Why were you inspired to do this?

My debt-load had been growing consistently after graduating from university in 1993. I finished up my undergraduate degree and started working as a Commercial Insurance Broker with a reputable Toronto brokerage. Aside from gas, food, rent and utilities, my entry level salary had to cover a sizable student loan, a car loan, insurance, a gym membership and support an unhealthy relationship with credit cards too. It got to the point where I felt like I was drowning. My stress level went through the roof when the bills would come in the mail. I remember keeping them all unopened until the last payday of each month so I could decide how I would handle them. I really needed to get out from under the shackles of debt and get some breathing room. I needed to just get to broke!

What were 3 things you did to make this happen?

The first thing I did was decide I would no longer use credit. I put myself on a cash only system. I figured out what I needed in gas money and food for the month after the rent and utilities were paid.

I allowed myself $15 per week for incidentals and vowed to cut out the Tim Hortons coffees and to bring my lunch to work. Once the cash ran out, that was it for the week - no touching the credit cards.

I then organized all the credit card and loan payment bills that I had from the smallest balance to the largest and attacked the smallest balance first. So all the minimums were paid on each account but every bit of extra money I had for the month went down on that one bill that I owed the least on. Once that one was paid, I took the extra cash and put it down on the next one and then the next. I did not renew my gym membership. I did not renew my magazine subscription. The department stores were the first to go. Dalmy's, Sears and the Bay, they had the least balances, but the highest interest rates. They were killers. I closed each one off too as I paid them out. Next went the Visa, which I also closed off. I paid the Mastercard, but kept that one open. The car loan next. The student loan was last to go and finally, I could celebrate because, unbelievably, I had conquered the beast!

How did you feel once you had accomplished this?

I will never forget the way I felt once I completed this process. I was totally and completely elated the day that last bill was defeated! I wanted to stand on a mountain and shout that I had won. The war was over and I was finally free. Today, I still use a cash system and I have one credit card that gets paid off each month. Gone are the days when hundreds of dollars of my hard earned cash were wasted on interest payments. Gone are the days of impulse shopping and sprees resulting in anxiety when the mail was delivered. If it's not needed, it's not purchased and it is absolutely not purchased on credit. If it is something I want, I save for it. There is such a feeling of reward that goes along with attaining something after practicing a little bit of delayed gratification. I remember feeling like my debt was choking the life out of me. Getting control of my finances and going through the whole process of slowly, methodically destroying that monster was such an incredible life lesson. It was a painful growing experience, but an absolutely necessary one. I say this with complete sincerity and total belief ... if I could manage it, anyone can.

Additional notes and tips:

One thing that made all the difference in the world was that I got my spouse on board!  My husband and I both agreed that no purchases would be made without discussing them and AGREEING to them.  For me, that meant absolutely no shopping on the sly and sneaking the bags in and hiding the boxes under the bed.  For him, that meant no 'toys' purchased on a whim to be justified later at home.  There were to be no surprises on the credit card.

We both committed to the cash-only system.  If the money ran out and it wasn't a necessity, we'd wait until the next month.  Chances were, it wasn't that important anyway.

We pay the full balance on the card each month so there is no interest payment.

We have only one account from which all the household expenses are managed.  It's less confusing to handle the expenses when all funds are in one place and not spread out in various accounts.  This also reduces the fees. Of course, only one partner can be in charge.  Deciding who managed funds better between the two of us was easy.   One of us reliquishing control to the other was not.  This was a serious challenge for my husband and I to overcome.  Life got a whole LOT better once we worked through this one.

I'd learned that 'Mort' means "Death" in Italian.  Many people consider a mortgage to be good debt - it's not though.  No debt is good debt.  A mortgage can be eliminated too.  My house is not so awesome that I want to pay for it three times over!  I can't wait for the day we get that monkey off our backs too.  Of course, I replaced "Becoming Debt Free" with "Becoming Mortgage Free" on the Life List.

We don't  lease and we don't put things on monthly payments.  We absolutely will not give companies or even insurance brokers access to our bank accounts (as in with a VOID cheque) for monthly installments.  It opens up all kinds of possibilities for errors. 

We learned other ways to save money too... switching the light bulbs and shower heads to more economical varieties.  Another way was to avoid new cars.  A car is just a tool to get from A to B.  While funds were an issue, a good used car with low mileage was the wiser choice.  (Of course, if funds aren't the issue and a certain car is a lifelong dream or owning that car is a serious motivator... go out and test drive it.  Feel the soft supple leather gliding under your fingertips, the way the steering wheel feels in your hand, the sound of the engine as you accelerate, feel the way it hugs the curves of the highway, that irresistable 'new car' smell...  then attach a goal to it and let that car be your reward for achieving the next big goal.)

I handle the grocery shopping in our home, but with this new 'saving' philosophy it meant learning the pricing on our kitchen and household staples and trying to nab them when they are on sale.  We are fortunate to have a spacious kitchen pantry, a box freezer and some extra storage space in the basement and fruit cellar.  'Stocking up' on the sales and slowly building us our own mini supermarket has reduced the time I have to spend shopping, saved us money and relieved the pressure when it comes to 'last-minute'  or unplanned meals.

One of the surprising benefits of this exercise was the unexpected and overwhelming feelings of accomplishment throughout the experience.  Becoming debt free was a slow agonizing process (especially at first), but it was a liberating one.  And once some momentum built and new habbits were formed, it became exciting - especially as I got closer and closer to the edge of the forest.  Yes, it took time.  The time it took to replace that suffocating feeling with the reduced stress and relief I felt as I moved closer to that goal was worth every minute.  With each passing month, I felt like I was gaining breathing space until finally, I could stand up for the weight had been lifted, breathe deeply and smile.