One of the most satisfying of small victories in the home economics world is getting rid of the accumulation of credit card debt. Some debts on credit or charge card accounts are small (relatively), but some are fairly large. The average American family has about $15,000 in credit card debt. Not a small task to tackle all at once. The worst thing you can do about it is keep paying just the minimum monthly payment. At that rate, large balances can take at least 30 to 40 years to pay off! The usual time to to pay off a modest balance on a charge card could be 5 to 10 years. At the interest rates these cards charge you, that can mean paying double or triple what your original balance was on that card. Of course, the biggest thing to do is to get the attitude of saying “No!” to the desire to buy something when you didn’t plan for it, nor need it. The big sale that isn’t More than likely, you started accumulating a balance on your charge card because of some sale. It is t...
The Enemy Within Everyone is there. We are all in it. The struggle to survive against unbelievable odds. Nearly every family, every household, is on the brink of economic disaster or failure. Most of us are only one or two paychecks away from being sunk into trouble from which we may not recover. And the problem is ourselves. We start living beyond our means. We don’t mean to. But a few decisions are made, and then the reality of other needs or urgencies come up on us unexpectedly. All of us have made tons of mistakes, misjudgments and stupid choices that have pinched our home economies and squeezed down on our families. My family is in the same place. You probably are, too. But the good news is that we don’t have to stay there for long, IF we are willing to work hard at getting where we should be: out of debt, paying our bills, fulfilling our family’s needs, providing for their future. What I will do I am going to write this blog abo...