Financial Freak Show

When faced with the issue of my personal debts there was really only one way to fix the problem (I’ll put this in bold so nobody misses it). Pay it down then pay it off! We had to spend less money than were was making and pay as much as we could towards the debts. That’s it, it was really that simple, there were no shortcuts here. We’ll there was one other option….don’t do anything at all and let the bankruptcy courts wipe a majority of the debts away, but we didn’t really like that option. Those who stare their challenges in the face have the chance to overcome and win and those who refuse to face, or even worse avoid them altogether, will often continue to struggle until they are forced to face them. In our case we were forced to face it because it was beginning to put up a fight against us (and every month it was getting closer to defeating us). Well we could have ignored it a bit longer but I knew deep down inside the only place that would ultimately lead me was to a life of financial mediocracy. So in my case it was either face it now or face it forever.

Just about everybody I know has faced the issue of debt at some point. There are countless reasons this issue could be brought to the top of someone’s “Crap you should really clean up in your life” list(s). Some of the common causes of this are a job loss, an illness, divorce, or just plain dumb money habits. Some of these are major changes in their financial situation many consider outside of their control. In my case it was all brought to my attention through a publicly humiliating moment involving my new Cadillac and a nearly empty tank of gas in the middle of the night somewhere in Oregon.

No matter how the issue is brought to your attention the first step is always pretty much the same. You must identify the root cause of the problem. In my case I had been spending more money than I had been bringing in. It was really that simple and there was no room for excuses here; this was all my fault and now it was all my responsibility to myself and to my family to clean up the mess.  Step one was now complete I found the cause of the pain – and once again it was me! Once you’ve identified the problem you need to determine where you stand. This step is pretty easy as well. When dealing with money and numbers everything is factual and absolute – the numbers only lie if you allow them to lie. So here is your chance to be a FinancialFreak and stare into face of what many refuse to. Write down how much you owe and who you owe it to – every damn penny! No shortcuts here.  Now add it all up – this part sucks. Now you know where you stand. Are you disgusted with yourself? I know I was the night I finally sat down and took that step. Now that you know where you stand you can devise a plan to properly address the issue and remember “How you do anything is how you do everything” So don’t try any shortcuts here, just stare it in the face and start fighting to resolve the issue. 

What shortcuts have you taken in the past? How did that work for you? Did you learn any lessons? Please feel free to share so that others may avoid the same fate and/or embarrassment!