The New York Times published an interesting article in today's edition. "How Debt Can Destroy a Budding Relationship" examines the consequences of having a significant amount of debt and what couples should consider before getting married. In the first example a woman told her boyfriend early in the relationship that she owed $100,000. When he found that she instead owed $170,000, he walked.
She didn't lie about the number. She just didn't know what the real number was.
I mention this because it's virtually the same as my first two tips. I was charging here and there. But because I was able to make my minimum payments, I could stay blissfully unaware of the extent. But like the woman in the story, one day the real number caught up with me. In her case, her real number was an extra $70,000 -- almost twice what she thought. While my situation was nothing close to that, it was still a rude awakening.
It's scary, I know. I've been there. But you can't keep going with your head in the sand. If you haven't already, get a piece a paper, pull out your statements, and if you're like me and suck at math, grab a calculator. Meet your number -- and conquer it.
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