My original intent in the post below was to write about my visit to a credit card debt reduction site in the U.K. and, specifically, about a post I read on that site’s forum.

The author is a 29-year old man who ran up debt going to school. His life is further complicated by being in relationship with a Canadian woman who is returning to Canada.

He wrote to ask for advice on how he could handle his debts from Canada if he followed her and emigrated. The U.K. credit counselor basically told him he should find a debt counselor in Canada.

But the guy was grappling with whether he should follow his partner to Canada or not.  

An idea occurred to me then that I felt spoke to his needs. I felt compelled to post it. [Read more →]

Tim Ramsey (whose blog is My Debt Relief Plan) left a comment on my last post; so I went to check out his site on credit card debt reduction.

There I found a link to a non-profit debt counseling service in the UK. Curious as a cat, I explored its links, read through a dozen FAQ’s and then checked out the user forum.

And that’s where I got hooked.

One snippet after another just grabbed me. Little stories that are probably no longer than one hundred or two hundred words unceremoniously tell tales of reversed fortunes. Their authors are civil and understate their problems, but they come across to me like deer in headlights.

They are stunned, most of them, to find themselves in such a situation of danger.

Coping with mounting credit card debt and giving just a hint of the worry and anxiety that’s plaguing them, these nice people are trying to figure out how to get out of something we each have been encouraged to do for years: get into debt. [Read more →]

Credit Card Debt Reduction hasn’t been a “cool” topic of discussion for over twenty years. Strategies for getting out of debt were dismissed by so many people I knew who aspired to life styles beyond their actual means. It was almost like living within their means was something below them.

It makes me wonder now, if maybe we haven’t all been brainwashed by the media and its emphasis on wealth and celebrity so that we truly do believe that we are only worth what we own.

If that’s true, we are going to have to find another measure of our value, like character. Because it really is past time for the majority of us to face that the need for credit card debt reduction, if not outright credit card debt elimination, is more important than getting that new flat screen television. The anxiety of being deep in debt just isn’t worth it. It puts too big a strain on health and personal relationships, among other negatives.