February | 2013 | Double Debt Single Woman

‘Snowflake Stepdown’ Technique for Debt Payoff

Posted on February 17, 2013 by Double Debt Single Woman

It’s all about motivation.

One technique that I use to stay motivated is what I call the ‘snowflake stepdown’. I just used it yesterday and now my credit card balance is $26,998.

After I paid my most recent payment to Citibank, my balance was $27, 218. Good. It is down from it’s highest balance of $30,340.

But as I look at that balance, I think how nice it would be to put down another $220 to see that 27 go down, or rather ‘stepdown’, to 26. So I checked my checking account, and saw that I could spare $220 and make do with what was left until my next payday.

Just like that, I immediately made the snowflake payment to Citibank. Now I get to see a $26,000 something balance. There is only a $220 difference from what was there before, but it feels like $1,000 difference.

It gives me a psychological boost. It feels like things are really starting to move. I can’t wait until my next payday so that I can throw some more money at it. The shackles are starting to loosen a little. Just a little.

Here’s to the Snowflake Stepdown Technique and positive motivation to pay off debt. Cheers.

“Debtor’s prison is real, and opportunity cost is a bitch.” (DDSW)

Locked Up USA: Student Loan Edition

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Double Debt Single Woman

Every once in a while when I have a spare hour among my three jobs, I like to stream an episode of Locked Up Abroad. (Record scratch sound here.) Yes, Locked Up Abroad.

I started watching the show when I was still in my pricey apartment. Initially, I thought I was drawn to Locked Up because of my interest in seeing representations of exotic locales and the basic drama of the program. But as time went on, and I began to make plans to move and downsize, I realized that I was drawn to deeper aspects of the storyline.

Those of us making sacrifices to get out of deep debt often see ourselves in a metaphorical debtor’s prison. For many of us, while watching Locked Up Abroad, we can see the parallels in our own financial lives.

In Locked Up Abroad, a relatively good person gets into a tough financial situation. Sometimes this financial need is real, but most times it is perceived. Next comes the inevitable bad and life altering decision. For some of us, this may have been the need of a college education, and the bad decision to attend an expensive university with big student loans.

We enjoy the fruits of our clever moves for a little while. The expensive college environment, an off-campus apartment, the smell of ivy and textbook glue. We allow ourselves the luxury of dreaming of a future life that will be better than what we came from. With the right effort, we expect to experience upward mobility. We dream.

But we can’t stay in dreamland forever. After a while, it becomes apparent that it will be time to pay the piper soon. We get a wake up call when we see the loan debt we have accrued so far. We start getting cold feet. ‘Can I go through with this? Maybe I should stop now. But I can’t stop now. If I stop now, I’ll have nothing to show for all that I’ve done so far. I have people back at home counting on me to finish this.’ Next, ominous looking student loan notices start showing up at the door. We are becoming fearful for our future. But we buy into the sunk cost fallacy and decide to continue with everything despite the deep risk we now realize that we are taking. Reality is sinking in.

We have now graduated and are likely underemployed. We are barely paying our bills, just squeaking by. Perhaps we realize that with all the debt we have, we’ll never have enough cashflow to buy a house, or start a family, or take a vacation that we see everyone else enjoying. Meanwhile, either our loans are due after the six month grace period, are coming off of forbearance, or we simply have an unexpected financial expense. At this point, we have crossed the event horizon. We have passed the point of no return.

Around now, we experience a reckoning. Our bad decisions have caught up with us. We’re caught and exposed. There is no place to run. There is no place to hide. We feel embarrassed. We have to pay. We hit rock bottom. That’s when we begin to do hard time in debtor’s prison. On the show, it is the prison segments that really strike a chord with me. Now, living in my small 10 ft. by 10 ft. old rented room with three pieces of salvaged furniture, I sit and think about all the decisions that I could have made differently to avoid my current situation. With roommates, I have little space and little privacy. This is not the life I envisioned having at 38 years old.

