Ever been sick and tired of being sick and tired?  That happened to me recently.

Iron Mike Ditka, legendary former coach of the Chicago Bears once proclaimed that “you’ll get that which you tolerate”.  Great quote, one of my favorites because it is so damned true.

And so it is that over the years I’ve packed on weight as I’ve gotten older.  I’ve always tinkered with exercise programs and had some success but never enough to fully stem (much less reverse) the growth of my waistline.  Rather than draw a line, I simply let out the belt and then replaced the belt, and pants and shirts. 

Wash.  Rinse.  Repeat.  For about a decade.

Then one day I heard a podcast in which the host referenced a diet he had followed that allowed him to lose 50 lbs in what amounted to a handful of months.  Good for him, I thought, good for him.

Days later a wave of motivation struck and I dug deeper, talking the time to read more about the program he followed.  Hmm, that probably wouldn’t work for me I concluded.  So again it was, good for him.

Even more days later as my XXL shirts and pants continued to shrink and a closet full of quality and not cheap clothing only contained a handful of non-ill fitting options.  When my plans for the week required outsized attention on trips to the dry cleaners so I’d have clean enough of my supersized garments.  When my scale reported a number I’d only heard of but never expected to see displayed under my own two feet, and then dared to report new and larger numbers again and again and yet again.

When all of these things happened and my mind fully registered their impact and meaning, I knew that I was indeed getting what I had previously tolerated and thus something had to change.

Photo By: TwoDogmas

Success has been achieved!  A mountain has been scaled and a once inconceivable objective is now marked done and DONE!

Debt is largely accepted as normal and we’re so easily swept into that mentality.  Often we’re so numbed to debt as normal that thoughts of getting out of it don’t surface until it’s too late. 

Getting out of debt then becomes an impossible task.  It is overwhelming.  It is climbing a mountain, losing weight, and running a marathon at once.  Who can possibly do it?

Well… I know for a fact that YOU can do it.  And how can I make a declaration so bold?  Well, because the old adage rings true, if I can do it, so can you!

That’s right – sorry if I’m being a little circular in my presentation today – We have just in the last 3 days paid off the very last of our household’s non-mortgage debt! 

…Baby Step 2, CHECK!

Such an accomplishment deserves a story, so here’s mine.

In so many ways, I am the picture of average.  I went to college and signed up for a couple easy to get credit cards and I was off.  A super cool stereo was my first really big and really unnecessary purchase.

After grad school I had more than a couple grand on cards and a fresh student loan.  When my classmates were walking the stage, I was financing a motorcycle.  Soon thereafter, I had to furnish a new apartment – college digs simply wouldn’t do in the ‘real world’ and so by the day I showed up for work on the very first day of my career… I was roughly $35,000 in the red.  How could that be?  I was fresh out of school and my starting salary was only $34K.

Only my spending didn’t stop.  More furnishings, and more clothes, and more and more and more.  My debt balance soared to nearly $50k – I foolishly bought a new car when my trusty truck with 140k miles was totaled – before it struck me hard and fast.  I was not going to out earn my spending, especially when every raise was accompanied by a new lifestyle enhancement. 

Something had to be done…

That thought quickly passed with my next raise – a pretty good one actually – and I rethought my thesis.  Perhaps I could earn my way out…. But alas, that proved fool hardy for even as my salary increased the weight of my debt continued to crush.

Budgeting was a big help.  I was able to stem the flood of new debt and I stopped bouncing checks at the end of what felt like every month, but freedom was a lifetime away.

So in proper fashion, I bought a house got married and bought a larger house – keeping (and feeding monthly) the first house as a rental.  I was able to make small strides but I felt ridiculously paralyzed and materially aggravated with my situation.  I was failing.  At least that represents how I felt.

Then a completely incidental, totally disposable conversation in passing planted a seed that triggered a series of events that started to turn the tide.  Most will find this silly but those that know me well will say “bingo”.  A co-worker started talking about her husband’s iPod – something I was wholly against until she started speaking magic words…. Her husband downloads radio programs that he would normally miss while at work and listens to them on his drive to work…. Radio programs you say?  Like maybe even sports radio programs?!?! 

