This is a very personal matter to me, but I feel like debt needs to be talked about more. When I was growing up, I was taught that no one spoke of money, or of debt. No one said how much they made at work, no one said their budget for groceries, no one spoke of how much they owe on their credit cards. It was a very taboo subject, money. I don’t want to say I blame my debt on this, but I do believe it didn’t help. I had no idea what debt would do or how it all worked. This debit card looking thing is lending me money? Sweet! Then comes the 40$ interest charge. FOURTY DOLLARS used to pay the company for an afternoon shopping at the mall. It shocked me, but I didn’t stop. I just ignored those charges. I opened my mail, paid my minimum and then tossed the statement in the trash. One of my credit cards has a $79 yearly fee that I get charged – just to use the card. Luckily my friend told me about credit card relief so I will have to look into this option. I’ve had enough. I am no longer paying a company absurd fees to borrow money. I will not borrow money for a new dress, or some bubble bath at Lush. I won’t pay interest on a $20 pizza. I have been considering a bank loan at a competitive interest rate in order to pay off the debts I’ve accrued on my credit card. This is my snapping point. So this is how i’m going to do it… 
I have a bit over $5,000.00 in credit card debt. I put my debt amount at $5,760.00 to account for interest and the yearly fees in February. Every time I put $45 towards my debt, I will color in one box. Once all the boxes are colored in, I will be debt free! My goal is to get this finished by May 2017, so 9 months from now. I have tried to follow the Dave Ramsey way, but since it is very much faith based, I have trouble following the advice and making up my own rules. So, i’ll make my own “program” for myself. I do, however, use his App and website Everydollar for budgeting. I’m beyond excited to get started, and I feel like this method of coloring in boxes will leave me motivated to earn money. I can physically see my debt shrinking with my chart. Once my debt is paid off, I would like to save $5,000 into a fully funded emergency fund. Then, my savings will grow so that I can one day put a large down payment on a 15-year amortization house. I hope you guys learned a little something from this post, and how I plan to become debt free. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments and I will gladly answer!
