Two ways to pay down debt .....

Spend less - make more .
Only two real ways it can be done .
There is no magic wand- secret solution to it all .

I have been on many frugal groups where people pop in and just as quick as they find out we have no secret get rich - get out of debt way to give them they pop back out . This is also why so many people get lured into scams and bad work at home opportunities , because they are desperate to find a quick and easy solution other than the ones that are obvious and take time and hard work .

Sooner or later it does settle in that one needs to lower what is going out - or increase what is going in . There are many ways to do this - second jobs - giving things up- taking in extra children at home - selling online- crafting - home demos - cutting vacations - take-out-cutting back on grocery budget or cable channels etc etc There are ways to do it - one can find myriads of suggestions if they google frugal sites filled with idead . And although not all can work for everyone with their type of jobs and location - there are some that everyone can do .

Is it easy no - and no one said it would be - many say "i cant" so many times to things they could do if they really wanted to and i think one day when they may realize its their only way they will be ready to do what they once thought they couldn't .

Many times its an "i cant" as far as giving up with spending also -but is it really a can't or a won't ? And why is it a won't ?? A good way to really look at wants vs needs is to think of what others in bad times in other countries are doing without and you realize that need is really a want .

No this is not being written as judgement on anyone - just that in these hard times we really need to look at what we really truly can and cant do vs what we don't want to do and do want to do . I have a ton of respect for people who say -yes i spend money i could be saving on ____ and this is why i make my choice " -- VS when people just say "I can't" - - i cant seems to be more a form of denial .

Honestly i really dislike the word CAN'T LOL !! "Prefer not to" is usually more the real word to use . And i know there are often very good reasons for why one decides not to do something - but to me - "can't" means 100% physically unable to ( must be the nurse in me LOL ) And even as a quadraplegic the late Christopher Reeves didn't look at what he couldnt do but rather what he could do !!

SO rather than say can't to what you dont feel is a good choice right now - look at what you can do - look for when that may be a choice you can do .


Sooooooo.... Why these musings at this time???

Well i haven't been on to post in a week or so because i have been busy working . Started the new home care job and was asked after 1 day on my own to case manage my own patients - was offered both a FT or PT position although i chose to stay per diem and still case manage cases so i can stay with my kids schedules and slow down in the summer .

I did extra work over what i had originally planned, with the goals of paying off bills as fast as possible and the fact i have my oldest dd's Sr Prom and Graduation looming in the near future .

So i took whatever they offered me and i subsequently put myself into a bad flare with my fibro . But i kept going because i am either too determined to pay down the debt or just in denial ( i am picking denial LOL !!)

And 3 days later - after resting a lot after work for 2 days ( ie going into a hot bath and then to bed before 7 to stay under a heating blanket till 10 when i actually went to sleep ) i am much better .... but i think i will watch what i am doing better !!!

So remember to not only look at what the $$$ will be but the effects on your health and family will be . i sit worth it to pay off the bills 3 months earlier if it affects your health so bad , you are in bed instead of spending time with your family ?? I have to say NO , after experiencing it !!

I could easily say " I CAN'T" work full time due to my fibro - but i still will say i prefer not to because i know its not good for my health to do that much and me being sick is not in the best interests for my family or myself.

But i will say "I CAN" work PT as long as i watch my bodies signals of when i am doing too much . I will say I CAN pay down the bills- pay cash for things with the income i am earning rather than think " i can't " pay them off as fast as if i did full time work .

Life is so much better and brighter when you look at the Cans rather than the Can'ts !!

And remember Christopher Reeves - he had so much and in an instant it all changed and he was dependent on others and machines for everything - including breathing !! And yet rather than say i cant do this or i cant do this he said :
- “I am a very lucky guy. I can testify before Congress. I can raise funds. I can raise awareness.”

What an amazing outlook on life to have .. seeing what one CAN do !!



"'So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable." - Christopher Reeves