Comments on: 30 Days to a Better Man Day 25: Start a Debt Reduction Plan

By: Be a Better Man in 30 Days | The Art of Manliness

Be a Better Man in 30 Days | The Art of Manliness — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:47:27 +0000

[...] Day 25: Start a Debt Reduction Plan [...]

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:23:49 +0000

Just a quick note about paying off the high interest stuff first vs. Dave Ramsey’s debt snowball. I need all the math in paying on off our debt. We have a bout $40,000 to pay everything except the house. When I did the math (actually, when I let the a spreadsheet do the math), the difference between high interest and snowball is only about $500 in favor fo the high interest method, however, the psychological advantage to paying off all those little debts is work the $500.

By: Christine the Soccer Mom

Christine the Soccer Mom — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:20:07 +0000

Our family started Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover about a year and a half ago, and the results have been astounding. Nate is right when he says not to underestimate the mental lift you get from paying off a debt, even if it’s small.

I’ve blogged about it sometimes, but our family has paid off a massive amount of debt in a short time, and can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We’re now helping our children see the benefits of paying cash and saving up. And all this happened just before everything started crashing. With the way credit card companies are treating even their “good” customers, we’re grateful to the people that handed that book to my husband in December ‘07.

By: elementaryfinance

elementaryfinance — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:47:32 +0000

Often debt repayment needs to get creative. Find those small expenses that you can cut out from day to day. They add up fast.

By: Torrey

Torrey — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:00:31 +0000

Debt can rob us of peace. Especially when you have fallen behind and are receiving collection calls and notices. If we just put our mind to it and focus on how much life would be better without it, I think more people would start paying off all of their debt. My wife and I have eliminated about $60K of debt in 3 years.

Over at mensplaybook.com, we just suggested 86 ways to get out of debt. Hopefully, we can encourage each other and apply some of the practices to our own situations. http://bit.ly/1cKuz

By: Nate

Nate — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:02:18 +0000

Great post!
I have been using Dave Ramsey’s Debt Snowball method for a few months now, and I’m happy to report that it’s going very well! I had three credit cards with four digit balances. I paid a little one off, and next month I’ll have the second one paid down. The psychological effect of getting these things out of the way shouldn’t be understated. It’s VERY encouraging to sink a balance to zero, especially if you’ve been carrying it a while. In fact, when you get close to getting rid of a balance for good, it becomes very motivating. I will make bigger payments than I thought I could next month just to see that balance disappear. I’m wasting less money this month and next month to get that sucker gone!
Thanks for the post!

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:55:23 +0000

I think it’d be appropriate to introduce a financial concept entitled “Bank On Yourself”. It ultimately boils down to a specialized savings vehicle. The concept revolves around the idea of financing all major purchases through yourself – that is, to pay for a major purchase (i.e. house, car, yacht, vacation, whatever you want) 100% in cash that you have on hand, then pay YOURSELF back the principal cost IN ADDITION to the interest cost you would have paid a financing company if you were to finance through them.

As this is a concept, it can be used anyway you want. The past few years I’ve applied it using only a couple of envelopes. It also works with bank accounts, MMAs, and so forth. However, it works best with – believe it or not – the CORRECT type of life insurance account.

Feel free to check it out: bankonyourself.com

Oh yeah, not trying to sell it, just thought B.O.Y. fits with this post really well!

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:57:36 +0000

Enjoyed the quote from J. Reuben Clark! I am actually in a position to eliminate some of my debts today so the post came in handy.

By: 30 Days to a Better Man Day 25: Start a Debt Reduction Plan | Live Well With Bad Credit

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 05:47:40 +0000

[...] more: 30 Days to a Better Man Day 25: Start a Debt Reduction Plan Share and [...]

By: Credit Cards » Blog Archive » 30 Days to a Better Man Day 25: Start a Debt Reduction Plan | The …

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 05:23:58 +0000

[...] Pinaymeh wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptGrab a piece of paper and list all your debts in order from highest interest rate to lowest interest rate. Usually your highest interest rates will be on credit cards and car loans, and your lower interest rates will be on student loans … [...]

By: Cutter

Cutter — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:17:34 +0000

Before I got married, my grandfather told me to buy EVERYTHING with cash. Even my house. Just save up for it, he said. I didn’t know how to tell him that a used car costs more now than what he paid for his entire 260 acre farm back in 1936. He died at 100, never having taken a single thing on credit in his life. He never owned a bank or credit card, and even hated writing checks.

My family is working on a debt-busting plan, but it will take a very long time. I should have listened to my grandpa.

Our entire economy is built on two things: debt and growth. The economic growth is funded by increasing debt, and loans are dependent on the success of growth. It’s a toxic combination & it simply cannot go on forever.