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I remember exactly when I got serious about getting rid of debt: I was sitting on the kitchen counter in the condo my ex & I had, looking at a credit card statement that had come in the mail. I felt so overwhelmed; like I was never going to make any progress on it. Every month was the same thing; I’d scrape together enough money to send in a little bit more than the minimum, and then we’d go out and put even more back on the card. And every month I’d tell myself, well, next month will be better because ________. That day, I realized that “next month” wasn’t going to be any different. It was going to be more of the same thing, unless I did something different.

Different didn’t mean telling myself that I’d send more money next month because our car insurance would be paid up, because we wouldn’t have an “emergency” car breakdown, because our pets had already gotten their shots, because I’d get birthday money, because you name it. Different meant facing up to reality — we were spending more money than we earned, and that wasn’t going to change unless and until WE changed. Although it took me many years to get our credit cards paid off (and even longer to come to the realization that I didn’t want to owe any money to any one anywhere) that day was the beginning of the end: the end of owing money to credit card companies. My husband came to a similar realization, which I’ll share later.

If you’ve gotten out of debt, or are on the road to doing so, what were your defining debt moments? What got you to the “enough is enough” point? How did it change your life?