Hook baited, dropped, bit, and set.  Apple reeled me in that night as I went straight to Best Buy and put an iPod Nano on my Amex.  How ironic.

One thing led to another and I was quickly obsessed with finding more abbreviated radio programs to download and that’s when I stumbled onto Dave Ramsey and reluctantly added him to my mix.  Several days went by before I listened to the first show.  I was so sure that he’d convict my approach to finances and I didn’t want to hear it.  That is until one night, in a crappy hotel room in Louisville, KY having run out of sports talk shows, I decided to give it a go.  From the start I was relaxed by his manner and humor and damn there are some crazy broke folks out there.  I listened to several shows over the next couple days entertained, but convinced his message was not for me.  Until one day it dawned on me that his message was directed right at me.

I get that it’s hokey and clichéd but it’s the truest of stories.  I was hooked and within a couple months I sold the rental house and plucked some funds from savings and recalibrated my budget and designed a debt snowball tool and was a fanatic. 

A job transition and period of unemployment halted my progress for a spell.  We suspended the elimination process long enough to replace a failing car but once we got back on track, we were full tilt and here we are.

For years as I lugged around, card hopped, and debt consolidated my way in circles a single thought persisted.  Though I had literally paid it off tens of times over, I continued to view my credit card balances as representing that very first stereo purchase.  Every time I would think of my mountain of debt, I’d think of the purchase that really started it all.

So just this week as I signed the check cutting the debt cord do I feel like I FINALLY own that darn stereo.

And so that’s probably more narrative that I had intended – could you tell I got a little caught up?  But I’m excited about the path I’ve carved and the future I’ve now enabled.  I do think there are a few “how to” nuggets buried in the story to assist your cause.  But more than absolutely anything, I hope you take away the knowledge and understanding that YOU can do it too.  Because I have now done this – and I know how I once thought about this target – I’m certain you can too.

Build both your budget and resolve and get to it.  Meanwhile I’m going downstairs to blast some Zeppelin on MY stereo!

Photo By: rAmmoRRison

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I’ve shared before my opinion on handling frustrating customer service situations – rather than try to reason with a script reading, non-thinker in a cube half way across the country (perhaps half way around the world), if I’m materially aggravated, I’ll draft a letter to the CEO. 

Admittedly my results have been mixed.  The CEO from Six Flags was wildly dismissive, and the CEO from U-Haul delegated his duties to a lackey unable to understand my complaint, but the COO for TransUnion called me directly and invested 45 minutes in discussing the issue and providing me with his personal contact information if I ever experienced another problem with his organization.

So while my outcomes have varied, I’m satisfied in knowing I’ve done everything I can do.  I’ve escalated to the top.  Because I know most organizations have a dedicated team responsible for handling these types of letters, I’m confident I’ll either reach a pleasant conclusion or I’ll identify a company not worthy of my business.  Sorry, Six Flags and U-Haul, my dollars are not for you.

Recently I’ve encountered an interesting cross road between my penchant for letter writing and my motivation for driving this site.  While making extra principle payments against my wife’s student loan (in an effort to get out of debt), I’ve observed a dishonest tactic by Sallie Mae.  It seems that despite very clear labeling, Ms. Mae likes to treat large principle payments as advanced monthly payments – interest and all.  In this way, a large payment pushes out the next monthly payment date (forcing you to pre-pay interest) rather than unilaterally attacking the principle loan balance.

I personally find this a dishonest practice at best and malicious theft at worst.  I’ve also found it cause for another round of letters.

As a set up to the letters below, this nonsense happened just recently (March and again in April), but it also happened multiple times in the fall of 2008 – before my job transition.  So below, to demonstrate a full context, I’m providing copies of my letters from just last week, as well as, the letter from 2008.  Finally, to further illustrate my point, I’ve provided the form letter I customize each time I submit an additional payment – you tell me how they missed my intentions.

How a lending institution could screw this up so badly is beyond me.  How they could do so when provided such clear direction to the contrary is another matter altogether.  Face it, my messages to you only resonate louder against the backdrop of these examples – Debt Sucks.  If sweet sounding Sallie Mae is so eager to screw you over, can you imagine what other lenders have in store for you?

