Comments on: The First Step Towards Getting Out of Debt

By: Amateur

Amateur — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 16:34:23 +0000

Trent, I think your money meltdown was definitely stress induced but for many people debt is really associated with internal depression over many little things. People do need pick-me-ups and buying things alone and enjoying some things alone (like music cds/books) helps alleviate that down in the dumps feeling. It does take an insane amount of courage to tell people about internal issues, that we’re not perfect and our lives certainly need a ton of work to get there to become more self-reliant and self-fulfilled people without needing to buy all this stuff to feel good or fit in.

Having to plan my media purchases and such has not been as bad as it seemed. Unless the item was not going on sale for another 6-8 months, I would not pay the full price and wait for a sale or a used version. In the past, I would rush out and get it release day and have it sit on a shelf after a few hours of use and realize I did not have the time to really enjoy it right away. I felt that I could save time by buying early and it would always be there, but did not consider that I spent more having it sit there. Baby steps all the way..

By: sweetiegirl

sweetiegirl — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 07:30:12 +0000

This is wisdom.

By: John DeFlumeri Jr

John DeFlumeri Jr — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 23:45:14 +0000

Fully agreed. Breal the cycle of personal debt usage is the only logical first step. This has to happen.

John DeFlumeri Jr

By: karyn

karyn — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 16:56:07 +0000

We don’t splurge or overspend too often on ourselves. My problem is overspending on my children. And not so much on material things but on experiences — it’s been hard to let go of the idea that they need to be involved in this or that activity in order to be “well-developed”. But in all reality, we can’t afford all of these activities for three (soon to be four) children.

By: BirdDog

BirdDog — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 16:38:11 +0000

I couldn’t agree with you more. I also found that while I was racking up debt, the pounds were creeping up on the scale as well.

By: Evolution Of Wealth

Evolution Of Wealth — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 16:10:52 +0000

You make some great points in this article. I love the concept of recognizing the real problem. People seem to want to take things at face value when in fact the real problem is so much deeper.
So many people don’t enjoy the little things in life. Without that it is very hard to have motivation to change. If you don’t have a reason then why would you ever change? It sounds like for you stress was a driving factor.

By: frugalscholar

frugalscholar — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 15:59:41 +0000

This is also the premise of a wonderful book: “How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt, and Live Prosperously.” One day at a time, just don’t debt. It’s based on the principles of Debtor’s Anonymous.