This goal shows so much thought! I love how specific you are in your steps. Do you have a time frame for when you're going to take step 1? 

Also, since you are a nurse, maybe you would have some advice to offer this member who has a goal to go to nursing school? Start a conversation and see how you can support and be supported! http://www.mylifelist.org/members/MyLifeListGoal.aspx?ActID=55153

And most of all, WELCOME to My Life List. Your success is in your hands and you have the power of an entire social network of achievers behind you now. You can browse through other goals and success stories to find others who share your goal, or read for inspiration to find new dreams!

Well, I did get that calender and I've begun to sort through the paperwork to determine just which people I need to contact. This is truly a challenge but there's no turning back.    

Good luck on your goal and thanks for your comments on mine! Your plan sounds great. It is amazing how much less stress there is once you have "automated" what you will do in payments each month. I recently saw a story about a couple who paid down something like $70,000 of debt in three years by planning and simply not spending other than on necessities. It was very inspiring!

Maybe this will help, a few other members have paid off their debts using this program. One MLL member even paid $22,000 off in only five months! It actually makes sense, it says to pay off the smallest of your debts first because it creates momentum. Let me know what you think.

http://www.daveramsey.com/article/get-out-of-debt-with-the-debt-snowball-plan/lifeandmoney_debt/

 Awesome goal.  I know you can achieve this.  Wishing you all the very best as you tackle this one and look forward to reading of your success. 

Well, much to my amazement, the plans are going forward. I've gone through all the paperwork and calculated my monthly income. I have contacted the 2 largest creditors for help with my plan and both were amazing. They took time to discuss my situation and they helped me set up reasonable monthly payments. I was very grateful for those positive people because they gave me the support I needed to contact the remaining creditors and talk with them, as well. Now I am setting up a financial calendar to take me through the next year, maintaining my financial commitments. I feel like I can do this!

You absolutely can. As long as you have set reasonable expectations, I think they have the leeway to help you. I've always heard, as long as you stay in communication with them, they can work with you. So that's really progress! What does the financial calendar entail? 

My calendar will list the date due and the amount to be paid for each month on each bill. As one  bill is paid off I can increase payment amount of the next smallest bill until it is paid of and onward to the finish of my journey!

I enjoyed reading the Snowball Plan!

 You can totally and completely do this!  I was $33,000 in debt and did it (had to do it to get into the next chapter of my life which I really wanted)  It's amazing how we only begin to change when staying the same has become 'painful'.  YOU've got a plan and as long as it's reasonable and you stick to it, you'll get there.  Inch by inch, it's a cinch.  Yard by yard, can get mighty hard.  Once you start getting some momentum going, you'll begin to enjoy the process as the debt starts to decrease and the amount you can throw at it starts to increase.  It's a fantastic feeling of triumph.  Best of luck and I promise to keep checking in on you.  Snowball plan worked for me.

Hi Andrea,

You are so right. Although I am still broke I am  looking forward to the next check and how I plan to alot a certain amount from it to each creditor. At least it is starting to make sense! And thank you for your continued support.

This is getting a little complicated. My car is giving me trouble. It wouldn't start this AM. Need to factor work on it  into the budget. Not calling it a problem yet but it is an issue. Need to revamp my financial planning. Biggest factor is trying to stay interested in my budget when things begin to interrupt the plan. I will try to focus on an altered payment plan for now.

Hi EP,

I am not sure if you see my comments I leave in response to yours, on my site??

Am I doing this website correctly..lol

Well I left you a lenghty comment on my site.

Take care and God bless!

Tracey

Hello again EP, I was just checking in on you to see how you're doing with your goal.  Of course your car is giving you trouble... it realized you were planning on tackling all this debt.  Isn't that always the case?  Just when we make strides toward a goal, it seems a bunch of unsuspected obstacles spring up and get in the way.   Building an 'Emergency Fund' or a bit of a buffer in your bank account once you've got a handle on the bills might help in the future, but for right now, I sincerely hope your car issue doesn't become an emergency issue.  Best of luck and keep us posted on how it's going.

