Welcome to Money Meeting!
Hi! My name’s Dimitri. My partner and I share bank accounts. We also share some not-so-nice things. For example, here’s a picture of our shared debt:
Yikes! That’s what we thought, too.
We never knew we owed this much.
How could we be so oblivious to our own debt? It turns out that many Americans underestimate how much they owe, especially on student loans and credit cards.
It makes sense to be in denial. Debt is intimidating. The truth is, we didn’t want to know. Like many, we believed our situation was hopeless, and we acted that way — spending irresponsibly and not budgeting because “we’re fucked anyway.” Which, obviously, just got us into more debt.
Instead of being paralyzed by debt, we’ve decided to try something new. We meet once a week and do the following:
- Share an inspirational quote (this week’s is at the end of this article, if you’re curious).
- Review the current state of affairs — existing debt totals, stocks, spending for that week, current bank account balances, upcoming bills, projected end-of-month bank account balance.
- Reflect on what we’ve done well.
- Identify challenges or shortcomings and share thoughts on how and where we can improve.
- Set and/or revisit status of goals (Ex: We plan to pay off all credit card debt by this time next year)
- High-fives!
Ok, but does it really matter? Why not just pay minimum payments?
Being in debt is literally a ball and chain on your life. Think about it. Want to travel the world? Debt will probably make that difficult. Found a new job opportunity that is perfect for you but pays $10K less? Debt will probably make that difficult. Your overhead — debt and living expenses — shapes the choices you are able to make about your life. Minimum payment or not, you owe the money.
Not to mention, interest. Interest is your enemy. When you pay minimum payments on student loans — and especially if you are on an income based repayment plan, like me — you often end up owing more at the end of the year than what you started with.
The one thing you own in this world is your time. And right now, a lot of us owe our time to loan companies. Fuck that.
We have plenty of friends that are in mountains of debt, but keep piling it on. And we see what their lives are like. They have a lot of nice things, and they go a lot of places. But, they aren’t free, and their debts only grow each month. They might be living the dream now, but pretty soon it’s gonna catch up to them.
Not that we’re condemning anyone for being in denial (My partner thought he owed $40,000 in student loans in total, when in fact he owes about $68,000). But the reality is, not knowing this shit and not handling it is serious and has consequences.
To be fair, we’re not extremists. We have a very generous $400 monthly grocery budget. I just bought a new bike and accessories that cost about $1,000 because I want to bike commute and I value getting some more physical activity into my life. We’re not trying to be the ultimate coupon clippers or eliminate money from our life entirely. We’re not in a money saving pissing contest. We’re just working to be debt-free and live our lives.
Our approach is this: Be honest about our debt and the challenges ahead. Keep track. Reflect. Save. Pay debt. Get the shackles off.
So, what is this publication all about, anyway?
I’ll check in each week with our detailed money report. You will be granted an in-depth look at our spending, our goals, and our plans for next steps. It’s a way to keep us accountable and to share what we learn with others in the hope it will be helpful to you, too.
And, occasionally I’ll share some other thoughts on money management and working together as a couple to achieve financial goals.
Inspirational Quote for today:
We all must suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.
— Jim Rohn
Personally, we choose discipline.
The choice is yours. We hope you’ll join us. First step: add up your debt.
Let me know your thoughts on getting out of debt. I’d love to hear your success stories. See you next time, and have a great day! :)
