$30k in debt GONE in 1 year.
Posts tagged zero debt
Zero Debt Progress – Finally Some REAL Progress!!!
Sep 19th
Yes! Today is a great day. I was finally able to update my stats. We officially paid off $13,134 in credit card debt as of today. Let me just say…WOOOOO HOOOOOO!
And there’s more to come. We plan to pay off our “arch nemesis” card (which is about $3k) as soon as it comes in, and then we’ll have about $8k of 401k money after that. We’ll come up with a plan at that point once we see what’s what.
I’ll certainly keep you posted.
Now, this doesn’t mean that my affiliate marketing goals have stopped. In fact, I have more motivation than ever, and new goals to accomplish.
I am ready.
I have been writing articles, finding new products to promote, updating my datafeedr store site, and my Niche Blogger site. I’m on a roll again. Pretty soon all my credit card debt will be paid off, and I’ll be bringing in significant monthly income. THAT is the real goal. Then we can breathe and enjoy life.
Thanks for reading! Come back soon. 
Zero Debt Progress – September 17, 2010
Sep 17th
Well, here we are again! I just wanted to keep you all updated. We received the 401k money, and you know what? I already feel some relief. My husband and I were talking about which bills we want to get rid of first. “Get rid of” is a little weak. It’s more like kill, slaughter, murder, annihilate…well, you see what I’m saying. I really want to chuck those credit cards.
There are two schools of thoughts here. #1. take out the cards with the highest APR. You get more bang for your buck here and save more in the end. #2. take out the lowest cards first. That gives your motivation and momentum a boost, which allows you to KEEP GOING.
You know? Both methods of getting rid of credit car debt are good. It’s really just about which way would benefit you most.
For us, I think it’ll be a bit of a combination.
There’s one card that we just can’t wait to pay off and close forever. It’s not the highest APR, nor the highest payment, but it’s our biggest nemesis.
It’s us vs. the Chase card.
And we’re about to win.
Then there’s a few big cards to deal with.
Big meaning big payments due.
We have a card with $11k, a card with $13k and a card with $7k. Sucks, right?
The plan right now is to demolish the nemesis card ($3k), the highest APR card ($7k) and the $13k card.
And possibly half of the last card ($11k).
We need to leave a little breathing room for taxes, Christmas and other things.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. We’re totally not paying off these cards in the way that I planned like Amy Bass did. By internet marketing.
And I get that. That’s what I wanted to do. And I’m still focusing on that. But right now, it’s not what’s going to save us.
I’m OK with that.
I think once we get some of these cards off our back, we’ll experience this great relief, and that will help us to allow more money to come into our lives.
Listen, this is not over for me. Not even close.
I am more focused than ever. I have new goals set, and I’m ready to achieve them.
I don’t just want to not worry about money, I want to have enough to really, truly enjoy life. That’s what we’re supposed to do. I really feel life is supposed to be fun.
We’re getting there. All of us!
Zero Debt Progress – September 9, 2010
Sep 8th
Hello anyone reading this!
I just wanted to give you an update on what’s going on.
I sent in my papers to get my 401k money out. So now I’m just waiting for that to happen.
I kind of gave up on affiliate marketing for some time, but I’m getting my inspiration back. And I’m getting back into it. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to get a “real” job (hopefully working from home – something is in the works) and then I can do affiliate marketing on the side.
(I really feel like an affiliate marketer at this point!)
The “real” job will help pay for the bills, and the affiliate marketing will pay for whatever debt we have left, Christmas gifts coming up, and things like that.
Eventually, affiliate marketing will rule my world (in a good way!) and I’ll be driving around in a Porsche Cayenne.
Yea, I know I’m focusing on material things, but sometimes that fun thought helps keep me going. You know what I mean? Do you have a thought like that about a favorite car or house or other similar thing that keeps you going?
Those are the things that keep life fun – but, as I’m realizing, only when you can actually afford it!
Ok, I’ll keep you posted on all of my progress as I go along. I think we’re getting somewhere though.
