So as I mentioned in my loooonnnnggg “What To Worry About Now” series, we had lots of people in a panic about many different things.  That’s why I wrote those, and a few people really liked them and took some of the specific actions I suggested.

But a bunch of the people I see offline told me that I went off on too many tangents, and I generally just went off too much…  We’ve been told that we are at our best when talking about how to get out of debt faster and related subjects, so I’ll stick closer to those.  Sorry!

So let’s get right back into it.

Do you think – even in the back of your mind – that somehow, some way, something will happen to get you out of debt?

Well, I could never put my finger on it (mostly because I avoided thinking much about my own debt elimination at all), but I kind of always felt that way.

As soon as I got the next big bonus at work.  As soon as I got my tax refund.  As soon as I built up a little more in my savings account after my car broke down or my cavity got filled or whatever.

In short, I was always looking for a bailout of some kind.

Although I was working hard, and getting better about controlling my spending, I never sat down and put pencil to paper and just started chipping away at it a few dollars at a time.

A bailout of some kind has to be what so many millions of people like us are thinking out there.  Obviously, they aren’t expecting President-Elect Obama to show up with an official government check, but the millions of people in trillions of dollars of consumer debt have to be thinking something is going to save them, right?

You know what? How can we blame people for feeling like that when we are watching our country these days?

I’m not a Wall Street veteran with a degree in Economics, but I’m not completely naïve either.  Yeah, I know that if Fannie and Freddie and IndyMac and AIG and GM, etc., etc., all ceased to exist, there would have been tragic, wide-ranging consequences.

I’m going to avoid that tangent, but despite all the money getting doled out around the country, that just isn’t going to happen for people like you and me.  We’ve got to all stop living our lives like we are going to get bailed out of debt – it just ain’t going to happen!

We’ve just got to get to getting out of debt, starting TODAY.

• Not “the next time I’ve got over $1,000 in my bank account as a cushion”
• Not “as soon as I get back from Vegas”
• Not “when I’ve got an extra $100 to send to credit card company xyz”

Believe me, I used all the excuses, so I know them all!

But once I finally “got it”, and realized I was on my own, I started accelerating my debt payoff that very day, with whatever extra money I had, no matter how insignificant it seemed.

So, don’t base your reality on what you are watching out there in the news right now.  You’ve got to take control and get it done.  Only you can make yourself get out of debt, otherwise – and I’m sorry to be so direct – you’re lying to yourself.  Again, I’ve been there and done that – I’m not just preaching from my ivory tower, so I’m allowed to say this stuff!

Tell me what’s on your mind, and how you are dealing with your debt…

Talk to you soon,

Scott

Okay, I didn’t scare you off with my background, huh?

Actually, you are probably like me – if I want information from somebody, they better have been there and done that – not just read about it somewhere.  So yes, I’ve been there (debt) and done that (gotten out of debt).

Just one minute, though.  Just so we’re clear on what we are going to discuss here…

• You aren’t going to get some “silver bullet” to eliminate debt magically.
• You won’t get “secrets” that are illegal or immoral.  We aren’t going to give you the perfect method to walk away from your debts or anything like that.  This blog is for workers and fighters.
• You won’t learn how to spend more money than you make every month and still lead a debt-free lifestyle some day.
• You won’t be able to just read this blog without taking action and – presto! – everything will be fixed for you somehow.
• You’ll have to think hard about your debt and the lifestyle that put you there.  Ouch!

Believe me, I know – that isn’t fun to think about.

You will, however, learn how you can melt debt away much more quickly than you may think possible, without spending any more than you are now.  Most people can become debt-free (including your mortgage), in 6-10 years.

Think what that means!  All that money you’re now paying your creditors will be available to spend and invest for your benefit, not theirs!

You’ll need to make a commitment to yourself to work on it.  Even tiny steps are great…but doing nothing and sticking your head in the sand won’t help.  Again – trust me, I know from first-hand experience!

