Friday inspiration: Continuing to make progress despite ongoing medical-related debt

This is part of a series of interviews with people who are either working to improve their financial situation or who have already reached their goals. This week’s interview is with Skyler Collings, who has been struggling with debt. He has recently started a blog called Situation Bleak – Debt as a way to focus his efforts and keep motivated.

Could you tell us something about yourself?
I am a hard working man. I have worked all my life since I was old enough to do so. My wife and I got married a few years ago. We used our credit card to finance some of our wedding, which wasn’t extravagant. We were in the process of paying that off when my wife got sick. She suffers from chronic pain and cannot work. The doctor’s and hospital bills are what pushed us so far in the hole.

In what way have you turned your financial life around? (Or what are you working on changing?)
It’s all about sacrifices. I have stopped buying anything for myself. It’s hard for me to deny my wife when she is depressed and in pain. My wife and I shop at flea markets and thrift stores rather than the mall (not that we ever really got much of a chance to do that.) I took a small part time job maintaining an organization’s web site. We also rented out a small cottage on our property to an elderly fellow.

How much progress have you made?
At our worst we were $31,000 in debt. Currently we are around $20,000 in debt.

How do you feel about your financial situation right now? (Or how did you feel after reaching your goal?)
I feel better when I have a better understanding of what is going on. Even if it’s grim news I think I’ve reached the conclusion that it’s better to know than to hide from the information.

What was the catalyst that caused you to take action?
That feeling of dread every time the bills come due. The best way I can deal with that dread is to have a plan, to see that even though the bills are high we’re still making progress.

Did you have any setbacks? If so, how did you deal with them?
Most of the setbacks are medically related. A doctor wants to try a new drug to see if it will help with the pain, of course the newest drugs they want to try are the most expensive. New drugs are easily capable of doubling the amount we spend on medications now. Doctors want to get an MRI, which are expensive even with insurance. The hope is that someday they will find out what is wrong but we’ve been pursuing answers for 7 years now. The best way I’ve found to deal with them is to just accept it and try to stay on course as best we can.

What has been the hardest part of the process?
Convincing my wife that there are certain things we can’t have at the moment. In addition to her chronic pain her memory isn’t that good. When the time comes to have the hard discussions about what we can and can’t do financially she might not remember the conversation. So we have the same discussion again. She feels bad because she can’t contribute and because it’s costing us so much with doctor’s and medicine. I tell her not to worry about it and comfort her but I know she still worries.

The easiest?
Making use of the data I have. I’ve been using Quicken since 1996 so it was easy to start looking at the available data and figure out where out money is going. A good financial program is a wonderful thing.

How long has it taken?
From our worst until now it’s taken us 2 years but we’re still making progress.

What will be your next step?
Review all of our expenditures and look for better deals, from our trash service to our home & car insurance. Everything is a potential place to save money.

What’s the best financial advice you’ve received?
When you buy something on credit try to calculate how much that sale item is going to cost you once you factor in all the interest.

What inspiration could you give to someone in a similar situation?
Get organized and make a plan. Be realistic about your plan so you don’t get disappointed and plan for setbacks. Most of all try to stay focused on the plan and imagine what it will be like when you’re out of debt.

Would you like to share your story? If you would like to be interviewed via email for a future article, please email me at c o m m e n t s @bluntmoney.com (without the spaces) to let me know you’re interested.