Zero Debt Progress – August 25, 2010
Aug 25th
Wow, time sure does fly, right? Every time I turn around, another couple of weeks have gone by. My son is about to start Kindergarten, and my daughter is starting pre-school soon. It’s so amazing that I’ve gotten to spend the last year and a half with them and I hope I get to spend so much more good, quality time with them.
But whatever happens in life, you just have to go with it. Go with the flow and let the stream lead you to the most amazing things in your life.
Well, that’s my speech for the day. Thanks, and good night!
OK, I know I promised I would mention some major things happening behind the scenes here.
Some ways that we can pay off our credit card debt.
Let me warn you though, this solution isn’t going to be very pretty.
But, I think we can do it. Or come REALLY close. $34,000. Gone. Would you do it?
The first step is to take out my 401k. It’s exactly what every expert says not to do. But are the experts in my shoes? We are losing tons of money every month with credit card debt.
The goal is zero debt.
We will need to do whatever we can to get there. We’re paying something like $550 / month in credit card debt. That’s a lot of money!!!
We understand the penalties and taxes that will happen with using my 401k, but that’s why I said it’s not going to be pretty.
Step #2 is taking out some extra money we had saved up for the kids.
Yes, I wish that my kids have a great head start. But we want to make sure we’re ALL safe and secure and one of the best ways to do that is to take out this debt. The money for them is sitting in a savings account making NOTHING while we’re getting killed with 20 – 30% APRs.
Not pretty.
But it’s something that we can do to get rid of the debt.
And we plan to pay the kids’ money back – with interest. (How? Well, there are lots of other back-up plans to take care of this. It WILL be paid back. It has to be.)
The 401K money will be built up again. It was DOWN due to my last company’s departure from the business world. (AKA, they went out of business. LOL)
BTW, my husband still has his 401k, and we’ll keep that one going.
Life doesn’t fit into a perfect story. If it did, that story would be pretty boring, right? So sometimes you have to do things that the “experts” would frown upon. Sometimes you just have to go with what you feel is the right thing to do.
Sorry experts, but you’re going to lose this one.
And maybe you’ll be right down the road. Maybe not. It doesn’t matter. I have to deal with this moment right now. I’ll deal with the future when it comes.
We all have our different paths in life. And that’s perfectly OK. In fact, that’s perfectly perfect. It’s good for all of us to have different paths. It makes life interesting.
And, in the end, I KNOW it’ll all work out – for all of us.
My Zero Debt Progress – August 2, 2010
Aug 2nd
I know I’ve been kind of hiding out and not writing too much, but things are still happening in the background. This is what I’m doing:
1. Coupon clipping. (Something I used to say “UGH!” to.) It’s actually kind of fun! I love seeing the numbers on the register go down and down. I *might* be getting a little obsessed about it though.
2. SwagBucks. I just joined Swagbucks, but I’m already REALLY liking it. You can collect points by completing offers, and even just by searching using their engine. I mean, how easy is that?? Once you have enough points saved up, you can use them in the swag store. It’s very similar to MyPoints. Try it out!
3. MyPoints. Ok, I was already a member of this one, but I’m going to take a look again and really try to start collecting some points.
4. CashCrate. I know, I know. I complained about this one! But I’m going to take another look and at least try to get my first check! I’m going to give it another chance.
Basically, my strategy here is to find ways to spend less money. The coupons will help save on grocery bills. (I saved $43 on my bill recently! Wow! That’s pretty huge for me.) And it’s also to earn points / money in ways that I can use them on things like Christmas shopping.
Can you imagine only spending $100 of your own money, and using this FREE money that you’re earning for the rest? Sounds great, right?
Well, that’s why I want to get started now. This is going to be my Christmas strategy for this year. And if I can make enough to get through most of my shopping, that will take off a HUGE financial burden! And it’ll be fun to boot! 
Now, as far as the zero debt progress…things are about to happen in a BIG way. I’m going to let you know ALL about it in my next blog post. I think we’re going to be able to pay off that debt.