Enjoy, and let me know what you think below:

Letter to CEO Albert L. Lord – April 2010

April 12, 2010

Albert L. Lord – 

I am writing to your office a second time to share my continued disappointment with the significant limitations demonstrated by your organization.

On a number of occasions I have submitted additional principle payments against my wife’s outstanding student loan (account number ##########).  When these payments are processed, they are routinely processed incorrectly and recently a large payment was not credited at all.

My previous correspondence dated December 30, 2008 (enclosed) dealt with the repeated failure of your organization to recognize clearly marked checks as payments against the principle balance.  Instead of reviewing the account records – which so clearly demonstrated a “next payment due” date several years into the future – my wife was met with a terse phone call explaining “her error” and a promise to contact me directly to “help set me straight”.  Not surprisingly I was never contacted and the account information on the web was quickly corrected.  Apologies and/or acknowledgements remain outstanding.

True to form, your organization has screwed up again.

• On March 14 a check for $1000 was mailed and cashed on March 22.  This check and accompanying letter (both enclosed) were clearly marked as principle payments yet processed as monthly pre-payments (screen shot enclosed demonstrates “next due date” of January 2011)
• On March 18 a check for $3036 was mailed and cashed on March 25.  This check and accompanying letter (both enclosed) was not credited against my wife’s account until at least April 9 and not until the payment had been verified multiple times by my wife.  This payment too has been processed as monthly-pre-payments (screen shot enclosed demonstrates a ridiculous ‘next due date” of February 2013)
• During my wife’s follow-ups she was told many conflicting stories.  She was told that the payments were treated as principle payments with no explanation for what your website demonstrated.  She was also told that she was responsible for all interest on the loan regardless of how quickly the loan was paid.  Clearly demonstrating errors in both your recruiting and training processes.

I am mailing a check to your organization this week to pay our remaining balance and forever close my wife’s account.  I require that you promptly and accurately process this payment – steps which have represented significant challenges to your operations team to date. 

As an accurate payoff balance is impossible to glean from your site, given its design to assume interest pre-payments, I also require a prompt return of any overpayments which may be unwittingly included.

I expect all overpayments and documents confirming the closure of this account to be express mailed within 72 hours of the time my check is presented for payment.

In the interest of full disclosure and to help inspire accountability on your side, I will be posting this letter and your response (including its timeliness) on my blog.

Attached you will find the enclosures referenced above.  Please contact me or the loan holder if there are questions, meanwhile, I await your prompt response.

Letter to Payment Center and CEO Albert L. Lord – December 2008

December 30, 2008

Sallie Mae Payment Center – 

HELLO!!!!

Please consider this letter a wake-up call to help you overcome a troubling level of incompetence.

Allow me to explain.  On two occasions in November 2008 I provided checks with accompanying letters indicating that my payments be treated as additional principle payments – I am resubmitting those letters for your re-review. 

However, when viewing the account on-line my payments have been treated as pre-payments – which includes the pre-payment of interest.  A losing practice if ever there was one.

To address this issue, I require the following 4 actions on your part:

1. Immediately adjust the accounting for my additional payments according to both my current and previous requests
2. Make the necessary interest credits to the account
3. Provide me with a detailed accounting of the above steps
4. Provide me with your preferred method of communicating an intent to make additional principle payment as black and white printed letters are not sufficient

 Enclosed please find copies of my original letters from November.  Please contact me or the loan holder if there are questions, meanwhile, I will await your prompt response.

 Additional Principle Payment Template

March 14, 2010

Sallie Mae -

Please credit the full amount of the enclosed check as an additional principle payment against my wife’s student loan.

• Loan Number:   ##########
• Loan Holder:      wife’s maiden name/wife’s married name
•  Current Payment Amount:         $1,000.00

Upon posting this payment, please provide loan holder with an updated payoff balance.

Please contact me or the loan holder if there are questions.

So what do you think?  Is Sallie Mae sinister or just inept?  Am I overacting?  How do you think they’ll respond?? 

