Becoming Debt Free - First Step - Admission

Well, at first it started seeming like the credit card bills kept on coming. My wife and I had a toddler and a baby on the way. One evening, I reluctantly decided to add them up! My wife was standing by the fridge and I asked her if she wanted to guess how much we owed on the credit cards. She doesn't like guessing games, but I sure wasn't going to blurt this number out. After telling her to guess higher a few times, she finally guessed close enough for me to tell her and then we both shared the shock.

That evening I used Google to find out how to get out of debt and I discovered Dave Ramsey and his baby steps. After learning about his show on XM Radio, I decided to start listening and I also added my name to the waiting list for his book at our local library. My wife and I also decided to stop the hemorrhaging of money by deciding not to eat out, renew magazines, visit our parents in Florida for Christmas annually, and no more buying anything. I also canceled the magazine subscriptions I had to get the checks for the unused portion of the subscriptions.

Tamra and I were both freaked out by what we discovered that night. But, in hindsight, I see it as a beginning to a very enlightening journey. After taking responsibility for where we were financially and admitting we had to do something about debt, it was time to start our journey out of debt and towards success.

(to be continued)