Why Debt Sucks | brokeGIRLrich
This month I am celebrating my first entirely debt free month in about 6 years, so it seemed like the month to tackles some topics on debt (which I almost Freudian slipped there and typed death, because it does feel a little like it’s trying to kill you sometimes). Here are some things about Pete (my debt) that I hated:
1.) Pete needed to be fed every month. And he made it clear that feeding him was more important than feeding me.
2.) Pete kept me from sleeping well at night. He was all cover stealer and no cuddling.
3.) Pete made me stay in a job I really didn’t like, that kept me far away from all of my friends and family for a year and a half longer than I wanted to be there.
4.) When I found my new job was actually worse than my old job, I still had to stay for Pete. Because he’s selfish. And needed to be fed.
5.) I would feed Pete everything he needed to be full, but because of interest, that jerk was never satisfied, so on months where I was just scrapping by, feeding Pete the minimum amount to keep him alive felt more futile than not even feeding him at all.
6.) It was literally like squeezing blood from a stone to build up an emergency fund while I was with Pete.
7.) I did not get to go to Thailand last winter with my cousin. Because of Pete.
8.) I did not get to help my dad have a prototype made of his really cool invention by investing in him. Because of Pete.
9.) I’ve actually missed countless investment opportunities because of Pete.
10.) Pete’s a dirty liar and would whisper sweet nothings in my ear about how good those overly expensive shoes looked on me whenever I started to make some progress towards leaving him. He knew all my weak spots.
This is Pete. And yes, he does bear an uncanny resemblance to Jabba the Hutt.
Well. F you, Pete! We’re through. And it felt incredible to kick you to the curb and DELETE you from my Mint account. If we’re being totally honest here though, Pete hasn’t been all bad. I was never this good with my finances before Pete happened. Honestly, before Pete happened, I didn’t even know that something like him could. I sort of just wondered how all those poor fools kept winding up so far in debt (sorry, forgive me, I’m one of those fools now too who had the **gasp** audacity to try to get higher edu-ma-cated). Student loans are called good debt, but that’s kind of B.S. Anyone in debt will tell you none of it feels good. All accounts I hear of Pete’s brothers make it sound like they are real bastards as well. So this month I’ll introduce you to Pete in a little more detail and few other friends’ stories about their debt journeys.
With the new year approaching it’s not a bad time to think about how you want to tackle 2014 and if you’re looking for some tips to get your finances in order from someone who is actually called “the country’s most trusted and dynamic source on money matters” – Suze Orman. Enter now to win a copy of The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke. Contest ends December 31st.
a Rafflecopter giveawaybrokeGIRLrich readers, does your debt have a name?
I really hate Pete too! We are about to kick him to the curb in about 11 months! Feels so good!
Brian@ Debt Discipline recently posted…Week End Round Up #9
Good for you! It’s definitely an incredible feeling, but I’m starting to get the people who go “what now?” a little more.
This past February was when we kicked Pete out of our lives. We live on 40% of what we had before. It was a good deal to get rid of Pete when we took a job that paid less. Because Pete was gone, we were able to take less money on a job and be closer to family. Glad you got Pete out of your life as well!
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I was so set on getting rid of Pete for the same reasons! I hated that I felt so trapped in a job I didn’t like and also trapped that I had to find jobs that paid a certain amount. Good for you guys for kicking him to the curb too!!
Mel @ brokeGIRLrich recently posted…Debt Profiles: Michelle’s Story
Congratulations! We have a bit of debt right now, but nothing that is super overwhelming. We have a plan that we’re comfortable with. I’m married and have two kids (4 years and 3 months). Right now, it is more affordable to have me stay home with them full time than to put them both in full time daycare. I’m searching for a job that will compliment my husband’s hours. If that happens, we’ll be golden. I’m stopping by today via SITS.
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Cool, I think the most important part is having a plan. If it works for you, that’s all that really matters.
I love this – the reference to Pete was awesome! I’m linked to my own evil relative of Pete and it’s awful! Every month I become more inundated with some BS. Congratulations on being debt-free!!! That must be an amazing feeling and I totally understand #6, lol. Have a great one Melissa!! -Iva
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We’re working on slaying our Pete too. We’ve paid off over $12,000 this year! But still have $11,000 left. I have a series all about it on my blog 😉
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Awesome! I remember being around the halfway point, it felt so nice because I actually felt like I was seeing progress. Congrats on getting there!
Pete, huh? Sounds like a good name for him! My husband made a goal to pay off all of his debt before we got married, and man, I am so grateful for that! It’s sure not fun to live with!
Rachel G recently posted…Wedding Traditions We Skipped
That sounds like a great wedding gift!
Congratulations! It’s great to have been able to get rid of that debt, and also to find the silver lining with some of the lessons learned! Stopping by from SITS ShareFest!
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Tell Pete bye bye I love this. I have 3 more debts to pay off then only thing left will be Sallie car notes are gone and I will not get another car note I will ride with the hubs before I spend more money right now. Stopping over from SITS
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Thanks for stopping by! And way to go with your debt repayment too. It’s a major pain in the butt but it feels so free once it’s all gone!!
