Duchess of Debt

Something I have learned quickly is that I need a replacement activity for online shopping.  When you are sitting at a computer all day for work, everyone takes a few mental breaks to browse the web for news, social media, or in my case ONLINE SHOPPING. My demon. The danger zone. Pro tip (ha ha I am not a pro I have $43,000 in debt): Remove ALL credit cards you have linked to online shopping account. It is not helpful to know that your amex is tied to your paypal account so you literally have to make 0 effort to purchase that top on (final) sale on J.crew. So I started googling. Things like 'best blogs for debt', 'best blogs for millenial financial advice', 'best inspirational blogs for getting out of debt', 'best realistic financial blogs.'  I don't need someone telling me to invest in bitcoin, I need someone who has walked/is walking my debt walk and can give me a daily boost that I WILL SEE THE OTHER SIDE. It will take 1.5 years, but I can do

Just some fun quotes I have found along the way to give me daily inspiration in my fight to pay of my debt. I included credit for the quotes (most are from Instagram) if you are interested in following this awesome folks as well. "If you're not willing to downgrade for a year to have a lifestyle you want forever, you care too much what other people think. " (@Queendebtfree777) "It's not always easy to stay motivated and continue with your efforts to speed up debt repayment, but it will all be worth it when you are officially debt free!" (@citygirlsavings) "We buy sh*t we  don't need- with money we don't have- to impress people we don't like." (@wannabedebtfree) "Winning with money is 80% behavior and 20% head knowledge. What to do isn't the problem; doing it is." (@DaveRamsey) And one that really keeps me going ... the ultimate goal! "What would your life look like with NO credit card bills, NO car paymen

While googling my favorite topic, #gettingoutofdebt , I stumbled upon a GREAT, easy to use tool. Enter Undebt It. Website: https://undebt.it/ Not only does this site offer a ton of useful debt payoff method tools, there is great advice and explanations of all the tools. This guy gets it!!!!!!!! I wanted to share the Undebt It description of a Debt Snow Ball, which in my opinion makes the process slightly more crystal clear then Dave Ramsey (no offense Dave, you rock): The Undebt It Snowball Explanation A person has the following amounts of debt and additional funds available to pay debt (the debt is listed with the smallest balance first, as recommended by the method): Credit Card A - $250 balance - $25/month minimum Credit Card B - $500 balance - $26/month minimum Car Payment - $2500 balance - $150/month minimum Loan - $5000 balance - $200/month minimum The person has an additional $100/month which can be devoted to repayment of debt Note that interest rate is not fa

I started listening to Dave Ramsey a few months ago, back when I was flirting with the idea of getting out of debt (will do a full post on him in a future post). One of Dave's Baby Steps, is creating a Debt Snowball and eliminating all of your debt (duh). This is a method for listing your debts smallest to largest, and then attacking the first one. Once you attack the first one and pay it off, you use those payments for the second debt. And so on. Of course you continue to pay minimum payments towards all of the debts during this process. How to Debt Snowball from Dave Ramsey: https://www.everydollar.com/blog/how-the-debt-snowball-method-works In short, you’ll pay your debts from smallest to largest regardless of interest rate. That’s it. Easy enough, right? Start by grabbing a sheet of paper or opening Google docs and listing all of your nonmortgage debts from smallest to largest. Remember, we’re not worried about interest rates and we’re not worried about your home loa

If you aren't using Ebates or Ibotta (ideally both), you are leaving money on the proverbial table. Listen, I am not here to sell you products, but I AM here to help you save money to put towards your debts. And I am alllllllllllllllllllllll about making money by making little to no effort. Seriously. If you can tie your shoes or walk your dog, you can use these apps. We are not talking big bucks (Ebates can get up there though depending on how much you buy and what the cash back match is) but every little bit helps in the debt elimination process. You are kidding yourself if you are thinking '$7 on an app is not worth my time.' It sure is!!!!!!!!!!! You may be thinking, EBATES? That is still around? It SURE is, and it's as good if not better then ever. How to use Ebates: https://www.ebates.com/welcome.htm A few of their current cash back deals that are AMAZING: Sephora- 8% cash back. Makeup is expensive, but this makes it better! Shoes.com- 12% cash back. W

I will admit, I have a spending problem. I mean, clearly I do. But why? My parents are incredibly fiscally responsible, I learned financial basics at a young age. I have had good jobs to afford what I NEED (vs. what I want and don't need like those shoes on sale at Nordstrom). I read this awesome article on Chime.com that really goes into a few basics of the underlying reasons for overspending. I am not trying to make myself feel better here, I made a huge mess for myself. But it is an interesting read.  Full article can  be found here:  https://www.chimebank.com/2017/02/08/5-reasons-for-overspending-and-how-to-stop/ Basics concepts from the article are below. I definitely know I have wanted to keep up with the crowd. But now that I think about all the times I wasted money doing that, it feels so dumb. My friends love me for me, and would not love me any less if I said no I can't afford that, no I don't want to contribute to that bottle of red wine (I don't even L

The words Debt + Duchess probably don't go together, so why did I choose them for my blog name? The reason I got myself into this miserable place is 100% because I lived ABOVE my means. I believed I could live like a Duchess, meanwhile I was wracking up thousands of dollars in debt on credit cards. Those Gucci shoes that all the bloggers are wearing? Needed them. That Louis Vuitton bag? Of course I needed it, and it needed to be monogrammed (which makes it impossible to resell, a topic I will visit in a future post). Soul Cycle class on Monday and Bar Method on Friday, DUH. That Pottery Barn sofa and chair in nonrefundable custom white fabric? Of course. You get the picture. My obsession with THINGS I could not afford, is the reason I am here. The reason I have $43,00 in debt staring me in the face. I truly believe if I had lived below my means, SAVED money, and did not use credit cards, that not only would I not be in this situation, but I could afford to buy (some) of t

Rock Bottom Last night I realized that I had hit rock bottom financially. I knew the bottom was looming over me (below me?) the past few months after totaling my debts and trying to make a plan to get out of debt. But it was my Mom who made me realize the actual situation I was in after asking me 'Are you in over your head again?' Again. I had done it again. This time I had gotten myself  into $43,000 of debt . Largely credit card debt, but all debt I had created myself. I cried. And cried. And hyperventilated. And walked around my apartment stomping my feet. I felt sorry for myself. I told my mom I was a failure, an embarrassment. She couldn't believe I had done this to myself again. I couldn't either. What is WRONG with me? I feel like I can't breathe, and my anxiety is at an all time high. The worst part is that I did this 100% to myself.  No one else did this to me, no one is to blame, except for myself. I started getting ready to go to bed (at an e