How I Paid Off $56k Credit Card Debt FAST
TranscrIpt:
Hi! Welcome to this week’s training! I’m Sherri Wilson, owner of Genius Communication, which is basically a place for all things biz. Hiring. Marketing. Social media management. Consulting. Basically, I solve my clients’ problems and make them a lot of money. And, today, I want to invite you to go with me on a personal journey, a journey that includes dark, scary forests, monsters, heroes and heroines, and adventure. And it’s my hope that by you becoming a part of my story, you can experience the same fairy tale ending that I have.
i was losing my hair
I was sitting on my couch in 2016 crying. I had just received a phone call from one of my clients that the money I was expecting wasn’t going to happen. In fact, I’d be lucky to get paid for one job. The problem was that I was counting on that money to eat, pay our house payment, and utilities. It was the “cherry on top” of an already difficult month where I realized that we had more credit card debt than money. We were behind on two huge cards and everything was maxed out.
I had spent the week talking to credit card companies about getting on a hardship program. But we didn’t make enough to even pay that. I had also looked into debt consolidation. The payment was too high. The only option I could see was bankruptcy. But I just didn’t feel right about it. I had created this mess and not paying our bills felt like stealing to me, personally. No condemnation for those of you who have had to file bankruptcy or who are in the middle of one. Much grace and love to you!
I was wracked with anxiety. My hair was falling out. Things looked bleak. I had a strategy right next to me on the couch. But that’s for later.
how did we get here?!
It’s time for the prologue. How did I end up in the mess? Well, there are several things that created a perfect storm that I will share. But let me give you the quick synopsis.
My husband was given (yes, given) a business in 2008 when his boss decided to relocate. The funny thing is we both knew that would happen not because his boss said so but in our own prayer time, we kept getting that the business would be given to him. And it was.
We made more money than we had ever seen in our lives at least for the first six months. Looking back, I see that we weren’t ready for that level of wealth. Neither of us had been taught basic money principles. On top of that, my emotional relationship with money was warped. My first memory of money was as a young girl watching our cars and home being repossessed. All of this happened in the midst of my dad’s third marriage breaking down. Divorce. Drinking. Drugs. Poverty. Uncertainty. Fear. All of that swirled around making everything worse.
In June of 2008, the economy started to slow and then ground to a halt. We literally saw our income half in the first three months and then half even more in the next three months. We didn’t have any debt at the time. Not even a car. We only owed on our home. We weren’t big spenders either. We kept hoping things would turn around. We just didn’t realize how bad things were. But even if we had, I’m not sure we would have made changes. You see, money is a very personal issue that’s more complex than many know. It’s not a simple exchange of money for items. There’s a lot of emotional and mental energy surrounding money.
For 10 years nothing changed. We didn’t adjust spending. Our business continued to decline until we finally gave up January 2018 and closed the business. At this point in 2016, I had refused to look at the severity of our financial condition because I just didn’t want to know. It’s like a person avoiding the doctor because he or she is afraid they have cancer. That’s what I felt like. But we had maxed out all of the cards. I had to know the numbers to try to get help. It all forced me to look at it. And it was bad.
My hope was that by launching my business, I could make enough money to pay everything off. I knew I was kidding myself. A new business takes 3-5 years to break even much less make a profit. I had very little overhead. But even then I knew I was looking at a minimum of three years. I had to do something NOW.
That’s where I was at. No money. No hair. No peace. Looking back, I realize I was in the most perfect place, a place that forced me to make transformative change. And from that place until today, I became extremely focused on one thing—paying off our debt. That kicked off an adventure that I wouldn’t trade for all the gold in the world! But that’s for another time.
to be continued…
Join me next week for the first part of my journey of pulling myself out of the vortex of depression, discouragement, and debt.
