Monday Money Matters

Three years ago I started another blog, a blog which focused on my journey to be greener and to get out of debt. Back then I was convinced that I could fix my marriage and my life if I could get out of debt. I would make small progress on my credit card debt and then I would back slide. Well now I know that I have to deal with my financial situation. I cannot ignore it or hope that my X will wake up one day and take care of it. It is my mess to clean up. Why does that matter to a wellness focused blog?

Finances cause many people stress, having a plan for financial freedom is good for the body and the soul. So that is what I will focus on. Something I noticed 3 years ago is that there were not a lot of good tips for people in my situation. All the blogs I could find about debt reduction had a few things in common:

They lived an exorbitant lifetsyle;
They had expensive possessions to sell;
They had leases on top dollar vehicles; and
They had places to cut in their budget.

That is not to say there are not steps I can take to become more fiscally responsible (stopping running to the Family Dollar or McDonald's when I am tired and don't feel like cooking) but I don't have the leeway that others might have. So where does a girl start?

I am going to start by getting rid of the clutter. I will list the items that do not serve me on Facebook sales Group Pages and make what I can, but I don't have top dollar items left. The stuff that doesn't sell will go on a Facebook Free Page because I need to learn to let go of what doesn't serve me.

Lastly, every Monday I will be picking a Pinterest Pin about Money Savings or Money Making Options and give my honest opinion and/or my trial of their strategies.

This weeks Pin is How We Dumped $18,000 of Debt in One Day

I've seen this strategy touted in a number of blogs when I was looking for ways to pay down my debt. I applaud this strategy. If you have a high dollar lease and YOU CAN get out of it and into a paid for vehicle, then go for it. Likewise if you have a high value car (even if it is paid for) and you can sell it and get into a more affordable paid for car and then use the difference to pay down debt? Go for it. If you have an extra car (yes I saw that a number of times in blogs as well) sell it and apply the money to your debt.

But if you are like me and you don't even have a car, then this isn't a viable option. That is the problem I found with most blogs and articles about getting out of debt. They are based on the premise that one lives beyond their means in an extravagant manner. Was I living outside my means? Certainly, if I wasn't I wouldn't have nearly $30k in defaulted consumer debt. Did I always purchase shoes, clothes or things the kids needed? NO.

A good deal of the funds were to give the things I couldn't afford. Clothing that they wanted, not just clothing they needed.

I tried unsuccessfully to start businesses, scrapbooking, plastic ware, silver jewelry, costume jewelry, essential oils. In the end all I have was more debt and no new income. I am not saying there isn't money in the direct sales industry, I know women that were pulling in money, it just wasn't for me.

Needless to say I won't be selling my high dollar vehicle to slash my debt. But I will be selling:
3 pair of heels I never wear
2 picture frames
Silk Flowers from my wedding
Fairy Wall Stickers
Flea Medicine for dogs
Tie Dye Kit
Unopened Stationary

I'll let you know next week how that turns out AND check in on another Money/Debt pin from Pinterest.