Sometimes debt just finds you and there may not be anything you can do about it. Recently, someone asked me how I ended up getting back into debt AFTER becoming The Frugal Biddy.
Debt Finds You Like the Movie Final Destination
The answer is, “sometimes debt just finds you.” Just like
Debt ball and Financial Freedom
the movie Final Destination where no matter what you do to plan, the grim reaper of finance (debt) just finds you.
I am a single parent on a single income. And while my single income is pretty decent, let’s be serious, I can’t do everything. When my daughter was young I started saving for her college fund. I wanted to ensure that she graduated from college debt free just like I did.
My parents paid for my college and I took out loans for my law school. After becoming debt free in 2009, I did my best to save for her college. I also purchased homes to live in wherever I lived. And things happened.
Paying for college, especially a private college, is very expensive. In addition, I paid for a lot of other expenses for my daughter which meant that I was on a tight budget. Saving for my emergency fund wasn’t easy either but I did it.
With my most recent home, I had to replace my septic system which cost me a tune of $5,000. This was after I decided I wanted to change up careers and do some things on my own. I didn’t want to use my emergency fund so I charged that on my credit card with the intent that I would pay it off once I got more clients or got another full time job paying me what I was making before.
Debt Finds You When You Least Expect It
I am not ashamed that I got back into debt because what I have doesn’t compare to what I had.
Mid six figure debt versus a small five figure debt I will take any day. PLUS, I know how to do without to get the debt paid off.
Right now I am committed to paying off my car. Starting this month, I will be paying 2x what I pay on my car so I can get it paid off by July or so. I am also sending $700 a month to two credit cards. One of them has a very low balance and the other one a higher balance.
What I am proud of myself is that I have put together a schedule to pay off my debt. I have already set up automatic payments with my car financing office to pay off the car. I also set up automatic payments in my checking account to pay off the credit cards.
If I was perfect I wouldn’t have this blog. The fact that I have slipped up makes me more compassionate about people’s plight and what I know can happen if you focus and commit to your goals. While I won’t put my actual numbers out there in terms of where I am debt wise now just know that that number will be zero or as close to zero as possible by my birthday.
Don’t Let Debt Find You During Your Sixth Month Financial Challenge
My readers have been challenged to pay off debt and/or save over these next six months. Everyone should stay the course and try your best not to let debt find you during this six month financial challenge. This means putting the credit cards away. For transparency, I have used my credit cards but that is because my credit union has, on two occasions, marked my attempt to use my debit card as a fraudulent activity. One card I haven’t used at all which actually has a credit of $300 on it.
While debt will probably find you your entire life, if you plan accordingly it won’t set you back too much.
You can read up on my other posts about debt here.
How to Get Out of Debt and Stay Out of Debt
I Am Living on the Financial Edge to Get Out of Debt (AGAIN)
Also, read this if you want good tips on how to stop getting into debt.