Personal Development for Smart People^TM Forums

Mounds · 04-16-2010, 07:35 PM

Surfing around on my online banking, I noticed that I had the option of checking my old banking statements. I decided to have a look at what my debt was at on Jan 1, 2010. Check this out:

Credit card - $3500
Line of Credit - $19,998

Whoa.
Check out what I'm at now, three and a half months later...

Credit card - $0.00
Line of Credit - $14,500

Briefly, I'll talk about how I got into debt. Living above my means. Spending more than I earned. And ya know what? I'm not really sure what I spent it on. It creeped up over the course of a year. Ironically, I'm pretty sure some of that debt is personal finance books.
In December of 2009, I looked at my mountain of debt, shocked that there was no more room on my line of credit, to transfer my credit card debt (lower interest). So, with my Christmas bonus, I.... bought a Mac!?! Yep, that's right, I bought an $1800 computer, instead of paying down debt.
Then something snapped in my brain. I suddenly became very concerned about the level of debt I had and decided I was on a one way street to bankruptcy. I started throwing every dime I had at this debt. I actually started using the information I read about in personal finance books. Debt started disappearing... FAST. $9000-in-less-than-four-months fast. Crazy part is, we feel like we have more than enough.
If anyone wants to hear about some great books for paying down debt, drop me a line. I'll tell you about some great titles and some blogs as well to check out.

SnerpGoodWord · 04-16-2010, 08:51 PM

Good for you - no investment pays off more with less risk than getting rid of unsecured debt. Some types of secured debt aren't far behind.

The great news is that clearly you have a lot more income than your basic expenses. That means once the rest of your debt is gone, you can start making investments that increase your income with ease. Do yourself a favor and buy Amazon.com: Security Analysis: The Classic 1951 Edition (9780071448208): Benjamin Graham: Books so you can distinguish good investments from bad ones.

Carl Carlson IV · 04-16-2010, 08:53 PM

Congrats on getting your debt paid off! Now the big thing is to avoid it again in the future! I'm always interested in some books, go ahead and list 'em.

Mounds · 04-17-2010, 04:48 PM

Just finishing up "I Will Teach You To Be Rich" by Sethi Rami. Awesome book if your hopelessly lost in the personal finance realm.
Another good one is "Your Money: The Missing Manual" by J.D. Roth.
Both of these guys run blogs, iwillteachyoutoberich.com and Get Rich Slowly - Personal Finance That Makes Cents, respectively.

InterfaceLeader · 04-17-2010, 06:22 PM

I really liked "I will teach you to be rich" - definitely a good book for beginners.

04-16-2010, 07:35 PM	#1 (permalink)
Mounds Family Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 3,853	Debt Reduction Mania Surfing around on my online banking, I noticed that I had the option of checking my old banking statements. I decided to have a look at what my debt was at on Jan 1, 2010. Check this out: Credit card - $3500 Line of Credit - $19,998 Whoa. Check out what I'm at now, three and a half months later... Credit card - $0.00 Line of Credit - $14,500 Briefly, I'll talk about how I got into debt. Living above my means. Spending more than I earned. And ya know what? I'm not really sure what I spent it on. It creeped up over the course of a year. Ironically, I'm pretty sure some of that debt is personal finance books. In December of 2009, I looked at my mountain of debt, shocked that there was no more room on my line of credit, to transfer my credit card debt (lower interest). So, with my Christmas bonus, I.... bought a Mac!?! Yep, that's right, I bought an $1800 computer, instead of paying down debt. Then something snapped in my brain. I suddenly became very concerned about the level of debt I had and decided I was on a one way street to bankruptcy. I started throwing every dime I had at this debt. I actually started using the information I read about in personal finance books. Debt started disappearing... FAST. $9000-in-less-than-four-months fast. Crazy part is, we feel like we have more than enough. If anyone wants to hear about some great books for paying down debt, drop me a line. I'll tell you about some great titles and some blogs as well to check out.

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04-16-2010, 08:51 PM	#2 (permalink)
SnerpGoodWord Family Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 1,519	Good for you - no investment pays off more with less risk than getting rid of unsecured debt. Some types of secured debt aren't far behind. The great news is that clearly you have a lot more income than your basic expenses. That means once the rest of your debt is gone, you can start making investments that increase your income with ease. Do yourself a favor and buy Amazon.com: Security Analysis: The Classic 1951 Edition (9780071448208): Benjamin Graham: Books so you can distinguish good investments from bad ones.

04-16-2010, 08:53 PM	#3 (permalink)
Carl Carlson IV Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 337	Congrats on getting your debt paid off! Now the big thing is to avoid it again in the future! I'm always interested in some books, go ahead and list 'em.

04-17-2010, 04:48 PM	#4 (permalink)
Mounds Family Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 3,853	Just finishing up "I Will Teach You To Be Rich" by Sethi Rami. Awesome book if your hopelessly lost in the personal finance realm. Another good one is "Your Money: The Missing Manual" by J.D. Roth. Both of these guys run blogs, iwillteachyoutoberich.com and Get Rich Slowly - Personal Finance That Makes Cents, respectively.

04-17-2010, 06:22 PM	#5 (permalink)
InterfaceLeader Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: In a green and bountiful land Posts: 515	I really liked "I will teach you to be rich" - definitely a good book for beginners.

Personal Development for Smart PeopleTM Forums

Personal Development for Smart People^TM Forums