Paying off your debt

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:

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

babooshleeky said:

JDInteractive said:

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

ThreadBare said:

JDInteractive said:

babooshleeky said:

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

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

Just because you're paranoid don't mean they're not after you.

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:

IMPORTANT AS ALL HELL: http://prince.org/msg/7/293484

ThreadBare said:

hokie1 said:

ThreadBare said:

hokie1 said:

ThreadBare said:

That's genius.

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

ThreadBare said:

hokie1 said:

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

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

hokie1 said:

ThreadBare said:

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

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.

ThreadBare said:

hokie1 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.

Indeed, indeed.

hokie1 said:

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:

ThreadBare said:

ThreadBare said:

RodeoSchro said:

ThreadBare said:

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:

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.