Debt Secrets?

Ever watched one of those reality shows where people are drowning in debt and have a money guru sweep in to show them the light and save the day? I do. Often. I feel a bit of self-righteous pride after watching because, unlike those people on the show, I have a handle on my money.
But do I really? Do any of us?
We live in a world where everything we need is at hand and anything  we want can be charged to credit. Minimum payments mean we can afford our debt but will never be out of it. The need for post-secondary education, coupled with an often crippling cost; the thoroughly ingrained need to own a home and not 'waste' money by renting; the need for transportation; the cost of raising kids; rising grocery bills. I could go on but I know I'm preaching to the choir.
Pretty much every person I know is carrying some debt- but a lot of people I know are carrying significant secret debt. Secret debt that is crippling them and breaking them apart. Secret debt that is keeping them awake at night and drowning their happiness.
So many of us have learned that we don't talk about money, we don't share those struggles and we are never, ever supposed to be open and honest about something that is so personal.

Enter my friend Kristy. Kristy has decided to blow the lid off of debt and declare that she and her husband are working to be debt-free by 30. Kristy is my hero when it comes to money-sharing. She just lays it all out there on the table and is holding herself accountable. Using REAL numbers and sharing REAL struggles, and just be straight up REAL.
It is because of Kristy that my husband and I pulled up our bootstraps and became consumer-debt free. On her blog, she shares the numbers and her household budget. The mistakes that have precipitated debt and her debt breakdown. She has also been giving real life monthly updates- not inflating the amount she pays off each month.  It is the most refreshing, honest blog I have read to date.

My husband and I have been blessed. We have never been drowning. We have never been awake all night, wondering how we will pay our bills. But, we have certainly felt the creeping pangs of debt that could balloon into something completely unmanageable; debt that is on the cusp of becoming too much for our double-income family. I have 2 university degrees, both paid for by Canada Student Loans that I'm still re-paying. We own a decent-sized house with a decent sized mortgage, have two cars, and daily pay for two (really really really expensive) kids. We work very hard to budget and stay in line, but life is pricey and there have been times that we have felt a significant pinch and watched our credit cards reach their limits.

So, drowning in debt, wading through it, or rarely feeling the pinch, I think we could all benefit from being a little more open about where we are and how our money is doing. No lying, no secrets, no self-righteous pride, no judgement. I having a sneaking suspicion that if we all threw the covers off our debt it wouldn't be such a terrible thing at all!

8 comments:

  1. This is a great post. I will be checking out both blogs. We want to pay off our debt asap as well and there is some great advice.

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    1. Debt is so consuming yet we all have. It's so odd to me that we don't bother to talk about it! What kind of things are you doing to pay down the debt?

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  2. you are knocking it out of the park with your posts as of late! the jealousy list = awesome and now this? killer.

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    1. Sara, you are too kind! I have a lot in me and this space has been neglected lately! Thanks for the encouragement:) xo

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  3. Like you, I watch the Debt shows with a smug feeling (just as I do shows like Hoarders - as a clutter-phobe, it's easy to judge those who keep too much). Having kids is definitely expensive - we have a car payment for the first time ever, and we're about to add another one to the mix (car payment, not kid). And you're absolutely right that we could all benefit from being more open. So here goes: for all of you who envy my new pool and wonder how we do it...it went on the mortgage when we refinanced last year! Whew, I feel much lighter already! Thanks for the great post.

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    1. We have no idea what our neighbour's finances are like, right? Let alone our friends and family! I think I'm going to have to unload a few of our money secrets in another post...just get it off my chest. It just helps so much to not keep everything secret!!

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  4. I used to watch Gail Vaz-Oxlade religiously. She inspired me to be more aware of our debt. I track every penny we spend. When you are aware of the spending - then you are more conscious of where it's going. We live in such a "I want" world. We have become so much more materialistic. I admit that it's addictive, but I try to remind myself of needs versuses wants. You have inspired me to relook at our spending. I look forward to the day that we are debt free.

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    1. I used to be obsessed with Gail too! Tracking is a lot of work- we usually take a look at the end of the month and see if we need to tighten up (usually) or if we can loosen up (almost never...haha). But I think checking in and being realistic is the MOST important thing!

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