My Zero Debt Progress – June 26, 2010
Jun 26th
Hello anyone who may happen to read this! So, I just got this comment from my friend Dr. Bob, and I loved it so much I wanted to post it here:
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Analysis-Stillowed=$33,835
This breaks down to $2819.00 a month
This breaks down to $704.98 a week
This breaks down to $100.69 a day
I just want to suggest that you may want to think about making this a two year goal instead of one year. It is very easy to get “down in the dumps” if it looks like the goal will not be met as planned. Perhaps we should all understand that it took us more than a few months to rack up our debt. In addition, the credit card company will continue to add debt to the debt. So, I would suggest that you relax and give yourself some breathing room. If you can get in done in a year than great. But if not, then you do not need to beat yourself up over it. Look. use the time as a learning process. What does this time in your life teach you about yourself? What does it teach you about “the system”? Look inside yourself and be honest. Then, march forward to victory. You were made to win and you are a winner. Thank you, Dr.Bob
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Dr. Bob makes an EXCELLENT point. I am not a planner! I go head-first into things and I cross my fingers and hope that things go my way. (And you know what…they actually usually do, so it’s not such a bad strategy.)
But I don’t plan things out.
Because planning overwhelms me.
I’m like a whining child. I want things MY way WHEN I want them!
And if I want to have zero debt within a year, then I SHOULD have it.
Because the Universe revolves around me, you know!
So…ok, this strategy works sometimes, but maybe it’s not the best in the world. I’m getting it.
I really love what Dr. Bob laid out and how he planned it all out. Because, of course, I never thought of how much I would need to make to reach my goal. And I am down in the dumps right now because of it.
And this is a MENTAL game that I’m playing right now.
And so far, I’m losing that game.
I want to be super confident and say that I can do it. But I don’t have a PLAN. Looks like I need one!
In fact, I’m discovering that I need one in ALL areas of my life.
Do you think I have a plan for my affiliate marketing business? Nope. I’m even looking up meal plans right now because I never know what to make on a given day!
I can see how planning things out sort of sets things in motion. When you plan things, it’s like you’re telling the Universe “this is what I expect to happen” and then the Universe delivers.
So, I don’t know if I’m completely cure from unplanning-itis, because honestly, it still overwhelms me to think about ALL the things that need to be planned out. But, maybe that see has been planted enough to get me to think about everything in a better way.
So thank you Dr. Bob for that. I appreciate your comment!
At the same time, I don’t want you to count me out *just* yet. Things are happening behind the scenes here. Different kinds of plans that may just save my butt.
Stay tuned.
My Zero Debt Progress – June 13, 2010
Jun 13th
Howdy everyone! So it’s June 13, a little over 3 months since I started this journey. Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten very far yet. But there have been a lot of talks in my house about budgets and what to do next.
(Sigh) I’ve had such a roller coaster ride with this…
But that’s life right?
And I always have hope.
My new hope is a new campaign. Not that I think it’s good to jump from one thing to another. I think that’s part of my issue. I don’t focus on one thing long enough to make it stick.
But this time, this is a subject I’m close to. It’s something that I love. The overall market is a HUGE one, but this niche is one that is newer and seems like there’s not much competition yet (even though lots of people are searching for it – just like I was recently).
So, I think I’ll enjoy writing about this one!
I’m going to follow Amy’s The Niche Blogger for this one. There are plenty of keywords to use. Yippee!
I’ve already purchased 3 domain names, which is 2 more than I need. But, if this niche gets bigger, I want to be prepared. I have a few options of things I can do with the other domains, so I’m not worried about having too many. I had to hold myself back from buying more.
Anyway, I’ve got some work to do! I’ll let you know how this one goes.
By the way, sales are SLOW this month, but I have had a couple of sales. One thing that’s good is that last month, I only received $13 from Squidoo, and I’m back up to $40 this month.
I’m just going to keep it going. I’m going to get over that hump soon… I’ve been so low that the only place to go now is up.
