Spend what you don't have

Just think. All that money going out your door to creditors will someday be all yours.

Keep track of exactly how much is going out so that you will be ready when it all stays where it's supposed to stay, with you.

And, when you figure up how much is going out the door to interest and fees you are required to get mad. I mean really mad. So mad you resolve never again to spend what you don't have.
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Debit card vs. credit card

Use your debit card, not your credit card.

This advice is from dear friends who live the life we all hope to live someday. "Beholden to none and focused on fun" best sums up the daily routine they earned through hard work, living within their means and saving along the way.

It works folks and it really is that simple.
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Debt settlement

Don't pay someone to take care of your problems.

You can negotiate your own debt settlement. Not being in control of your finances is what got you here in the first place.

Just because a debt counseling firm has ads on TV, radio or in print doesn't mean it's a legitimate businesses. It just means someone paid for the ads.

Only you are going to care about you. Take control now, it’s never too late.
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Conquer Debt Year Round

If you note a sense of urgency in any deal where you and your money may soon part it may fall into the “too good to be true” category. Keep your wits about you.

Con artists work very hard to separate you from what you have. They look for targets who are greedy and/or desperate. Targets must exhibit one or both of these traits before a con's trick will work.

Be careful.
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Seven Baby Steps

These are Dave Ramsey's Seven Baby Steps:

Step 1: $1000 in an Emergency Fund.
Step 2: Pay off all debt with the Debt Snowball.
Step 3: Three to six months of expenses in savings.
Step 4: Invest 15% of income into Roth IRA's and pre-tax retirement plans.
Step 5: Contribute to college funding.
Step 6: Pay off your home early.
Step 7: Build wealth and give!

Follow the steps. They work.
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YOUR debt

If you marry someone who has debt then it's now your debt.

If you didn't know about the debt prior to saying "I Do" that's your bad.

If you are married there is no such thing as his, hers and your debt. It's is all YOUR debt and the sooner you handle it together the sooner you can move on to the life you both imagined you would have once you became an "us."
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FICO

If you resolve to never borrow money again you can remove at least one item from your list of things to worry about -- your FICO score.

If you are never going to borrow money, then who cares about your score? FICO is a "how am I doing at borrowing money and paying it back" score. There actually are people who owe no one, have a huge net worth and have no FICO score.

Which do you want to be?
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