Thank you for your comments and interest. The car is fixed and I'm back on track for today!  

 Yay!!  So happy to hear your news about the car.  How are things going these days?

Hi EP,

Thanks for your continued support.

Well first off....I obtained a day shift position at the facility where I work as a CNA.  I have been days now for about a month or so and it feels great.  I love being home in the afternoons and have time and energy to focus on other things.

I have received a lot of information regarding my child and being Transgender.  There is a conference in June I am hoping to attend.  I also have found some support groups and am hoping He can attend His first meeting next week when I return  home from MA.

Things have not been easy with him but I am taking it one day at a time.

How are you doing yourself on your goals?? Pray all is well.

Thank you for your continued support I do appreciate it!

Take care,

Tracey

Today, I can say, my monthly plans are in place. I'm sticking to a budget and I can't give up. Money is very tight but it feels better than spending and adding to the stress. Thank you for prays and support.

You are very brave to open your mind and heart to knowledge and support groups. Both will add so much leverage in your life. Issues are always easier to deal with when we realize we are not alone. Peace and thanks to you. Take good care of you!

Great to read here that your monthly plans are in place and you're keeping on track and continuing to make progress toward your goal.  It sounds like you are creating new spending/saving habits too and that will make a big difference for the long term picture as well.  Congratulations and looking forward to your continued updates.  Keep up the great work.

Hello Andrea,

Thanks for your continued interest and support.

It helps to keep me directed.

This is a long term picture but I'm in it for the long haul.

Hi EP - that's my specialty, lol - helping people stay focused and 'directed' toward the big picture.  Often the process we have to go through or developing the changes required to make it to that large goal can be seriously painful and discouraging.  That could explain why so many people give up on their New Years' resolutions before January is over. Whenever I'm reaching for a goal that requires developing new habits or a new skillset, it helps so much to hear from people or read about others who've already achieved that goal.  I can always find some reassurance knowing that despite the pain (of developing new habits or learning new skills) the reward is possible.  

These were some other tips that helped me through the wilderness experience of my own debt troubles:  no matter how much further ahead I became with getting my debt under control, I tried to stay 'mentally' broke until it was ALL paid.  If it was not a necessity, it did not get purchased.  If I could make do without it, it didn't fit into the budget.  Also, even though it was very tempting to go to one of those consolidation places, I chose not to.  Getting more breathing room was not going to help me solve my problems.  I needed to feel the restriction of the situation I'd put myself into and getting a consolidation loan would have prolonged the whole process of getting out of debt (the ultimate goal).  Of course, you know your own situation best, and maybe these tips won't apply to yours at all.  I really believe that if I could manage it, anyone can with a plan and you certainly have the right attitude about it.  Have you been able to close out any of your smaller debts yet?  Just wondering because that's something worth celebrating!  Every one of those babies that you lay to rest is worth posting about here so we can celebrate your success too.      

Hi Andrea, I haven't posted in a while but things are going well. I'm chipping away and I hope to celebrate one payoff very soon. I will definitely let it be kmown! I still struggle with keeping the pile straight but I'm working on it. I like the mentality of being broke and not spending, it doesn't allow for any frivolous possibilities at the mall. This has been quite a change for me, as I was the one who could usually spend or lend, but no more for a while. I appreciate your support and effort to help, it means so much. When you organized the pile of bills, could you share with me how you did it month to month? That seems to be the piece I haven't got settled with yet. And I also don't want to open the mail every day but I'm trying. Will post again soon.  

Very happy to read here that you're making progress and almost able to close down one of those bills.  Congratulations on all your efforts so far and with making those tough changes too.

