Feelin' good about my progress and want to share

[catherine]

In the old forums I had posted my debt situation which was largely brought about by a perfect storm of making bad decisions regarding cosigning for family, moving my MIL down here to live in 2007, followed swiftly by the lowest point in the recession in 2008.

In July of 2009 I added up my non-mortgage debt, and to my horror it was $197,995. In October 2009 I signed up with the Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover.

In some cases my journey since then has been two steps ahead, one step back. This fall has been a THREE steps ahead, thanks to a fantastic 3rd/4th quarter of employment. I'm self-employed, and resisted going back to a "real job" in 2008.

As a result of this great half a year, and also because my debt snowball has been gathering speed, I just paid off another CC, and my total debt is down about 80k in two years: $107,365.

But even better, I'm ahead of myself. Over the next few weeks I'm going to pay off all my CCs (17k), put money in a Roth IRA before December 31, And the best thing is, I have enough living expenses saved to get me through May (rather than pay down my debt, I'd rather have a 4-5 month buffer in case I don't get work).

I just want to send thanks out to God/my HP/the Universe--whatever is responsible for these blessings!

[Valley]

Way to go...you should be proud of your diligence during a difficult time!

[Float On]

That is really incredible!
Congratulations.

[studentofecology]

That is really impressive!

[razz]

Congratulations! We need to hear about good reports to balance the dark these days.

[loosechickens]

Catherine, that is SO great......what a good job you've done "making lemonade out of some very sour lemons"......good for you....

[Lainey]

That's fantastic, Catherine. You're a role model for the patience and persistence that others in a debt situation could emulate.

[frugal-one]

AWESOME!!!!

[Simpler at Fifty]

Catherine that is fantastic.

[lhamo]

Congratulations, catherine -- that is truly impressive progress, especially considering the general state of the economy.

Hope to hear you doing your "I'm debt free!!!!" scream in a couple of years -- or less given the rate your debt snowball is moving.

lhamo

[herbgeek]

That's great Catherine- very proud for you!

[rosarugosa]

That's fantastic, Catherine - you should be very proud!

[Zippy]

This is great to read! Congratulations! I'd love to hear about your decision not to get a "real job" and instead stick with your self-employment & recommit to it. Why did you make that decision and how did you turn things around?

[flowerseverywhere]

wonderful. You are smart to keep a nice emergency fund as well.

[leslieann]

WooHoo, catherine! That's something to celebrate! Good for you.

[Acorn]

That is amazing progress - it must have taken a great deal of discipline and hard work. What an accomplishment! Well done!

[catherine]

This is great to read! Congratulations! I'd love to hear about your decision not to get a "real job" and instead stick with your self-employment & recommit to it. Why did you make that decision and how did you turn things around?

Zippy, when I fell on the circumstances that messed me up, I was doing fine in my self-employment. I had quit in '07--it had been the right time, the stars had aligned, and I had all my CCs paid off, had money in 401k, had some jobs already lined up and all was well with the world. But around that time, we had committed to moving my MIL next door into a foreclosed property, and in order to be sure we were gold in the eyes of the bank, we took out a large mortgage on her house so we could pay cash for the new house--with the expectations that in short time we would sell her house.

As my mother used to say, "man plans and God laughs." Hello recession--but before we realized that we were entering a sinkhole, my MIL turned down two decent offers on her previous house, and then the offers stopped coming. I had cosigned, and when we were faced with forking over $3000 in mortgage payments, with no buyer in sight, she explicitly said she had no intention of helping me pay it. (I want to be clear that my MIL has always been extremely generous to us--why she just battened down the hatches in this situation, all I can say is, I think she was very protective of the rest of her modest savings in her old age--understandable, but leaving me scr*wed). So, in order to make room for the mortgage payments, I put living expenses on credit cards, and liquidated my 401k at absolutely the worst possible moment in the recession--it was all a runaway train.

My project lifecycles are 6-8 weeks out, so it was a little scary trusting I could pay my bills every month, but I did not want to give up on my dream because of circumstances that were kind of beyond my control (now I know why you should never cosign anything). So, I said to myself, if I go three months without working, I'll look for employment (although truthfully, that option may have been a challenge, as I was 57 at that point).

I haven't gone three months without working. I haven't gone one month without working. So the income thing is fine.

What turned me around really was Dave Ramsey. His plan really made sense to me, and it works. I really started simply paying attention, and I took all of his lessons to heart, and I now have a deep-seated aversion to being beholden to any lender, so I'm very motivated to put all instant gratification on hold until I break the chains. Debt IS slavery. Why sell your future?? That's what I feel I did. But no more!

As a matter of fact, I just got a check from a client that came sooner than I expected, so I'm off to pay another credit card!! Waahoooooo indeed!

[Geila]

Catherine - first of all, Congratulations! On your success and on trusting your instincts to stay the course with your self-employment. I have a question: what do you do for health insurance?

[catherine]

Catherine - first of all, Congratulations! On your success and on trusting your instincts to stay the course with your self-employment. I have a question: what do you do for health insurance?

I pay for health insurance. If I were on my own, I'd go cheap, because I'm pretty healthy, but AH is another story with some risk factors that could be really foreboding. I hate to say how much I pay for health insurance, but it's around 1k for both of us.

[Selah]

Catherine...WOW! Congratulations! Very impressive indeed. I don't know you (yet), but I'm really proud of you!

[jennipurrr]

Congratulations!!! Your accomplishments are inspiring!!!

[iris lily]

good progress! thanks for the update, I like hearing about people who knock off large chunks of debt!

[Anne Lee]

Let us know when you call into Dave Ramsey and yell "I'm debt free!" I'll be sure to tune in.

[Mrs-M]

Congratulations, Catherine! So happy for you I am. :)

[daisy]

Congratulations! That is quite an accomplishment!