by Claire
This is going to sound crazy. As I was leaving the office today, I received an email with a comment from a reader. I took a look at the brief comment and it was suggesting I visit www.debtinfocus.org. From memory, the comment said they weren’t sure if the website had been mentioned before and it was helpful to set out a plan of attack. Before I left the parking garage, I quickly visited the site on my phone and it looked very user friendly on its opening page. I drove home and after a few hours I sat down to explore the site further. Here’s the crazy part—I could not and cannot find the comment from the reader! Maybe this is user error as it IS Friday and I am fatigued but there was no email, no comment on the blog itself and then no comment on the site I access the blog through! I felt like I was and feel like I am losing my mind! Thankfully, I had accessed the site on my phone so I was able to find the website address again.
I want to know who gave me this tip so I can thank you! OR if another reader locates the comment let me know where! I can hardly contain my excitement with this fabulous find of a debt payoff website. I’m sure many of you have seen similar ones but for this rookie debt reducer, this is awesome! Now…it wasn’t without pain as I had to input ALL of the information on ALL of my debt. Honestly, that’s like poking myself in the eye with a stick (and I know some of you will say “IT SHOULD HURT…WE HOPE IT DID HURT…YOU IRRESPONSIBLE MESS OF A BLOGGER!”) to go through all of those numbers again. BUT what a great exercise that yielded results for me to get my mathematically challenged brain around! It will generate all sorts of reports for you to consider for your approach to paying things off. It has the standard “minimum payment until well after you are dead” plan…the “pay the highest interest card first” plan…the “pay the lowest balance first” plan…AND then you can input what extra dollar amount you can put toward debt each month to see the impact of your efforts. It will also provide a printable 12-month payment plan telling you exactly what amount to pay to each debt. Now, maybe this is what some of you are already doing on your own by creating your own spreadsheets (my husband was very interested in discussing what went into creating the program to make all of that information come out in the end….soooooo not my thing to know the details behind it…) but I am amazed! I now have several scenarios to consider and chew on. I KNOW this will relieve many of you as even without a direct mention for a few days, I “hear” many of you shaking your computers and yelling “CLAIRE! WHAT IS THE PLAN?!” I will figure out how to post a payment plan once I learn for sure what that April raise nets us.
Which reminds me…no announcement on the promotion. It has been 8 weeks now since the interview process began. I think we are all beyond obsessing about it and will almost be surprised when they do announce it b/c we’ve all put it on the back burner just to get through our regular work duties!
So, thank you Mystery Commenter! That little tip was a goldmine for this weary brain. I feel energized and motivated by what I saw on the timeline. If it goes according to plan, I will have my debt paid off before I am looking at nursing homes to check into for my golden years.
😉
I’ve taken some advice from other comments and have come up with some possible additional sources of income. It will take some sacrifices of time but nothing so detrimental that we can’t cope. That’s one of the few perks to divorce…we are kid free every other weekend so we have time we can use to increase income. I’ll fill you in on those things soon!
Have a great weekend!!!
UPDATE: I just found it! Thank you Lys. Although the info is not showing up on your comment under “Perspectives” but I found it in my email! 🙂 Forgot to mention this website is sponsored by the Credit Union Association. You don’t have to input any personal info and help is offered, but not pushed. Totally anonymous! And yes, we do bank at a Credit Union. Love my credit union!
Born and raised in Texas. I’ve at least driven through every state in the US courtesy of a roadtrip loving Dad.
I’m single with two children and a good parenting relationship with their father.
I am a “life is just half full of funny” kinda gal. Humor is my saving grace and I am thankful for it every single day. I have a strong Catholic faith and am thankful for that foundation.
I read a lot for a living but still enjoy a good book. I love biographies but in recent years have found the need for fun fictional books–sadly, for a long time I just didn’t enjoy fiction!
I love live theatre of any kind–from local productions to Broadway.
I love to scrapbook and pride myself in my kids’ albums.
I love being a mom but also love my career. I’m blessed to have found a balance allowing me to be at everything my kids need and want me to be at–while also having a career.
Favorite Quotes: Well behaved women rarely make history.
Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out. -James Bryant Conant
Hi Claire,
If one of the additional sources of income turns out to be ebay, feel free to ask me for help. I’ve been doing it for a few years now, and I think I’ve got it down!
I adore the fact that it is such a win-win all around. I am recycling at the same time that I’m making money and making the person who is buying the item happy. It does take some time though!
Good luck with whatever you pursue!
Jaye – I’m interested in learning more about selling on ebay. Do you have a blog?
Hi Carrie,
No, I don’t have a blog. The main thing is to do your due diligence.
1)Be sure to check COMPLETED LISTINGS for the same item in order to find a price that is workable (or if you should try to sell an item at all).
2)Offer free shipping, but make sure you work cover yourself by working the cost of it into your price.
3)Take returns! People will rarely take advantage of this, but it is worthwhile, because it will make them trust you.
4)If something doesn’t sell, keep trying. I’ve found that an item that gets no interest one week will have 10 people watching it the next week. Drop your price if necessary. Sometimes you’ll get more money by starting lower.
5)If all else fails, drop it off at Salvation Army and take the write-off.
6)Ebay offers 50 free listings/month. Take advantage of them!!! You can always limit yourself to that number. I did, until I opened my store (Frugal and Posh Clothiers. Check it out if you want though the storefront – which is new- is a bit of a mess – I need to get organized!).
Jaye–Ebay is definitely on the top ten of income generating ideas. About 3 years ago I went through a major clean out of craft stuff (rubber stamps, scrapbooking supplies) and that was very successful. It is time consuming but I think there are time saving methods that I had not put into practice. My other challenge–at least at the time I did this before–was for every $20 I made…I spent $30 on something else I found! Hello! That’s missing the POINT!
Glad you found such a useful site and good luck on the increasing income!
I just checked out the site. It’s GREAT! It came to the same conclusion I have been working from but the one thing it DOES do that I can’t is include interest in your payments to get to a true last payment date. Thanks for sharing!
Sounds great- I will definitely check it out!!
It was me 🙂 *blushing*
I just wanted everyone to know about it, especially if you’re new to the game!
Good luck!
Thank you again! This not only gave me good information I desperately needed…it also motivated me in a big way! 🙂
Tell me you didn’t pay for this site… there are free options that do the same thing! Look at Payoff.com and ReadyforZero.com. ReadyforZero even emails you if you charge something on one of the credit cards you’ve listed (um, not that I know that cuz I’ve done it). 🙂
Sarah! No, I didn’t pay for this! I don’t have any money to pay for it! Ha ha. This was free as well…but I got a laugh out of your commment! Thanks for sharing!