This is what I want to do

Well...maybe not exactly, but living in the Carribean would be nice.

I need some new friends

According to an article on Yahoo Finance's front page this morning, research proves that if you have rich friends you will most likely be rich. This also applies for intelligence, fitness level and just about everything else. Social norms and behaviors are affected by those around us. And after 30+ years of study, this includes how much money we have. Click here for the article.

The Great Apology

It's been 223 days since I last blogged about getting rid of my debt! I know it's terrible. I'd like to say it was because I had made so much progress I had nothing to blog about. Unfortunately, the opposite is the truth. My credit card debts have ballooned to over $11,000.

So what happened? As with all thing, life got in the way. I was focused on my career, enjoying life and getting by. and what do I have to show for it? nothing. No major purchases, no fantastic trips, no new car. I'm a perfect example of how a dollar here and ten bucks there quickly adds up. In addition to my credit card debt, I (and my wife) have $25k of student loans. So with a combined $36,000 total in debt hanging over my head, I humbly begin again to rid myself of this awful burden.

How will I do this? I'm glad you asked.

• By transferring as much as I can to 0% interest credit cards



• By diligently posting my progress here



• By finding every way I can save and earn extra money



• By actively engaging in the personal finance community for support, encouragement and ideas

How can you help?

• By holding me accountable to posting frequently, spending/saving wisely



• I give you permission to call me out when you see me doing something stupid



• By giving me any advice you think would help

I'm truly sorry for letting myself and the blogging community down. Please continue to read my story and hopefully participate when you can. Let the healing being!

Life

It's 2007. I have had my last champagne toast. At least for awhile. I've made my resolutions. I've set my goals. I've had two beers for dinner and am ready for a nap. All this applies to me. My main financial goal is to get rid of the credit card debt, now up to almost $9k, mostly due to a few end of year membership renewals, that are reimbursable to work, but when I get that fat reimbursement check, it's hard not to spend it on other stuff, like food. Anyways, applying most, if not all, of these checks to debt is my goal for 2007. yeah for a new year. Hope everyone is doing well.

Discipline

These people had discipline. Hearing their stories is very encouraging. (taken from FMF)

Here's a piece from MSN Money that details how some people paid off a huge amount of debt rather quickly. Let's start with some examples of what they did:

• The Gordons retired a $150,000 mortgage in just five years.
• Cards ($154,000 in debt) is on track to own his home free and clear later this year.
• Greg Cards of Newark, Del., was saddled with $154,000 in debt after his divorce.
• Wilkinson eliminated half of her [$49,000 credit card] debt in a year.
• Thompson paid off $8,000 in just nine months.

Now, how did they do it? Actually, it was rather simple:

• They made debt payoff a priority, although most continued to save for retirement as well.
• They kept their basic living expenses as low as possible.
• They looked for creative ways to speed up their debt repayment, and some took extra work.

Interesting set of steps, huh? Very similar to my three steps suggested in the Free Money Finance Guide to Getting Rich. And if they keep these habits going, these people will certainly become rich themselves -- or at least well-off.

I've said before that getting rich is rather a simple process. It's not easy, though, because it requires discipline. Getting out of debt is the same -- it involves only a few simple steps, but you have to be determined and disciplined to make it work.