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The Birth of My Debt Story

Hello. I'm D.
To state that today is the beginning of tackling debt isn't completely true. Debt has always been on my mind...
From it's birth - my first year at college with my first credit card in hand, making my first trip to the university book store. The shocking total appeared on the register after scanning a semester load of books; my only option was that newly activated credit card. It was then and there that I was introduced to the ease of swiping plastic through a machine and walking away with a purchase. It had begun. Through the college years, the ease of that credit card swipe would help fill in the large margins of uncontrolled spending with only a part time, minimum wage salary to my name. Debt was nursed on that credit card - food, alcohol, clothing, gas, fun, books. The "necessities" of college life.
Debt became a raging toddler after graduating from college. Adding to the credit card debt was now student loan debt. Upon graduating, reading my final loan literature from Nelnet was eye-opening. I hope I wasn't the only one who had no idea how much they were borrowing while completing their 4 year degree. It was financial ignorance at it's best.
To add to this, the bells of marriage rang loud the same month I graduated college. The merging of two Nelnet Student Loan notes and credit card debt was witnessed that day. It was a very modest wedding for my wife L and me. Looking back, it was a fortunate necessity that we had to finance it on our own, but even the modest borrowing was increasing the size of the debt shadow cast behind us.
First job = first car loan. It wasn't the modest car it should have been and it added to debt's pre-teen years. Like most parents, we entered the next stage unprepared.
Debt's cranky teenage years began in my mid 20's when our first child was born, followed by a second a few years later. L began staying home to raise each of our two beautiful children (S and H). Over the course of those first 5 years, L worked part time for 3 years and not at all for 2. We "successfully" tread water through that period. We didn't drown, but the water level went from chest high to just under the nostrils. Treading water is what most of us know as "making the minimum payments". More credit helped get through the hospital costs, the increased health premiums, multiple vehicle purchases (rolling one note into another), and the many added costs of growing little humans on one modest income. Credit had our backs.
Our debt matured when our first house was purchased. This was 3 years ago. With L being fully employed for three years at the time and with me experiencing a work transition that led to a higher income, we thought it was the best time to get a home. Conventional wisdom suggested buying instead of renting, and S and H now needed more room. To our credit, we did buy a very modest home, but we took advantage of the popular zero down, first time home-buyers mortgage. Our debt was now at it's peak.
...I've always felt debt in the background. Debt is unpleasant. It's touch cold, grip firm. So like most unpleasant things, I've done my best to ignore it. Until now. It's too hard to ignore. I'm motivated to loosen the grip of debt, and look forward to the day when debt is dead and buried and I can remove it's cold, suffocating presence, once and for all.
This blog will chronicle that journey. I'm not sure how forthcoming I'll be with total numbers, as it's embarrassing. However, I will chronicle my thoughts and journal where my money is spent, hopefully daily.

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