Follow Me Out of Debt | Get out of debt and get into prosperity!

When we are working towards accomplishing a huge goal like getting out of debt, it can be quite easy for us to convince ourselves that we need to be in a state of suffering while we work on this goal. We somehow end up telling ourselves that we should be generally unhappy while we are working on this goal. Why do we do this?   Well, for one thing, our environment usually dictates the level of stre...

Back on episode number 8, I talked about how you can save your first $1,000.00 for your starter emergency fund, then you can repeat the process to be able to apply large chunks or cash towards your debt. The example given was that if you had $20,000.00 in consumer debt, you could have your debt paid in full by repeating this process about twenty times. In other words, you've already proven that yo...

Sometimes we need to learn to stop saying yes. We say yes to spending money in many ways that go against our goals of getting out of debt and getting into prosperity. We say yes to car payments. We say yes to using credit cards. We say yes to spending money that has not been previously budgeted.   I'm not saying that we need to say no to everything, either. However, I do think that we need to appl...

A waiting list is simply a list of upcoming expenses that you are keeping on the radar so that you don't forget about them. It's similar to a sinking fund but considerably different because you aren't saving money just yet.   Instead, you are making a list of upcoming expenses that may be categorized similar to how you categorize your budget. Perhaps you have an upcoming vehicle repair that doesn'...

Asking the right questions can be half of the battle when you need to get to the correct answer. We should be asking questions that will help us to drill down a bit and think outside of the box, and when we do, we may find new ways to save money or pay off debt even faster with the answers to our questions.   Take some time to think about things and simply ask why. Ask how. Ask what you need to do...

It's a question that has been asked over and over again, and will likely continue to be asked. That question is this: is it better to buy or lease a vehicle? I'll tell you exactly why I will never lease a vehicle. I never have, and I never will.    For starters, it's against my personality type. I don't like a company or any other entity for that matter to have control over me. Leases have too man...

I'll say this right out of the gate. It's almost always a horrible idea to borrow money from relatives. What happens when you've already borrowed the money from a relative? What happens if you have taken a long time to pay down the loan (or even to begin paying down the loan)? The situation can get to be awkward, or worse yet, you may end up having the relationship severed completely over money.  ...

Do you read or listen to information on topics related to a goal that you are trying to accomplish, talk about what you've learned with others, but you don't seem to have the behaviors in place that align with what you're learning about? This can apply to many different types of goals, but unless you change your behavior patterns to match your head knowledge, you won't get any further towards acco...

It is critical to keep good records, especially if you are transitioning from relying on credit to paying cash or using your debit card for purchases. This is especially important if you are new to budgeting and need to stay on track for the month so that you aren't tempted to go back to using credit cards due to a lack of resources stemming from poor record keeping.   Keeping good records isn't d...

Multiple streams of income isn't a concept that's limited to high-end investors like Warren Buffett. Perhaps you won't be running the next Berkshire Hathaway, but you will be able to increase what you're earning over time by learning how to implement multiple streams of income into a diverse earnings plan of your own.   It's important to build multiple streams of income. In doing so, you will set...

You are not your neighbor. You are not your friend. You are not your relative. In other words, stop trying to keep up with the Joneses.   You may be surprised to find that those who you perceive as doing well for themselves may have a considerable amount of debt. This isn't always the case, of course, but most folks who have wealth will usually not flaunt it. They tend to typically be more humble...

Minimalism is a lot of work, or at least it can be. It's so worth it, though. I spent last weekend purging our basement and storage area of stuff that we just don't need anymore. We have stuff to sell, stuff ready to donate, and a ton of stuff to discard or recycle. It was a weekend project and then some; I'm actually not finished with this little project just yet.   While I've been busy with this...

Do you know of folks who seem to earn a higher income but are struggling just as much (if not more than) folks who are earning less? Why is that? The simple answer is that wealth is not exclusively dependent on how much we're bringing in. It depends mostly on behavior. It depends on what we decide to do with the income that we are earning, how we're spending it, and how we're prioritizing our spen...

There is a certain freedom that comes along when we pay with cash. For one, we know right away that we don't have to pay later like we would if we were to use a credit card. We also know that we don't need to update our checkbook or budget line item like we would if we use a debt card. We know that once we exchange the cash for whatever product or service that we are purchasing, we are absolutely...

When we are face-to-face with a particular problem, there are four simple steps to follow in order to solve that problem. I'll be talking about this in more detail today, but here is an outline of the four simple steps to successful problem solving:   Step one: Face the fact that there is, in fact, a problem to be solved. Write down your exact problem and define it the best that you can as you wri...

Your relationship with money should be one of complete control. If you aren't in control of your money, then that means that the opposite is true: your money is in control of you. The best way to control your money - to tell it what to do, to tell it where to go - is to have a budget in place. Your budget is what helps you to stay in control of your money.   Money is an inanimate object. It is not...

When we are in the process of getting out of debt, we naturally decide to cut or reduce expenses that we don't need. We also make decisions to not spend money on anything that is not written down or otherwise entered in the budget. These are good things, and we definitely don't want to change these good behaviors.   However, we do tend to develop a mentality where we can't (or won't) spend money d...

When you have reached a significant milestone in your journey, it's natural to want to take some time to celebrate. There's nothing wrong with this; as a matter of fact, I think that it's healthy to take some time to celebrate the smaller accomplishments along the way towards achieving a much larger goal. We can't work hard and stay laser-focused in perpetuity. Everyone needs a little downtime fro...

There are many reasons why married folks decide to go from a two-income household where both spouses are working to a one-income household where only one spouse works. The usual reason for this is to have one parent at home to raise a child or multiple children. Naturally, the decision to move to this way of doing things can be scary and will almost always cause some level of stress. Fear not, bec...

Today I will be reviewing the Ibotta app for iOS and Android. I'll also tell you how you can earn $10.00 just for trying out the free app and will go into more detail about how you can save money on purchases that you are already making while earning money with the app at the same time. Simply go to http://followmeoutofdebt.com/ibotta  and sign up for an account to try the app. You'll instantly ea...

It is typically depicted that in most marriages, there is a saver and a spender - the one who handles the budget and the one who spends all of the money. The reality is that it is not usually black and white. There is quite a bit of grey area, especially when two spouses have been working together for a while to improve the overall family finances. Typically what will happen is that one spouse wil...

What makes you truly happy? It's a question that many of us have likely pondered at least several times. It's an important question to ask, though. It's even more important to find the answer to this question, because this particular question will start an inner dialogue that may help us to live a happy and balanced life. This is especially true if we are willing to drill down even further once we...

Today I discovered a new tactic that some companies are now using in order to trap us into debt. Personally, I've never seen this tactic used before, so it was brand-new to me. It came in the form of a check. I simply needed to endorse the back of the check, deposit it into my bank account, and the loan was effectively switched on.   I was amazed when I saw this. It's a whole new level of attempti...

When we are involved in a huge undertaking like getting out of debt, we may feel discouraged at times. This is especially true if we have been sacrificing the things that we truly enjoy in the name of paying off our debt faster. We may be tempted to give up and go back to our old ways in order to avoid the pain of sacrifice.   Keep in mind that these sacrifices aren't always a lifetime change; typ...

Are you currently experiencing a true financial hardship yet have a significant amount of medical debt? You may be able to pick up the phone and pay a percentage of the debt and have it considered as paid in full. Please be advised that this is not a foolproof method; some medical providers simply won't participate. However, there are a large number of medical providers who will accept a percentag...