American Debt Project

 

We have to talk about money. It used to be impolite to talk about money, but we also used to call Alan Greenspan* a genius. Times change. I don’t want to be rude, or improper, or make anyone uncomfortable but not talking about money is what got me here in the first place. Not talking, not planning and spending away is the surest path to financial ruin.

If you are in debt, don’t have a considerable amount of savings, and/or are in a low-paying job, you have to talk about money. It makes me uncomfortable to talk about money. I’m pretty embarrassed to admit that I have a such a high amount of consumer debt when I have the means and ability to be debt-free. But that’s what the American Debt Project is all about: I’m taking responsibility for my past actions, but I’m also talking about what I did and analyzing the world around me so I’m not doomed to create a cycle of debt for the rest of my life. The only way we can get out of our financial black holes is by doing our research, finding new ways to make income, reconsidering our spending habits and about 8 million other things having to do with money.

I know why I love trashy reality shows. Besides the fact that the stars are clueless nimwits who confuse delicacy and delicatessen, it’s also the underlying idea that money is no object for these people. Like the characters in an F. Scott Fitzgerald story for whom money is everything yet absolutely nothing at all, I watch people on-screen and wonder, what is that like? What is it like to never have to think about money? (Obviously, we now know that most reality stars’ finances are in shambles and the gaudy homes and tasteless wardrobes are simply a facade, but the message remains.) If I didn’t have to think about money, it seems like there would be a big gap to fill. If I don’t have to worry about bills, what is there to worry about?

I know that this line of thinking is silly. Lots of people are newly debt-free and discovering they still have plenty to think about. There are emergency funds, college funds, savings and investments to consider. Paying off debt is just the first step in a long, interesting road of personal finance. But now you can worry less and plan more for a more secure financial future. There are no guarantees in life, but it’s nice to know you’ll be able to pay for shelter, food and transportation, even if you lose your job or your business unexpectedly.

So we have to talk about money. It makes us uncomfortable, and finding out about other people’s finances feels voyeuristic (she has how much?!). But money needs to lose its taboo status and become just another tool for human development.  I read something by a young woman saying she didn’t share her “very private finances” with her boyfriend. Why not? You’re in your mid-20s and clearly not a millionaire, so what do you have to hide? If you know you have much more or less than he does, will it be weird if he finds out you were hiding it from him? I’d rather keep my relationships private and my finances out in the open. Money is one of the biggest factors predicting divorce rates. Couples who fight about money are the unhappiest couples and you don’t want to be one of them right? And if you’re single, well, it’s even worse to argue with yourself about money.

*On a side note, I saw Alan Greenspan in Laguna Beach last year, and he was surprisingly small in person. Andrea Mitchell was much more imposing.

As I mentioned in my first official post, I am a person of ideas.  Too many ideas compete in my head for attention and while I want to write about A LOT of things (nutrition, traveling, human rights and TV series to name a few), this blog will have to be somewhat focused to be successful.

The main intent of The American Debt Project is to make everyone more aware of financial matters: each reader’s own personal finances being the most important, but also being able to understand how money is handled at the businesses they invest in, the school district their children attend, the city, state, and federal governments that purportedly serve them and every other institution in our lives.  My main topics on the personal level will be debt elimination, people who are or are not on the path to debt elimination (I love profiling people and their stories), finding investing opportunities at every income level and finding your way to financial freedom.

On a broader level, I will examine topics like understanding the impact of poverty and a growing low-income class in America, markets and investing and how much BS you have to wade through in those areas to get to the real story, and best of all, corruption.  While most political mainstream news in America isn’t worth reposting here, there is nothing like a good dose of corruption in my daily news.  Corruption is a hallmark of our weaknesses and points out our greed, laziness, and stupidity.  Man can be great.  In fact, he can be so impressive that we have to clarify that a thing was created by man, as in “manmade river” or “manmade island”.  But we also fall to great depths and that is what has always fascinated me—those aberrations of human behavior.  Fringe groups, brash behavior in individuals, governments and businesses, and anything else we can see as irrational from the comfort of our armchairs: these are all fair topics for this blog since it falls under the greater umbrella of what motivates us and what those motivations can drive us to do.

