Question: > > This morning I sent off the last payment on my massive credit card > > debt. I also paid off back taxes due to the irs. I also paid off my 97 > > property taxes.
> Congratulations, PC! The way things are going, pretty soon > we’ll all be “paid off” around here!
Answer: I think, linda-renee, that the thing I’ve tried to work hardest on, starting about a year ago, is how to be selfish. I’ve a bad habit of worrying and taking care of everyone else and forgetting about me.
During the past few years I worked fulltime and..was caregiver for a grandmother, subsequent executrix for a very complicated estate, plenary guardian for a profoundly mentally retarded woman, involved in two protracted lawsuits on her behalf, trying to have a relationship of sorts with a SO who had moved to another state, had a not very successful surgery and dealt with some other chronic health issues.
I used to get so many pounds of mail a day. I wouldn’t open half of it. Just left it in piles that were sometimes separated into their proper categories. It was overwhelming.
First I dropped obligations that others could take care of. Next I gathered up all my bills and dunning letters. I had some agreements w/doctors to pay off on a monthly basis..I grabbed these too.
I sat down one day and wrote out checks for all of them. I then wrote out one of those lower interest credit card checks for that amount and deposited it to cover the checks.
I figured, even though debt consolidation isn’t necessarily a good idea, if I only had to remember one bill instead of twenty every month I wouldn’t feel so overwhelmed.
And it worked for me. I didn’t cringe everytime I went to my mailbox. I didn’t overpay on one debt and not have enough to pay another that I had forgotten about. My piles of mail were reduced. No more nasty,threatening letters.
After about a year of that and a year of deprivation :] I finally saw a zero balance. And it feels reaally good! Besides dawg getting a celebration cheeseburger, I got cable installed on Friday [basibasic @ 8.85 p/month]. I figured, I hadn’t seen TV for a year and I could now afford it.
I still have a hard time prioritizing and tend to worry too much about things I have little power over. But, I don’t feel so powerless and overwhelmed as I did before. There really is light at the end of the tunnel.
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