Monthly Archives: April 2010

12 Debts Down, 3 to Go!

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In November I had $42,813.83 over 12 debts. It’s April and I just paid off number 9, which means I have 3 debts left, totaling $27,000. In May I’ll be paying number 10, leaving me with $24,000. I’ll have number 11 paid off in July, leaving me with $18,000. Then I’m on the home stretch for the last one which will be paid off in January.

I cannot tell you how much the debt snowball has benefited me! It really is astounding what it has done for my financial self esteem and my wife’s.

I gain nothing if you do a debt snowball. I don’t get commissions, I don’t get kickbacks, I don’t get anything except the knowledge that I helped pass the word along about an absolutely awesome idea that has saved my life. In fact, NO ONE gets paid if you do the debt snowball. The only person who profits is YOU!

The only catch is that it takes commitment. Are you committed to getting out of debt right this second and following up for as many years as it takes, month after month???

PLEASE! Do it for the good of yourself, your family, your future and your family’s future. You deserve it. You really do. And so do they. They deserve to go to college and not be burdened with debt when the graduate. They deserve to grow up in a nice house and they deserve to not inherit your debt when you pass on.

Get started today and commit to paying as much as you can each month. Use the calculators I’ve linked to in order to see how fast you can pay off your debts.

Even if it will take 5 or 6 years, that’s WAY faster than paying minimum payments or even not paying at all. The faster you pay off your debts, the faster you can get started on becoming RICH!

This is the key ingredient my friend. The key ingredient for changing your financial life from a barrel of lead to a barrel of gold and starting you on the path to financial freedom.

Get started now and contact me directly if you have any questions!

Leave a comment if you’re using the debt snowball system and let everyone know your progress.
-MG

How NOT to Get a Promotion

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I’ve just started an article on how to get a promotion. As I was writing, I thought I could whip something together even quicker on how NOT to get a promotion. Here are ten ways to prevent furthering your career.

1. Shy away from difficult projects.
2. Don’t communicate openly with your manager.
3. Refuse to stay late.
4. Don’t take risks.
5. Don’t talk to your boss’ boss.
6. Don’t try to improve yourself.
7. Don’t act on all of the brilliant ways you’ve observed the company can save money.
8. Piss off your boss on a regular basis.
9. Prove yourself wrong time and again.
10. Don’t ask for help.

If you’re happy making NO steps forward in your career, have a go at some of the points above!

Leave some ideas and thoughts in the comments section.

-MG

My Baby Boy!

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Sorry it’s been so long that I’ve posted, but my son was born on April 5! It may take a couple days to figure out how/when to write while there’s a newborn who needs my attention. Keep checking back for new posts!

My son, Owen, born April 5, 2010

My baby boy, Owen, at the hospital

Payoff Your Debts as Fast as Humanly Possible with a Debt Snowball

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When I found out that I was going to be a Dad, I got hit hard by a sense of not wanting my child to be in debt and to be financially smart. One of the first things I decided was that my wife and I needed to get out of debt. So I went searching for a scam-free way to get out of debt that wasn’t going to cost me anything. What I found was the debt snowball.

I have an inherent skepticism about all things “get out of debt quick.” That is, what are you going to try to sell me today and in what way? As a blogger I know many of the tricks and as someone who was on the verge of bankruptcy, I knlow I’m all too susceptible to paying out when I’m desparate. But, if something appeals to my logical side(I’m a programmer), I’ll probably try it.

The debt snowball essentially goes like this: you commit to paying a certain dollar amount to debts each month. The snowball decides and maps out how much you pay to each debt so that you pay the least amount of money on interest and to pay off as quick as possible.

Real Life Scenarios

At first I was using an online debt snowball calculator. It allowed me to enter my debts and let me save and enter how much I paid each month. When I started I had $42,813.83 over 12 debts.

This website’s performance was an issue, so I started looking around for something better.

I never ended up finding a site that lived up to my expectations so I downloaded a free debt snowball spreadsheet and started tracking my debts in it each month.

My wife and I are now down to  $31,461.56 and only 4 debts left.

How I Keep Track

Each month I open my spreadsheet. I login to all of my credit card websites, get the remaining balance and edit the balances in the spreadsheet. I change the balance date to be the last day of the previous month so that it shows the calendar accurately.

Once the first of the month comes, I start paying as many as I can with the amount of money we have left. I also pay based on due date. So I pay whatever is due before my next paycheck so that I don’t end up with late fees.

Motivation for Paying off Debts
My first motivation was my baby and my new family. I wanted to be a good financial role model.

Then as I played with the spreadsheet I got excited. I put $1,000 in the “snowball amount” and found it would take years to pay off my debt. Then I started saying “what if I paid 1500 instead? What about 3000?” When I put in 3000, I saw how fast I could get out of debt(15 months total-9 months remaining).

At that point, I examined our budget, got my wife’s input and made a very realistic view of what expenses were needed, where I could trim and what expenses could go. I found money by aggressively cancelling un-needed services, finding cheaper services and negotiating cell phone plans.

Now, I don’t know what kind of financial issues lay ahead, but I assure you I am more prepared than I was 4 months ago and barring any unforeseen circumstances, I’m well on track to pay off all of my debts in less than a year.

What it all comes down to is that I believe the debt snowball method is the fastest, easiest and safest method to get out of debt fast! So I encourage you to give this a go.

-Mike