I’ll try to stay on topic and serve up only the best in finance, debt reduction, and investing, and I’m open to any topics my brand-new readers want to hear more about.  I’ll also dig into great articles that highlight how bizarre and appalling we can be when we have power.

I can’t wait to get this thing going, I feel like I’m sitting in a sports car at a stop light right now :O)!

The Beginning

This blog is being created out of necessity.  My very way of life is being threatened.  And it’s being threatened by me.  My over-spending, poor money management habits and utter laziness have led me into a deep hole of debt but I am now committed to see myself, as well as anyone around me who is in debt, out of it.  It’s funny.  I thought that not worrying about money was the way to happiness, but that doesn’t work when you make a below-average salary and spend like you’re Patrick Bateman in 1988.  I am FINALLY letting go of the notion that I am eventually going to make a lot of money, so there’s no need to pay off this debt now when I can pay it off in one fell swoop when I hit my big payday.  I stopped dreaming and had a better realization.  I realized that I am capable of making a lot of money (It’s different for everyone.  “A lot of money” to me is anything above $120,000 annually per person), but I have to dedicate myself to finding the way to make that money in my actions every single day.  This doesn’t involve planning my dream closet, browsing the Neiman Marcus website or checking airline ticket prices to Singapore on a daily basis.  It doesn’t include looking at everyone and their mom’s Facebook pictures, checking Heidi Montag’s Twitter page or even reading Yelp reviews of good restaurants in the neighborhood*.  It does involve making The American Debt Project into a fountain of knowledge, ideas and great discussion about the role money plays in everyone’s lives.  Improving this blog is just one action that I can take daily to get on the path to a healthy income.

Me and My “Crazy” Ideas

I am a person of ideas.  While I work full-time in a project management role (thus American Debt Project, get it?), my brain wanders off daily to consider possibilities, businesses, ideas and stories.  This might have to do with my entrepreneur mindset that I developed while receiving my certification in project management. Everything fascinates me.  Frankly, I think this is my downfall.  My co-worker and good friend told me her favorite part of the day is when I announce from my desk, “I have an idea!” and she gets ready to listen to another one of my schemes/plans/dreams.  I’ve started so many projects that I’ve lost count.  Some I have finished, most I have not.  I have a lot of passion for my ideas, but most of them require funding and I have to pay off my debt to be able to be put my ideas into action, and it is an important part of my life that has been held back by debt.  You might be thinking “it’s probably a good thing she doesn’t have any capital to put into her harebrained schemes.” and you might be correct, but it’s still my motivation for getting out of debt.

Necessity is the mother of invention, and I plan to invent my way out of thirty-eight thousand dollars in debt.  But it’s not really about me (only).  It’s about showing everyone that there is a better, more sustainable path for us as people, and we don’t have to be consumers who are hog-tied and screwed at every turn.  It’s patriotic to know how to handle your money, live within your means, and know where every dollar goes.  It is only appropriate that my first official post for the American Debt Project is on my birthday, a day to celebrate with friends and family and be grateful for all that you have (or is that Thanksgiving?  I pretty much do the same spiel on any holiday or occasion).  I know that I am lucky for everything I have when it comes to family, friends, love, my health, a steady income, and most of all my excitement.  I am so excited to share my ideas, the articles I come across, and anything relevant to being financially sound on this blog.  Let’s make the journey together to being debt-free and being able to provide for loved ones, organizations and the ideas we want to launch into reality.

The American Debt Project is Born

I have been planning the American Debt Project for some time, and I have been on the path to debt reduction since August 2010 (when I was at $46,000 in debt), so there has already been progress.  I am committed to sticking with this blog until I carry zero debt and hopefully well beyond that.  But I have at least made that commitment.  I turned 28 today, I have a boyfriend I live with, and we have no kids.  There is no time like the present to turn our financial future around!

*I probably do all of those things at least once a week.  Sad, I know.  I mention my internet distractions here because it is where I waste the most time and yet it is a resource with so much potential and I could be generating income from my addiction to the internet.