Comments on: The More Things Change, The More They Change

By: Credit Card Chaser

Credit Card Chaser — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 01:33:09 +0000

I know exactly how you feel. I can remember when I was in college and I used 2 credit cards to live beyond my means. Breaking out of that cycle and now using my cards in a disciplined way (that actually makes me money with cash back rewards!) is a great feeling!

By: Ms. Frugalicious

Ms. Frugalicious — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:14:40 +0000

I am always happy to read about people who have made it out of the black hole of debt! I am working to pay off some debt myself, and posts like yours keep me motivated. It is true that changing the way you think about money can change the way you spend it. I recently read an advance copy of Loral Langemeier’s soon-to-be-released book, “Put More Cash in Your Pocket.” One of the key points is that people don’t have a fixed potential in life, so why should they accept a fixed income? It’s all about finding ways to use your skills to make more money, instead of scrimping and scraping to get by on what you have. Realizing that I could have more money than just the salary that my boss was willing to pay me really helped me think about taking control of my money in new ways. Think about it…if you save some money AND make more money, pretty soon, you’ll have a lot extra!

By: Jb

Jb — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:36:26 +0000

Well said. I’ve been struggling with my debt for a number of years now, and have managed to cut down my spending as much as I will “allow” myself, but like MoneyEnergy I think I might have to get serious and make some serious sacrifices. I’m tired of the debt hanging over me, and want to save more and enjoy life more. I hope I’ll be able to be strong enough to actually do it!

By: Credit card offers

Credit card offers — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 04:48:58 +0000

I like the above thought and love to be the part of it.
Carrol Spncr

By: Gina

Gina — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:38:39 +0000

Now that you are debt free, any advice to those who are just starting? Or a specific area to start reading about your ’start’ in your blog?

In Jan 2008 we were $48k in debt (cars & ccards). I began listening to Dave Ramsey at that time too. Slowly I began to ‘get mad’ about being on the debt merry-go-round and began changing my behavior. I grew up in a heavy debt household so I don’t know what it is like to “be” debt free or “feel” free from payments. I can say that we have made progress ($35k) but I am getting frustrated b/c I cannot wait for 2 wks to pass before my next paycheck so I can pay down more debt. UGH!

Hopefully this feeling of frustration is just part of the process.

By: Imani

Imani — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:07:26 +0000

Do you ever wonder how many “fake/generic” comments you get?

By: Jerry @ vintage wedding dress

Jerry @ vintage wedding dress — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:58:53 +0000

thanks for this post, I really enjoyed it! This post was really interesting – thanks so much for sharing! This post really made me stop and think. Awesome job, thanks so much for putting it out there! Love your blog, and posts like this really illustrate why. Thanks for sharing, and keep up the good work!

By: NCN

NCN — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:58:33 +0000

Evan,
Thanks so much for the kind words. You rock!
-NCN

By: Evan

Evan — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:16:40 +0000

NCN,

Whenever someone wants inspiration I send them to your Blog, and the reason is captured within this post. You worked your butt off and allowed everyone on the internet to see your progress/mistakes.

GREAT WORK! You were one of the inspirations for me when I started my blog.

P.S. You aren’t just a football fan – you are a Falcon Fan (even better).

By: MoneyEnergy

MoneyEnergy — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 05:27:04 +0000

Congrats! I’m in a similar place, finally tired and fed up of credit card “yo-yo” diets/binges and committing to keep them at zero (or pay off in full before end of month). It took finally realizing “do I really want to still be making credit card payments like this in another year, two years?” So I’ve made a lot of short-term sacrifices to pay that money back and am determined to do it differently going forward. You have to be able to say “I’ll do whatever it takes.” and just commit. Reorganize your budget to live on less for a while as you eliminate the debt. And have a solid plan for not getting into that debt in the same way again going forward.

I agree with the snowball effect, too. One positive change somewhere will lead to other positive changes elsewhere.