I’d love to hear your response and I promise to share Sallie’s response with you.

 Photo By: jk5854

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A read an article the other day from a pretty well respected icon in the blogging game.  Leo Babauta over at Zen Habits has about 160,000 readers – an insane number when you’ve been doing this long enough to know what that really means.

His article was about changing habits and the easiest way we too often derail our efforts to change and improve.

The idea was as simple as it gets.  So simple in fact, that it should not require an article at all, much less a follow-up article espousing his thesis.

Yet it was at once genius and worthy of widespread proclamation.

His culprit as the worst antagonist against our habit forming ideals?  In his wise words, “Not doing the habit”.

And there it is, like a 2×4 in the forehead.  Well of course it’s the biggest obstacle, but… wait for it…. BUT YEAH, it really is my single barrier.

I wish I was able to get up earlier in the morning, but sleeping in until 10 every morning is what I do.

I wish I could drop 20lbs but this restaurant has the best cheeseburgers and fries.

 I want to get out of debt this year but I don’t know where all my money goes.

I want my children to behave better but I can’t bring myself to discipline them.

I wish had gotten that promotion but I begin packing my bags to leave everyday at 4:30.

Tell me when to stop.

This is our life and this is our time.  There are no ‘do-overs’, there is no ‘next time’.  If we want something, we must bend our will in its direction.  We must take action against that objective.  “Tomorrow” will never come, we must start today.

That speaks to the genius behind Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign.  Forget all else and just do that which you aspire to.

One of my favorite quotes I pulled from a Fortune magazine years ago, “a year from now you’ll wish you had started today”.  Human nature being what it is, perhaps truer words have never been spoken.

So consider this your wake up call.  Look in the mirror and decide what you’d like to change, what habits you’d like to establish and then get about the business of getting it done.

Thanks Leo, I needed the kick in the pants.

Photo By: amycaek

This article was feature in The Wisdom Journal’s roundup.

Being homeless is by no stretch a tragedy and while it is not a cause I actively combat, it never fails to illicit a reaction in my mind if not my heart. 

In Canterbury, England the youthfulness of the homeless population is shocking, the true stench of the homeless population surrounding Philadelphia’s City Hall will turn your stomach, and the aggressive and entitled nature of the panhandlers in New York City will boil your blood.

Be it anger or despair or sorrow or even gratitude in my own good fortune, my responses have always been rooted in the misfortune – self inflicted or not – of others.  Never has it been, on its own merit, a positive response.  That is, until I encountered perhaps the smartest homeless man in the world while visiting Key West a few years ago.

Key West?  No further explanation is required, this guy is ahead of the game.  Face, if I had no home or societal tether, a urine soaked park bench in Philly’s City Center would not be my first choice.  Nor would a back alley or crowded sidewalk in the NYC.  Without steady shelter, a warmer climate just makes sense.  It’s what birds do, there is a natural model.

However, the genius behind this homeless man’s plan is in his day to day approach.  He has staked out a popular tourist and photo-op location and in a very friendly and engaging manner offers to take the picture every couple or family wants to capture on their camera – them standing next to the attraction.  Enough curious ‘patrons’ will ask questions that enable him to humbly share that he’s homeless which creates an undercurrent of conversation and voila, the tips come rolling in.

Counting my 2 bucks, he probably raked in 8 or 10 dollars in the 20 minutes we were there.

Now I’m not naïve enough to think that is could not be a scam.  Enough investigative news teams have followed panhandlers from their corner to nice cars and homes and too many of New York’s wheel chaired elderly change beggers have simply been ‘checked out’ of hospitals and institutions by lazy relatives trying to turn a quick buck.  So even if this dude isn’t exactly living under a pier he is effectively exchanging a valued service for the tips he collects – a lesson from which many workers relying on our tips could learn.

And so my point – do I have one today – is that we should each have a plan.  Mindlessly wandering through our days without a plan propelling us towards a positive and improved outcome is polite society’s equivalent of a well pissed park bench.  Meanwhile, working with a goal, an objective, a plan to win is rewarding and much admired, whether you’re the director of your department or the best paid amateur photographer in Key West.