Ok, to answer your question, I was paid bi-monthly at the 15th and 30th of each month.  I had figured out what I could live with for spending money (as in $15 per week) so I took $30 for myself and it had to last.  I wrote cheques for the rent (I was renting at the time), utilities, insurance and reserved the grocery money in the account.  I kept only one account so it was less confusing. I also had an overdraght protection on that account in case I messed up.  I did not allow any 'automatic withdrawals' because I needed to have control of the funds and how they were to be prioritized.  The pay from the 30th of the month went to all of that and anything left over stayed there until the next pay on the 15th.  It was from there that I paid everything at once (even if they weren't due for a bit - I had so many, I needed to get rid of a few to feel more on top of the situation).   I made the minimums to all the creditors and put ALL the remaining money on the bill with the lowest balance.  So that one bill would see the biggest payment each month until it was paid in full. Then I closed it out.  I repeated the same process with each bill until they were all paid closing down all the accounts except one credit card.  Since then, I've kept one card and pay it in full each month.  $33,000 in debt was paid this way and it took almsot two torturous years.  I was single at the time and I can only imagine how much more challenging it must be with a family and house to look after, but the principles can still apply. Having different things coming out of the account at different times if you've got them set up on automatic withdrawals may be tough to juggle.  But, on the flip side, all you need to do is make sure the funds are there for the withdrawals so...  you could still set up the scedule in the same way if you find it might be easier.  Instead of having a monthly calendar with all the dates of the payments on it, perhaps try a cheque register (they come with the box of cheques you order from the bank on personal accounts).  Call it the 'Bill Register'.  At the front or on the first page, (or if there's not enough space, maybe staple in a separate sheet of paper) make a check-list of all the bills.  First the monthly 'fixed' ones and next, the consumer debts.  If you like to use the computer, you can set up an Excel spreadsheet and even factor in the interest payments to give you a crystal clear picture.  Enter your salary or pay and then deduct the expenses from it and the bill payments coming off it until the next pay. That way, you can see what's left over for groceries and whatever else life decides to throw your way.  Once you're able to eliminate a few of the smaller ones, you'll have a bit more to allocate and you'll see some momentum building.  

I considered this a seriously painful process, but once it was organized into a system that worked, I felt some serious relief and was able to just handle it on those two times per month and not have to worry about it the whole month through.     

I do have this link which has some simple tips about cost cutting.  Some of them may not be applicable to your situation, but other ones saved us hundreds of dollars over the course of a year and those dollars can make a huge difference when applying it to your debt.  The insurance tip is a good one.  Each time you receive your insurance renewal, it doesn't hurt to get a competitive quote from another broker or let your existing broker know you'd like the best possible pricing.  If you do find a better price though, be sure to let your current broker know what you've found so (s)he can try to match or beat the pricing for you.  Getting both your home and autos insured by the same company should get you a multi-policy discount too.  Here's the link.  Please let me know if any of this has been helpful at all and thanks for updating us here.  I know there are many who are working on the same goal.

 http://www.circleofmoms.com/article.php?article_id=465&trk=digest_editorial_465&subj_id=274&email_enc=lc%252Bq1M6Yq5malpGmydXVoJqdzmbO2aA%253D&email_src=1305866754bdd526add15404a6a1a55eb24fda17cf&template_name=digest_weekly_2&has_fb=1

EP, how are you coming along with your goal?  It's been a couple of months so I was just wondering if you've noticed a difference at all?  Do you have a bit more breathing room now?

Well, I am continuing to plow through the pile, one bill at a time. Hasn't gone as quickly as I want it to but I'm doing it and staying on task. I'm focused and commited to my goal.Thank you for all your input. I did go and change my car insurance policy to a lower amount of coverage and I'm thinking about talking to another broker. Good idea! Many thanks . Eileen 

Good move, changing your insurance. Andrea, that was great advice. Now that summer is here, EP, are you finding your expenses are more or less? I know some other members who have found recreation a little tough to manage. Are you doing fun things that are free, I hope? 

Thanks for the support Shea.  Great to read that you're staying the course EP.  Also happy to read that insurance tip worked out for you too.  I hope you didn't eliminate any important coverage and looking fowrard to more updates.

Hi Eileen, I had a chance to do some reading and was wondering how you've made out with this goal all these months later.  We just came through a challenging time with the added spending at Christmas too.  Sometimes, that will throw me off course regarding my budgeting.  I'm usually so much more on the ball than I was this year with the holiday spending.  Now, I'm afraid, I'm going to have to take the next three months to recover.  Wishing you a fantastic New Year and look forward to your updates.