I came across this article today, written by a guy who paid off $10,000 worth of credit card debt in one year.
It reminded me of my own credit card ordeal, in which I racked up tens of thousands of dollars in credits cards in the early 2000s, and when they all maxed out I moved back in with my parents for a year, lived rent-free, and put all of my salary toward the debt. By the end of the year I was nearly all paid off and within 18 months from the date I first started paying them off I was completely debt-free.
As difficult as it might have been to move back in with my parents at age 31, the opportunity to get rid of the debt was life-changing. Once it was all paid off, I felt this huge sense of relief. I knew I could never put myself in that spot again. I still use credit cards, but now I either pay them off every month or develop a plan for paying off large purchases within a short amount of time.
I was in the middle of my year spent getting out of debt when a friend recommended I watch Maxed Out. It's a few years old and somewhat dated (Eliot Spitzer was still the Attorney General of New York, and the economy had not yet completely tanked but was beginning to unravel), but it is worth checking out:
1 comment:
I keep wanting to watch this (isn't Elizabeth Warren featured heavily in this one?). And Inside Job. And The Corporation. Except then I think that I've recently developed such a zen state of non-worry about things, why would I want to ruin that and get all pissed off and angry? And then I realize that I am a sheeple now, and I hate myself.
Just kidding. Thanks for the reminder. I will order it up on the Que!
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