Photo By: illflux

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I received a letter in the mail the other day that was equal parts shocking and appalling… and sadly, genius.

Discover, a credit card I’ve held for a couple years and last used nearly that long ago, sent a letter offering me $500 and encouraging me to rack up massive amounts of debt in the process.

The hook was obvious.  Who doesn’t want five crisp bills?  But the catch was brazen and laughable and dangerous.  Simply notify Discover that you want to make them your credit card of choice and then proceed to spend $2000 a month on the card each month for the next four months.  Presumably the first step is optional

I actually found myself insulted at the mere thought of such an offer.  I suppose that reaction may sound elitist but I’ll count that as a compliment when compared to the brain waves engaged by those eager to fall prey.

That’s $8000 in new credit card debt in exchange for $500 in return – an amount that would be consumed by the interest charges nearly as quickly as it would be “earned”.

Now forget for a moment that we’re still in a slow recovery from an economic swoon brought on my too much debt… let that sink in for a moment… but actually planning to incur eight grand in plastic debt before summer hits its full stride is a losing plan all around.

As for those willing to game such an offer, I generally laugh at your hubris.  Personal finance is not a math problem.  Credit cards and their purveyors would be tame beasts and not nearly so widely marketed were logic a principle tenant in their usage.

Consider that no one signs up for such an offer without some hope or idea of benefitting.  That alone puts you in questionable company. 

But suppose you were able to navigate the offer, including the small print and specialized restrictions and terms of the deal.  Through it all you were able to pay off each balance and incur zero interest charges.  In this unlikely scenario you would have managed to prove 2 things – 1) you are the rare exception to the rule and not the true object of Discover’s snare, and 2) you likely have a healthy cash flow position such that jumping through such hoops for a couple hundred bucks should generally not be worth your hassle.

At least that’s my take and why I’ll rail against such offers every time they cross my path.

But that’s why Baskin Robbins offers 31 flavors of ice cream.  There’s a taste for every taste, and more than most will make Discover fat.

Photo By: bitzcelt

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This article was written by Steven, author of Hundred Goals, a blog about achieving your goals while managing your finances. Steven writes about his journey of traveling the world and working towards completing a life list of 100+ goals, including skydiving and becoming debt free. Sign up for email updates and be sure to join him and hundreds of other readers on the Hundred Goals Facebook Page!

…and paying it off sucks even more, right?

You work your ass off every single day of your life, only to fork over your money to faceless companies called Visa, MasterCard and Bank of America. You pay and you pay and you pay some more but nothing seems to change. Whether you pay the minimum or you empty your bank accounts to try to pay off your debt, you can’t seem to get your head above water.

What difference does it make anyways? Things are always going to be this way no matter what you do, so why not just pay the minimum, keep a little bit of money in your pocket and go have fun? That what life is all about, fun! And this is your one chance at it so why waste your energy being a slave to your debts?

Eating oatmeal, rice and beans and ramen noodles is a drag! A night out on the town, some drinks with friends and a great steak sound much better than sitting at home cooking for yourself and playing Monopoly again. Ironically, you tend to kick ass in Monopoly, you greedy bastard!

Sounds ludicrous, doesn’t it? But how many of us have found ourselves telling ourselves exactly these same lines? Hell, I’d go so far as to say that most of them are even true! Life is supposed to be fun and a night out with friends does sound like a great time. But when you are in debt, the dynamics of life change.

Even when you schluff off all of your responsibilities, go have the drink and spend way too much on a night out, your debt doesn’t disappear and neither does that feeling inside of you that keeps telling you that you are being an idiot.

Ignoring the problem and making minimum payments isn’t going to cut it. If you want a life without debt, I mean really want a life without debt, you have to change. And that isn’t going to be easy. Just because you paid your card this month and you now have a remaining balance again does not mean you have money to go to the mall for a new pair of jeans or the new Taylor Swift CD. There will be no more vacations put on your credit card without a way to pay them off by the time you get home.

