But I do applaud those debt relief companies for trying to expand their business beyond their usual clientele. And lord knows some of us can use the debt help, just witness all those shows on tv like Till Debt Do Us Part.  Not everyone is as finance-conscious as we all are, right?

I found an interesting article online that gave a great name to our ignorance: debt denial. It’s great, alliterative, and so true. We all have, at some point, just ignored the numbers on our bank statments or even just refused to open the bills that come in the mail from time to time — that’s classic denial. We just want to live life the way we want, rather than the way we should.

This blog helps keep me honest, as I tell y’all about the silly things I do, like having an overspend day, or how I found some change on the ground. (see the sidebar for the totals) Seeing everything in black and white forced me out of my denial and made me face what exactly I had done to get myself in this mess. It’s not for everyone, but if works for you, do it! But most of all, I recommend that you face your finances, face your debts and stop denying them because life will be so much better if you worried about more important things, like your health and your family.

Just stop the denial! Your spirit will thank you.

This is an official post from Adventures in Debt.

Overall my Debt Snowball worked quite well for May. I paid the minimums on all of them except for the credit card at the top of the list, and I was able to put an extra $78.83 towards it, so I’m pleased. I also just felt like it was a more productive month financially simply because I had a bit of a buffer in my chequing account. Of course I wasn’t spending the money there, but just seeing it in my account was nice. In fact, that buffer was already spoken for in my budget, but wasn’t going to be spent until the end of the month, so it sat there in my account until this weekend. Sometimes it’s just nice to see the extra numbers when I logged into my account, you know?

I’ve also started writing a note to myself with each pay day, so that I know what the money is going towards. A friend of mine does that with her pay stub, writing the bills she’ll be paying with it on the papers, however I absolutely despise pay stubs because nobody ever does anything with them anymore. I find them to be such a waste of paper it’s ridiculous. So I clip a note to the calendar that just above my computer, and I find it more useful. At any rate it doesn’t really matter, does it? As long as I’m aware of what things I’m paying with each paycheque, that’s the main thing.

This is an official post from Adventures in Debt.

One of the things he talks about is to “Stop beating yourself up.” This is a big one to remember, and it’s a trap I fall into quite often. I might be “good” for a while, and stick to my budget or plan for a few months, but then there’s always something that just derails me and sends me into the “I’ll never get out of debt” pity pool. But NCN is right, there is no sense in beating yourself up over it. I’ve just got to have that pity moment, but then pick myself up, dust myself off, and get right back at it. It took me years to get into debt, it’s going to take me a few years to get out, so there’s no sense in getting all depressed and maudlin about it.

Suck it up chickie and get back to it!

That’s why I am so pleased that I was able to resist buying those new sunglasses the other day. It’s a small victory, but it’s my victory, and I’m stickin’ to it.

That’s why I’ve posted up my Dave Ramsey Debt Snowball list right above my computer, just a little above my eye level. I like having it there in an accessible spot so I can just look up and see what’s next. I’m going to try and keep the amount updated each month, so that I can see the progress I’m making.

This is an official post from Adventures in Debt.

In one of the episodes, Gail Vaz-Oxlade advised her clients to declare bankruptcy. It was the first time she’s ever done that, as typically she’s able to help the couples out of their situation and get them on the road to financial recovery. But this time there was no way around it. She crunched the numbers every which way and just couldn’t find a solution. So she advised them to declare bankruptcy.

This is something that a lot of people around the world are starting to do in increasing numbers. In the UK the numbers have increased quarter over quarter (up 8.8% between the 2nd and 3rd quarters of 2008). In Canada, the number of bankruptcies has increased 2.8% in one month (from Dec. 2008 to Jan. 2009), which is up 20% from the year before. That’s a lot of people who have just had to give up  on their financial situation.

I admit that the thought has crossed my mind every now and again, as I wonder if it would just be easier to declare bankruptcy and start over fresh. But then I remember that I think about doing it simply because I’m impatient. I want to be done paying off my debt NOW.

The funny thing is, there’s no real need for me to pull the bankruptcy trigger. And why is that? Because even though I’m currently unemployed (that is, not earning full-time money), I can still cover my debt payments. And do you know why? Because I’ve been budgeting for quite a while and had cut down on my variable spending to the point that the fact I’m not working full-time means that I’m not chewing through my emergency fund at a fast clip. I’m able to stretch out my money because I already know exactly how much I spend in my variable & fixed expenses every month. I was saving money in my emergency savings plan with that in mind. I knew that if I needed to use my emergency savings, that it would be able to sustain me properly, including my dept repayments. Add to it  my recent income tax refund, and I’m able to survive. I’m not “living large”, but then again, I wasn’t even when I was working full-time. I was being responsible with my money. I might not be paying more than the minimum payments on my debts, but I’m not defaulting entirely on those monthly payments. I’m buying myself time until I can earn enough money to start making more than the monthly payments again.

So that’s why I’m not giving up just yet and declaring personal bankruptcy. But your situation might be different, you might be forced to do that because you’re far beyond your emergency savings, because you had to deal with unforseen expenses (a health emergency, or unexpected housing breakdown.) For whatever reason you might have to just do it. And that’s okay. Just make sure you make the decision with all the facts. Make sure you understand the ramifications of your decision, but once you do, and it makes sense for you, then do it, take the plunge. It might be the best decision you ever make.

Reminder: I am not a financial expert, nor an expert in bankruptcy filing. If you’re thinking of declaring bankruptcy, please consult an expert.

This is an official post from Adventures in Debt.

In a post she wrote this week, Krystal talked about how she didn’t like pre-authorized payments because it meant “once you pay your invoice, you have acknowledged and agreed to the charges on the bill.”

Hmm, very interesting.

I had never thought about it that way, but I realized that she was quite right. There’s always the fine print on these types of agreements, and the fact that you might be agreeing to all the charges on your bill when the company automatically withdraws the payment is a little worrying. I was debating this week whether I should stop my automatic payments simply because I had wanted to stop using my cards completely this year, but Krystal’s post has definitely gotten me thinking. I’ll have to weigh the pros and cons again before making my decision, adding this one into the mix.

How about you, do you have any of your payments on pre-auth? Why or why not?

This is an official post from Adventures in Debt.