Poll Results: How You Doin'?

Whenever Joey says this on the sitcom Friends, girls' bras unsnap! It's become a running joke in my household. It alludes to the impact emotions have on our ability to think straight.

So I asked, "How do you FEEL about your debt?"

28% of you said, 'm pretty confident I'll have my mortgage paid off by the time I retire. Well done!
44% said, "I've got some debt but I'm working on it." Keep it up!
13% said, "I know I'm carrying too much debt, but I'm not sure what to do." Seriously? I have written thousands and thousands of words about how to get to DFF and you still can't figure it out? I think you need to try harder.
14% of you said, "I feel like I'm drowning." I am so sorry you are feeling helpless. But helpless isn't going to get you out of debt. You need to get some gumption goin' and make a plan. As long as you're feeling helpless, you'll be like One Duck Stuck in the Muck… mired in misery… paralyzed by procrastination.
As for the 2% who think that debt's snot a problem or that they'll deal with it later, all I can say is, "Oy!" Answer me this: WHEN are you planning to get the debt paid off? If you're taking it to retirement with you, might I point out that old, sick and poor are a nasty combination.

When I asked, "What % of your income goes to paying off debt?"

40% of you said, "I don't have any debt." How good does that feel?
19% of you said, "15% or less", so you're well within the guidelines (assuming you're getting the debt paid off and not just stringing it out.)
The remaining 39% of you either have too much debt or you're so determined to get to DFF that you're gonna do whatever it takes. Imma counting on the latter.

Y'know, if you're walking around with debt, you're just asking for problems. Every curveball life throws at you is harder to hit out of the park when you're saddled with debt. It's one of the reasons why I push so hard for people to take their debt seriously, make a plan and get the sucker paid off.

Money in the bank means you have options for dealing with whatever life throws at you. Debt means you're trying to row your boat to safety with one hand tied behind your back. If you feel like you're going around and around in circles, that's why.

The day you get serious about becoming debt free is the day you take control of your money and your life. It isn't easy. But it's pretty simple. You start with a spending analysis to figure out where your money has been going.  Next you make a budget so you stop spending more money than you make. Then you make a plan for getting your debt paid off, and you snowball your payments. When you get to debt free, you jump up and down and scream your lungs out. You made it.

I'm rooting for you!

————–

Today is Day Three of the giveaway of Casssie Howard's (MrsJanuary.com) Money In Your Pocket, which focuses on saving money on your grocery bills. To enter, answer the question of the day in the comments. Today's question: Once you're debt free (or if you're debt-free now), describe how you think it will feel (or how does it feel) to owe nobody nuthin'.

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