Credit cards give us this illusion…wait, delusion…that we can afford to live a lifestyle well above what we are really able to. Then we find ourselves stuck in a world of shit with no good way of getting out. But we deserve to have the nice things we buy on our credit cards and we have a right to vacation at the nicest resorts on the beaches with the whitest sands!!! Sure, you have a right to these things when you are paying for them and not Chase (unless your name actually is Chase). One day, when you can afford these things out of your own pocket, these things can be yours, but for now you need to focus on getting out of debt and getting a life.

“But paying debt sucks!” Yes, it does. I’m not going to tell you that there won’t be sacrifices. There must be sacrifices if you ever expect to turn things around. Listen. I’m not telling you to live in a hole or even change all that much, really. I’m just saying, start living below your means so that later you can live within them. After you get yourself out of debt, your live will be dramatically better than it was even before you put yourself on a budget and got real with your finances. Think of all the money you will have for saving for the future or for using to vacation at the nicest resorts on the beaches with the whitest sands!!!

Debt strangles the life out of you, plain and simple. Change your attitude about your relationship with debt and you will have your life back soon enough. Debt sucks, and so does paying it off, but if you don’t do anything about it, your entire life is going to suck. You might be able to charge all of the things you want today but in the end, you are short changing yourself and are not living the life you could be without debt. Today is the day for change!

Thanks to my friend Steven for sharing this candid spin on debt.  I agree, debt does suck!

Image By:  Leo Blanchette

So I’m a flight the other day.  Hey, I may not travel weekly anymore, but it still happens.  And living in Atlanta, Delta is the easiest flight going.

We all know that airlines are offering various in-flight services to boost revenues… adult drinks, movie headphones, in-air internet, sandwiches, and the like.  But what struck me ironic is Delta’s stance relative to how fliers pay for these services.

“Delta is now a cashless airline…” drones the flight attendant over the speaker, “…all purchases must be made with a credit card.”

Now that’s rich.

A leading player in an industry known for bankruptcies and whose CEOs acknowledge their stocks are bad investments, who themselves recently had a hand up the skirt of their own bankruptcy is a cashless airlines.

Yep, that’s officially rich.

Now, I get the logistics.  Involving cash requires a manual accounting.  Flight attendant pleas for help breaking a twenty have been comical and someone in this unique and un-tethered work crew is ultimately responsible for the bottom line.  Inventory and cash tills don’t self manage, bringing a certain logic to cashless automation.

Yet the net/net does not ring right to my ear.

“…Delta is now a cashless airlines” sounds more an embarrassing admission than corporate strategy.

Now I’m not claiming to have all the answers and today’s article is more rant than revelation, but somewhere between declaring insolvency and proclaiming cashlessness there should reside at least a handful of clever options:

• Sell “amenity” passes on your website
• Offer “amenity” upsells as I buy my ticket
• Station an “amenity” kiosk in the terminal

Credit cards, along with amenity passes, could still be your main mode of exchange but change the branding.  “Cashless” just sounds poor… and poor.

Photo By: rhilton4u

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Several weeks ago I debated the notion of writing an article on the Cash for Clunkers program.  With a flair for the dramatic, I was going to title the piece “Subsidized Death Spiral”. 

I trust, given the prospective titling, my position relative to the program is clear even sans a 750 word exposition. 

But alas the program came and went and no article materialized.  That’s mostly ok, as I don’t feel beholden to headlines to inspire my regular writing unless it frames a unique angle or otherwise motivates my thinking.  On Sunday morning while surfing the web, I was struck with just such a story – thanks CNN.com!

It seems that our government, a player in the auto industry since way back in the days of March 2009 has mastered the nuance of the industry and its trends such that it feels justified in publically chastising an auto industry veteran, and leader, and consumer advocate, Edmunds.com.

In what presents as a form of democratic censorship, the U.S Government blogged – just think about that for a moment – an article attempting to debunk a researched study released by the 43 year auto industry veteran decrying the effectiveness of the program.

While the Edmunds.com article seemed to suggest that the overall health of the industry was improving, surely a welcome development for those dependant on its well-being, our government seemed more interested in preserving or propagating good will towards its flawed environmental program.

Interesting, and disgusting, and our tax dollars at work.

Photo By: rejuvesite’s photostream

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Cash For Clunkers, RIP