Becoming Debt Free
Judging from the ways people are finding their way to this site from the search engines, it seems that there are quite a few people who are in the same boat I was and looking for help in paying off their credit cards.
While the plan we used to pay off our debt is not rocket science, it did take a monumental change in our approach to money to even begin to think about our end goal.
The plan we used was based upon the book The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness.
In a nutshell, the plan is broken down into a series of baby steps.
1. While making minimum payments, put together an emergency fund of $1000 (essentially to break the cycle of using credit cards for emergencies).
2. List your debts from smallest to largest, pay the miniums on the larger debts and throw every dollar you can scrape together at the smallest. As you pay one off, move to the next debt in the list. (a series of small wins will give you a sense of accomplishment and keep you motivated).
3. When all of your debt except your house is gone, fully fund your emergency fund with 3-6 months worth of expenses.
The book then covers remaining steps for investing for the retirement, saving for college, paying off the house, etc.
On a side note, he also has a popular radio show. You can listen online, or download the previous two weeks of shows, or download a 1-hour commercial free podcast from the previous day’s show at: DaveRamsey.com.
There is also a support site for his book: MyTotalMoneyMakeover.com.
Bookmark:
del.icio.us Digg Furl Reddit
