Category: Debt

Personal finance blogs are filled with stories about people who have overcome big personal debt over the years and then write about it to try to help you defeat your own debt. Debt is such a major problem! I get messages from regular folks who need help dealing with debt all the time. Of course the best way to deal with it is to avoid debt in the first place, but that’s easier said than done.

About 15 years ago, after my divorce, I too had racked up thousands of dollars in debt and when I remarried, my wife and I had a combination of over $25,000 in debt on our books (not including my mortgage). That isn’t a real good way to begin a new relationship and frankly, much of it was divorce-related expense, so that there wasn’t really even any shiny, fun stuff to look at and play with despite that debt.

Today’s guest post on paying off debts is sponsored by Credello.

If you have multiple debts you’re trying to pay off, you might feel overwhelmed. Which debt should you pay off first? Does it require high-level math (gulp) or a debt consolidation calculator?

Answers: It depends on your unique financial situation, you don’t need to be a mathematician (fear not, there are no riddles or word problems), and a debt consolidation calculator is very helpful but not absolutely necessary.

If you’re looking to find out which of your debts you should prioritize and how to pay them off, keep reading.

Do you often wonder how other people seem to make ends meet and you struggle with them? I have to reluctantly admit that over the years, I would look around and ask myself questions like, “How the hell can they afford that car?“ or “Where did they get the money for those three weeks in Europe?”

I seemed to work my rear end off and yet somehow I was never quite there—where they were. I realize now what a waste of time beating myself up about that was, but I did it and I’m sure I wasn’t alone. In my older, wiser years, I now know that big debt often is the way it was accomplished.

We’ve all been there. Looking at the bills that just keep coming in and not having the funds or means to pay for them all. Financial stress is truly one of the most all-consuming kinds of stress that there is. And when you have a big pile of debt, digging out of debt can seem impossible.

It lingers in your mind like a fog, spilling over into other areas of your life, making it hard to concentrate on other things until you’ve been able to make a plan to get yourself out of the mess you’re in. It’s difficult to get yourself out of killer debt, but I promise that eventually you will be out of this tough spot! It’s been done by many and it can be done by you. So what can you do and how do you start?

Everyone wants to feel like they have accomplished at least some of the things they have dreamed about over their lifetimes. You can call it our goals, our wants, our desires, or even the big one: the American Dream. So what are the reasons we often struggle or fail in that pursuit?

It’s not any secret when you think about it. The American Dream is most often killed by debt. The American Dream has been the gold standard for life here in the U.S. for a really long time. It is probably the number one motivator we all have even though we don’t think about it that way. It is the reason why we want a good paying job and the reason why we want more and spend more on ourselves and our families. Whether it’s a new car, a vacation, or the big one—a great home and backyard—it is why we get up and go to work every day. And that’s the rub; we want so much that we are willing to let debt kill our American Dream!