Debt Free News #20 – Jenny of Ex-Consumer

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Guess what folks! Debt Free Friday is back and today I want to congratulate Jenny from Ex-Consumer, and her husband for becoming debt free! Woo-hoo! That is awesome news for sure. For all of you debt free enthusiast out there, I hope you take the time to read this story of hope and freedom. Be inspired by Jenny and all those who came before her! You’re NEXT! Make your plan to become debt free and get down to business! We’ll all be rooting for you here at Enemy of Debt so be sure to drop by for motivation and some […] Read more »

Debt is Not the Answer

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A few weeks ago on my site I talked about my husband's estimated dental bill. We had saved up for a year to get ready for this upcoming bill. However the estimated bill was quite more than I expected. It was more than my wildest dreams. $33,000. Needless to say that is more than we can afford right now. Maybe ever. I was talking to someone who will remain nameless about this situation. I was explaining how that's just a crazy amount of money and that there's no way we can possibly afford that. I was saying that we are going to spend $3,000 this year and then see where we stand. How we can only do what we can do. I mean, really what else can be done? We are going to have to just do it little by little over time. He might have to go without getting every single thing that needs to be done. I hate it, but I mean what else can we do except our best? "Can't you take out a loan?" they said. I was so shocked! Especially since this person knows me very well. Me? A loan? I didn't know what to say? Read more »

Finding the Right Balance in Order to Succeed

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Earlier this week, I submitted my article to Perkstreet Financial titled 6 Ways to Change Your Financial Math, Without a Calculator. It really digs into the psychological side of money and asserts that if you're struggling to turn things around by using math and book knowledge, you may be missing the bigger picture. I've said it before; just because you know what to do doesn't mean you will necessarily do it. I mentioned 6 things in the article that I think are far more important than math. They were attitude, behavior, contentment, balance, intensity, and diligence. My point was that by working on these 6 characteristics you might be much more likely to succeed financially. Read more »

The Resurrection of My Debt Free News From Debt Free Readers Series

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Do you miss reading stories about regular everyday people becoming debt free? I do, which is why I want to try and get that series up and running again. I haven’t had a Debt Free News submission in quite some time, but I find it hard to believe that it’s because no one else has become debt free. Are you debt free? Share your story by answering a few short questions about your debt free journey so your experience may inspire someone else to start their own. The good news is you don’t have to wait for another submission to […] Read more »

The Debt Snowball Calculator

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If you are trying to get out of debt and you’re savvy enough to be reading personal finance blogs then you’ve probably heard of “The Debt Snowball“.  I’m sure Brad has you all well aware it. If not, I’ll explain it really quickly. A debt snowball is when you line up all your debts and the organize them from smallest balance to largest balance. You make the minimum payments on all debts except the one with the smallest balance. On the debt with the smallest balance you pay the minimum payment plus every single extra dollar you can get your hands […] Read more »

Is Netflix Really the Devil?

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DISCLAIMER: If you are not mindlessly deciding to stay in debt, I might not be talking about you. 😉 Are you upset at the recent price hike announced by Netflix? Is seems a lot of people are lighting the torches and grabbing their pitchforks so they can lynch the once beloved company.I have an idea. How about you get that mad about your debt! Seriously, you should torch IT instead. Wasn’t it Netflix that saved us from companies like Blockbuster? Wasn’t it Netflix that made it possible to watch as many movies as we could mail off and receive in […] Read more »

Understanding Need Versus Want

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Understanding Need Versus Want Understanding a need versus a want is the first step that we should all take when trying to get control of our spending habits and monthly budgets, but it’s often a step we skip. There’s a lot of rationalization in our reasons for spending the way we do and far too little self-introspection. It’s easy to differentiate between need versus want. The definitions are clear and if asked we could all, most likely, tell the difference. Where it gets difficult is in those moments where we’re not really thinking about how much we want something, or […] Read more »

The Perfect Father’s Day

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The perfect Father’s Day could be so many different things to so many different dads. In a consumer-happy society, to me it seems that the real meaning of most holidays has been heavily diluted by the idea that, the more you spend the more you love someone. I reject that idea and have written about it as recently as Mother’s Day. An article I read inspired What Kind of Mother’s Day Gift Would You Prefer?, which really irritated me because it suggested that people in Oregon loved their moms more because they spent on average $137. Whooptie-freakin-doo right? Just like […] Read more »

Do You Worship the “Not So Mighty” Credit Score?

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When you were younger, do you remember hearing countless people advise you to “build your credit”? Those same voices were buzzing around in my head until I got a clue in 2007! “You’ve got to build your credit” they’d say, and the reason is usually based on the myth that says in order to be financially responsible you must build your score. I despise this myth most of all because from what I see, it has ruined more lives than it has helped. Think about it. 18 year old after 18 year old has inserted themselves into the murky waters […] Read more »

Reader News: “Today I Mailed Off My Last Car Payment!”

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Earlier this week Money Momma (an awesome EOD reader), left a comment on a post I wrote called It’s Not a Myth, It’s a Lie; You Don’t Need a Car Payment stating that she finally mailed off the very last car payment. I can’t tell you how excited I get when I receive news like this from my readers, but this meant an awful lot because I know just how hard she’s been working to pay off that vehicle and eventually become debt free. I DID IT!!!! Today I mailed off the last car payment. We had $1000 saved for […] Read more »

Debt Free Checklist: Plan a Special Meeting

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Back in May I wrote a post called Your Debt Free Checklist, which listed steps you would take action on and complete to become debt free. I also mentioned in that post that I would break down each step on the list into a series of articles. This is the first post of that series and it covers setting up a special meeting with your spouse. Some have asked me why I haven’t left it open to anyone in a relationship. Why did I specifically mention “spouse”? That’s actually very simple. I know some people that aren’t married that combine […] Read more »

Six Important Questions to Consider When Improving Your Finances

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Are you sick and tired of struggling week to week, month to month? You probably know it doesn’t have to be that way but just haven’t quite figured out how to get the ball rolling. (or keep it rolling might be more accurate) Most of the time we tend to use techniques other broke people use whenever they want to break free. The problem is most people, especially broke people, haven’t a clue as to how to turn things around. We usually need a push in the right direction, from the right person. That certainly describes our old financial patterns […] Read more »

The Government Wants to Raise the Debt Ceiling, But Should They?

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As most of you know I am no fan of the United States Government, especially when it comes to how they spend money. Republicans and Democrats alike have continued to spend like crazy on some of the most ridiculous and unnecessary budget items and it’s put the country in a terrible situation. There has been talk from many groups about whether or not the Government should raise the debt ceiling. Some say we need to stop with the out-of-control spending and others contend that not raising it would cause the U.S. to default on it’s debt obligations. I’m sure you […] Read more »

Your Debt Free Checklist

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Happy Friday everyone! Today’s post gives you a step-by-step checklist to work your way to debt freedom! Each one of these items could be elaborated on in a separate post, so expect to see something in the future for each one. I did however feel it was important to summarize each bullet point for a little explanation. I hope that for anyone just starting to think about their financial situations a little more seriously, and specifically, how debt is affecting it, that this checklist will give you something solid to follow to eventually reach your debt free goals. Click here […] Read more »