns) i immediately go to the bank, deposit the $$ then call the cc company and make a payment. now before i was making a smaller payment each month, i now make a larger payment (7-800 a month) and then i call in little payments all the time. two days ago it was 15.00 and just now it was 21.00!

im so disgusted in how we've handled our money and when i look back at the past 6 mos and see all the receipt totals for the grocery store, walmart, target it sickens me.

anyone else in the "sick" mode and have no appetite to buy?

Yes! It's been a gradual process for my husband and I. The debt just kind of snowballed. I figured if we "needed" it, it was ok to charge it. We've both come to the conclusion that debt just sucks the life out of us. It's such a burden to carry. It's been great for our whole family. I think it's a gift to our kids to learn about not wasting money. I do get frustrated when I think about all of our foolish financial decisions, but without them I wouldn't have learned such a great lesson. We start our Dave Ramsey class in September. I am looking so forward to it.

I have been asking myself want vs need for a long time. It is a idea that can for me be used for more then just money. Do I really want a cookie or do I really need a cookie.
I am still a shopper but I have been walking empty handed out of the malls for year. I wish I could find the money to pay down my CC. I have no more appetite to continue the home improvement projects that have plagued our budget. We finish off our outdoor project and I am done we need to be more debt focused.

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Kimberly Proud Mommy to Bethany Rose April 2006

I wish and I need to get my focus back. I was like this for a long time but for some reason I've swung the opposite way.

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I am too!

It's almost like I'm obsessed. because I know the only way I will do it is to keep looking at it and then keep wiping it out.
I have all of my bills set up online with my bank so they are paid automatically and every time I come across a little bit of extra money I go into my bill pay and set up an extra payment in that amount, no matter how small. Our bank does not charge for this service.
I once paid my CC bill 3 times during one week.
I just want it gone so badly and I'm not very patient about it.
I have one specific bill I'm working on and then I'll move onto the next.

It's also fun to go in and check my loan balance and see it shrinking!

I need to get back to that..I swear if I could feed the family grilled cheese every night, I would! Then I'd take the rest of the grocery money pay off stuff. We don't spend too much on groceries, but stil..

This is what I am doing to.. I am determined to get the cc paid off within the next 1-1/2 years. I don't even want to go shopping anymore..

Yes.

We don't have any debt., but we were still buying just to buy. What REALLY helped me see the error of my ways is all the de-cluttering I have been doing for the past...year...18 months...geez, I don't even know how long.

I am embarrased to say that I have gotten rid of TRUCKLOADS of stuff. Yes...I said truckloads. It was obscene. It made me ashamed of my spending and I have almost cut out impulse buys completely! When I think of all the money I have given away to Goodwill I really think twice before putting that "great deal" in my cart.

DH and I have a "wish list" on the fridge. It consists of any purchase that is not a monthly utility or a necessity such as groceries, gas, underwear, socks, etc. No matter how small the item is...it goes on the list.

It gives us an opportunity to really think about our purchases. Do we really want it or need it a week later? Have we done the research to make an informed purchase? Do we already have something similar that can be used in it's place? Have we found it at a good price?

We have found items that have stuck around on the list secondhand, some items have simply dropped off the list when we later realized we didn't really want/need it afterall, and others we just bought when we had the extra money. It has really been working well for us and has helped change our spending habits.

I have to say, I don't know if I'm "gazelle intense". I like to think I'm maybe... Jack rabbit intense? Do cheetah's hunt Jack rabbits? I'd like to think they're pretty fast and can get away some of the time... anyway...

I definately want the debt gone, and it should be - no WILL be - in about a year and a half! But, because the time frame isn't too outrageous I don't want to sell my minivan. This is why I don't consider myself gazelle intense! We still buy things occasionally - yes even some things we may not need - but the buying of these things has gone done A LOT! I look at credit card or car commercials differently! I really don't feel the need to shop like I used to!

I am trying to sell more stuff now and I don't feel the need to fix up the house (and that's big for me)... My whole mindset has changed! It's awesome!

I've always paid off as much as I could to our credit card debt, but we were also using that same card every month so the balance, which had been going down at one point, was now staying about the same. That was when I decided enough was enough. At about that time I found this site I saw so many people talking about Dave Ramsey I finally got online and purchased "The Total Money Makeover" for $11 on Amazon. The library's copy was out and I was getting impatient... BUT it's the best $11 I've ever spent!! I loaned it to my sister and got her on board! I LOVE DAVE!!!

I feel more and more gazelle intense everyday, but I'm not 100% there yet! But I'm definitely making a dent in our debt now!

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Stay at home mom to my 3 boys... ages 5, 3 & 1!

I can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

good for you. its amazing once you stop shopping its not so fun. i stopped shopping for fun out of a need but ya know what when i have had a little extra cash it just was not as fun anymore... just think how great you are gonna feel when the debts are gone!! keep it up.

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'The will of God will never take you where the
Grace of God will not protect you.'

HAVE A BOOTIFUL HALLOWEEN

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