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I like to think of myself as debt free. No mortgage but car loans cause at our age we don’t want to drive sketchy cars. Husband’s student loan isn’t paid but it allowed him to earn more for his pension and got him the second career he loves. Credit cards are paid every month in full. Did it come easy? Heck no. We paid for three weddings and helped pay for college for our daughters and ourselves. There are always new ways to save. About to ditch cable and get by on Netflix and Hulu. I will be back and see if Pete is a RePeat or a Petered Out. Enjoy Sharefest.
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Oh gosh. Totally going for Petered Out. Very nice word play though :O)
Hi Mel…just hopped over from the SITSShare linkup and wanted to offer my congratulations! Good for you sticking with it and going debt free. About 4 years ago my husband and I did it and we are no very happily completely debt free. We’ve modified our lifestyle–which we call “right-sized” and can’t believe how much we saved–and now how much we are able to spend money on those things that REALLY make us happy. I love how you “named” your debt Pete and hope you are now well and truly divorced! ~Kathy
Kathy @ SMARTliving365 recently posted…10 Simple Ways to Create A Happy Minimalist Holiday
I love that you call your lifestyle “right-sized” – that seems like such a perfect term!
I LOVE that you named your debt and came up with a picture of him. I think that is a brilliant tactic and a great motivation to kick him to the curb. I’ll have to start thinking of a great name for my debt. Maybe the name of one of my old boyfriends??? #SITSsharefest
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I definitely approve of giving it an old boyfriend’s name… or a hateful co-worker. I probably should have more forgiving spirit, but, you know, whatever fuels your commitment to getting rid of it ;o)
LOL, I LOVE that you named your debt. I hung out with Pete for a long long time. I do not miss the jerk. I hope to never run into him again. And as a Star Wars fan, I have to say Jabba is a most appropriate image for Pete! Stopping by from Family Fridays link up! 🙂
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Thanks for stopping by! I don’t miss the jerk either.
I have taken on more debt than you could pay off the next month. Why? I was young and dumb and had NO idea how this credit and personal finance stuff worked. I blamed my parents. I blamed the public school system. But now I mostly blame myself. 🙂 I really got myself into a big mess in my twenties. My credit is shamefully shot, but these days my only debt is my car, and I am so proud of that fact.
Well at least once you saw the problem you fixed it! And credit scored rebound eventually, so way to get on top of things!
Years ago, we got into a huge mess where our cc bills were a LOT bigger than what we could pay. Needless to say, things didn’t end well.
But, we did learn a very large lesson from it and have been debt free until recently (we took the loan on purpose as a way to repair our credit). This debt will be paid off early and joyfully.
Excellent blog post.
Thank you for linking up to Family Fridays. I hope we see you again this week 🙂
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And I forgot to add that this post is being featured on Family Fridays tomorrow. Stop by for your button 🙂
Missy Homemaker recently posted…Wellness Wednesday: I desperately need your help
Wow! Thanks so much! And thanks for dropping by!
Congrats and thanks for sharing your story.
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Oh wow! This sounded exactly like me a little while back. I wrote this in September. Congratulations on your first month being debt free! I bet you’re going to sleep really well for the next few days. I need to re-read my notes and go through some of the books that I found helpful, since I’m kind of sliding back into my old habits the past month or so (I couldn’t say no to tickets to the Rolling Stones!). Ooops.
Once again, congratulations!
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To be fair, no one should ever say no to Rolling Stones tickets.
Thanks for dropping by!
Yes! Student loans have created a massive debt. Grad school isn’t cheap!
Good gracious. Amen, sistah!
We are working hard to get rid of him. I’m a single mom and used my credit card to get by. It’s now a huge amount but it’s enough.
Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do to get by. Good luck with everything!
Yes; I have tons of debt. I’ve always been one to think I needed a big vacation every year and could just put in on a credit card.
Ugh. I totally get that temptation. I freaking love to travel. For me though it feels so much better to save up ahead of time and come home knowing it’s all taken care of and I don’t have to pay anything off.
yes we have and I hate it
I have done that….I was trying to keep a roof over my head by getting cash advances on credit cards. I did what I had to do and suffered the consequences. And I agree with the student loan info- it’a a racket similar to usury and it’s really difficult to ever dig yourself out of that hole. I know from experience.
Yes, by getting a ton of student loans.
More than once… my husband and I recently bought both a house and a minivan (both necessities for our family of six)… we bought a fixer-upper house, so we also took out a credit card to buy the things we needed to get the house ready for our family to move in. We’re still paying off that card, but we have a great house that we’re restoring back to its former glory to show for it.
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I think sometimes debt gets a slightly worse wrap than it deserves. If you’ve got a handle on it and your house is turning out the way you’d dreamed, that’s something that makes it worth it! Good luck with all the restorations!
We have too little to take on a ton of debt for!
We are focusing on debt this year, so I enjoyed this article. We have been very careful with our finances, but have let a few things slip.
Found you blog through the Family Friday Link Up, thanks for posting
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