So, here are some of the things you will see:

• We’ll put out some solid financial information that we all should have been taught in school, but weren’t—and in a way, if you’re in debt trouble, it may not even be your fault.  You probably weren’t taught much about finances, and neither were your parents—but our educational system is the subject of a whole different rant for another time!
• We’ll comment on some of the scary news that is coming out of this economy like a runaway freight train, and tell you what to worry about…and what not to.
• We’ll polish up some of our cheat sheets and systems and share those as we finish them.
• We’ll show you how a few little secrets the bankers hide from all of us can really make a difference in your life.
• We’ll tell you how current events might impact you and what you need to be thinking about to minimize the negative and expand on the good stuff.

That said, we don’t have all the answers.  We strongly encourage comments, whether you agree or if you think we are completely wrong.  If you don’t feel comfortable putting it out there in public, visit our Contact Us page, and shoot us a private message.

Enough with the “housekeeping” –  stay tuned for some great information you can use!

Scott

I mortgaged my future for a hamburger!

Well, okay – not just one hamburger…  But one here, one there, a couple for my friends, and some other “stuff” I just had to have, and part of my future was all of a sudden pledged to credit card companies in a debt nightmare.

I should have been able to coast through college pretty easily with just a part-time job.  I was living at home, and my parents were helping to support me.  I had it really good.

But I got stupid and started living beyond my means.

So then I had to work more hours to be able to pay back my “hamburger debt.”  Unfortunately, my professors didn’t feel sorry for me and cut my class hours because I was working more…

I know some people can work a full-time job and still get a 4.0 grade point average.  I guess I just wasn’t that smart, because I didn’t get a 4.0.  I was lucky just to stay awake in class.

Jeez.  I was in a “debt management” spiral and I was still a teenager!

—— SIDEBAR ————-
Don’t worry – we’re not going to add yet another self-indulgent, “life-story” blog to the world.  Sure, we’ll talk a bunch about ourselves and experiences so you can learn from mistakes we’ve already made, but we aren’t just going to write for our egos.

We’ll share a bunch of the stuff we’ve learned over the years.  After all, if you are like me, you want to know a little bit about who is writing to decide if you even want to pay attention for another 30 seconds…
—————————

And then I got married.  It isn’t really debt when you are buying a present or something nice for your wife, right?  Yep – turns out it is, just like those hamburgers were.

I can tell you that it doesn’t add much to a marriage, worrying and arguing about debt – but if you’re married, you know that, right?  Doesn’t make it too easy to try to buy a house either.

Being in debt was brutal.  From the obvious things mentioned above to all kinds of things that you might not even know about (like not getting your dream job because they check your credit report in advance).

So I worked hard.  I involved other people so I had some accountability.  I studied more advanced concepts in debt reduction like the “debt snowball.”  I researched credit cards with longer grace periods and monthly (instead of daily!) compounding.

I made sure that my credit card companies weren’t using “two-cycle average daily balances” and all kinds of other stuff I’d never heard of before I started doing all of this research.

Ultimately, I succeeded in my goal to eliminate debt.  But it was tough, and there is no way I could have done it without some of the “secrets” I discovered and the support network I built to keep me on track.

I vowed that once I got myself in a better position, I’d use all of that knowledge and share my systems to help others do the same.  Then I asked one of the smartest people I know (my Dad) if he would help and lend some of his financial knowledge as well.  He said it was a noble cause and he’d be delighted, so you’ll hear from him as well on these pages.

So if you want to get out of debt, you’re in the right place.  Also, keep in mind that once you are out of debt, that magical word called “wealth” starts to make itself available to you!

We aren’t credit counselors or debt consolidators or mortgage lenders that want to refinance your debts.   We’re just a couple of guys that learned a bunch about the dirty world of debt, and want to share some knowledge.

If that is what you’re looking for, welcome – we feel honored to have you here.

Oh, and we want this blog to be all about sharing great info – which means we really look forward to your comments.  Not much to comment on regarding this post, other than to tell me I was stupid…and yeah, I deserve that!

Sincerely,

Scott Harvey