Hello!
I have powered through this entire thread from Day One over the past few days and am so ready to join! Last week I read DRs TMM and we have decided to begin a zero-based budget, which is a new way of thinking about things for me. Any leftover money we had I would just hoard, because I always felt it would be needed for something unexpected next week. And it usually was! I have used Quicken for years and have a separate budget spreadsheet, but I realize now that I just plugged in numbers after the fact and did not actually and actively budget. Duh! So we will go on a slightly tweaked TMM, looking more at interest rate than total amount owed for each debt. (After years of reading Money magazine, I just cannot agree on the interest rate not playing a role. Sorry Dave R!)
It is a difficult time to start this, with the holidays coming. But I have my spreadsheet all set up and will use November and December to perfect my categories and get some true numbers, and will truly begin the plan in January. My full-time job utilizes a compressed work week, working Mon-Thurs, so part of the plan is to find a Friday job to boost income. My two boys will not be happy with this new arrangement (they like sleeping in a bit later and the baked goods that await them at end of day), but I see no way to get out of the hole we are in without boosting income. My husbands checks vary with hours worked and commissions earned, so I get a surprise every two weeks. Sometimes a good surprise, sometimes a bad surprise!
I love the support I see on this thread. People typically do not mention what they do for a living or how much they make, but only their steps toward becoming debt-free. You wonderful people have already taught me that Every. Little. Bit. Counts. And that many of you are obsessed with Jon Bon Jovi.
I would like to list out our transgressions, but at this point will just say that our $25k+ in total cc debt is depressing enough. It is killing me and I see it as an insurmountable obstacle. This will be a years-long struggle and we already feel that we have cut things back so much already. But it is time to really grow up and make some adult decisions about things. I like to get on an airplane at least once a year and simply must accept the fact that this will no longer happen. You bet your sweet bippy that a paid-in-full-in-advance vacation will be the reward for all this!
Sorry bout the long post, just wanted to introduce and again say thanks for all the great advice here!