My Zero Debt Progress (An Ah-Ha Moment) – June 3, 2010
Jun 3rd
It’s June already?? Wow! And guess what? We’re not getting very far with paying off this debt. And I realized it’s because we haven’t changed our habits at all. Will we? I don’t know. But, based on a commenter’s post, I purchased Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover.
(I also saw Dave on Good Morning America this morning, and I always love what he has to say on there.)
Hopefully as I go through it, I will be able to see ways that my husband and I can change our habits. Now the tricky part is getting my husband on board too. He of course wants to pay off our debt, but I don’t know how much he’s willing to change to do it. I don’t know how much I am willing to change either.
That’s an issue.
But, that’s not my ah-ha moment. That came this morning when I took my daughter to a neighbor’s for a play date.
When I walked into my neighbor’s house, everything was so clean and neat! And I realized they don’t have a lot of “stuff”. And it was so comfortable there. So refreshing. There wasn’t all this “stuff” and clutter.
We have lots of stuff everywhere. Our house is way too cluttered. Just like our finances.
All this stuff is why we’re in debt in the first place. And meanwhile, it’s all just clutter. Unnecessary clutter.
Now, I’m not saying having stuff is bad. I mean, we work and we do things to buy some stuff. But maybe our money would be better spent on experiences instead of stuff. Things that will last a lifetime in our memories.
I do like stuff too. But I think it’s time to clear some of it out. Just like our debt.
My Zero Debt Progress – May 26, 2010
May 26th
Well, what do you know? It’s almost the end of May. Sheesh. I guess I feel like grumbling right now. Sales are WEAK this month so far. I’ve had a few frustrating things happen with my sites:
Site #1 is doing OK, making some sales. But the merchant closed down his site for a few days. I really hope it’s going to be back up soon! I feel like I’m missing out on sales.
Site #2 has a pretty good amount of traffic, somewhere between 70-100 per day, and I’m getting tons of clicks but NO SALES!! That one hurts.
Site #3 is in the #3 spot on Google for my main KW. Google says the term gets 130,000 hits a month. I got 14 visitors today. (130,000 visitors – HA!) And none of the 14, and none of the previous 100 or so visitors, clicked on my affiliate link. None. 0. Zilch. Zip.
But, all you can do is move on!
Now, the good thing is I am still doing my consulting work. So that’s an extra $700 / month at this point (it could be more eventually) to put toward these credit card bills. And that’s guaranteed money, which is nice since affiliate marketing is FAR from guaranteed.
After talking with my husband, he thinks we can really take a good chunk of money out of one of our credit cards, but unfortunately, not until next month.
I’m just going to keep collecting until then and then hopefully we can almost completely remove one credit card from our lives. (The one we want to get next has got to be closed down FOREVER! I can’t wait for that.)
Ok guys, thanks for reading. Keep coming back. Sometimes I’m slow at this, but I AM getting there.
My Zero Debt Progress – May 19, 2010
May 19th
Wow! Where does the time go? It feels like I just wrote yesterday, but it’s been 5 days already. I don’t have a *whole* lot to update here, but I do have a few things.
1. I now have access to Month 2′s The Niche Blogger content. I’ve been going through it, and of course, it’s great! I just love how detailed the instructions are.
Now, what I need to do is catch up on my blog posts for The Niche Blogger site I’m working on! Yikes, I’m really behind. And I’m behind because I’ve been busy with…
2. Consulting work! I just started doing some part-time email consulting work. I get to do it from home, so it’s awesome! And it’s an extra several hundred a month that I can put toward my credit card debt.
3. More consulting work! I picked up a little extra consulting work from this site I belong to called HireMyMom.com. This site is cool. It’s a membership site where moms (and probably dads too! I don’t think they actually care) can search for REAL work from home jobs. It’s almost like Monster for moms.
I also had a decent week with affiliate marketing sales.
Every little bit counts and can go towards paying off this debt! We should be writing out bills soon, so I’ll update you on any amount that we’re able to pay off.
Start Date: 3.12.10 