The show helps me to see how they coped and survived their imprisonment; not knowing when or if their ordeal would ever end. I can relate in some small way. I would never try to compare my situation to theirs, but watching the show helps me to cope when I need it; if only to keep in mind that many others are facing much harsher consequences for their poor decisions than I am.

Even in the face of uncertainty, those of us in deep debt must stay hopeful. We must stay focused and disciplined when it comes to what we do with our money. We must protect it. The longer we stay on good behavior, the more of our debtor’s prison sentence will be reduced.

Remember that the prisoners on the show eventually regain their freedom, as will we.

“Debtor’s prison is real, and opportunity cost is a bitch.” (DDSW)

14 People You See When You Ride the Bus

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Double Debt Single Woman

First let me say that I greatly appreciate having access to a bus to get to work and around town. However, with a 45 minute bus commute between home and work, when I’m too tired to be productive, I have some time to observe my fellow passengers.

Here are 14 people that I have identified on my bus ride. These labels are not mutually exclusive, so one person may embody several of them simultaneously. Now that’s something to see. Here we go.

#1 – The Talker – That person who sits or stands at the front of the bus and talks the driver to death and distraction. ‘Hey driver! You missed my stop!’

#2 – The Ashtray – Sorry smokers, but you guys really don’t know what you smell like. I’ll tell you. You smell like an ashtray. ‘Damn. Why did this person sit next to me? Cough, cough. Let’s see. 45 minute bus ride. Packed bus with no other available seats. [Tries to hold breath.] Cough cough. Sigh.’

#3 – The Petri Dish – The sick person who gets into a sealed compartment full of people and insists on coughing and sneezing on everybody and everything. This person somehow thinks that the ‘stay-at-home-when-sick’ etiquette applies to everyone except her. ‘Nice. Yeah, don’t bother covering your mouth. We all want to share your virus.’

#4 – The Eco Professional – This person usually works in a creative or high tech field like web design, makes good money and owns a car, but takes the bus to spare the environment. In some cities with good public transit, it’s hip to take the bus when you don’t have to.

#5 – The College Student – The backpacks and mentions of ‘Professor’ are usually the giveaway.

#6 – The Mentally Ill / Homeless / Drug Addict – The person who is having a much harder time at life than you are, and it shows.

#7 – The Drama King / Queen – This person talks way too loudly or is always having an argument with another passenger or with their phone.

#8 – The Rich Person -This is the random high powered professional who is well-dressed and obviously well-off, likely owns multiple cars, and has absolutely no business on a public bus. You might overhear them talking about their law practice or patients.

#9 – The Annoying PDA Couple – I think they purposefully target the most single looking person on the bus to sit in front of. ‘OMG! Get a room already. Really?! Sigh.’

#10 – The Face Starer – This person refuses to sit facing the way that the seat is meant for him to face. He proceeds to stare at the people sitting behind or across from him depending on how he has positioned himself. ‘Why?’

#11 – The Couch Sitter (often also the Face Starer, but not always) – The Couch Sitter sits lengthwise on the row of seats with his legs propped up, apparently without regard for the fact that this is called PUBLIC transit and that others might want a place to sit. ‘Go ahead. Put your feet up. Make yourself at home. That pregnant woman and her elderly grandma standing next to you enjoy exercising their calves during long bus rides.’

#12 – The Diner – The Diner pulls out a meal, complete with fork, and proceeds to enjoy dinner in the middle of a crowded bus. Listen, after a long day at work I’m tired and hungry too, but this is not an Amtrak dining car, so either eat before you get on the bus or hold out until you get home. We don’t want to smell your garlic spaghetti on an airtight bus.

#13 – The Backdoor Blocker – This person will get on the bus and stand in next to the back exit door when there are other empty seats available. Is he planning to jump off at the next stop? No. He just plans to stand there and force people to maneuver around him when they need to get off the bus.

#14 – Broke Debt Slaves and Other Poor People – We are the ones on our way to work or coming back from work. We often have long commutes and set up camp with a book or headphones. Otherwise we stare out of the window with a resigned look of quiet desperation in our eyes.

There you have it. These are 14 types of people you’ll see on the bus. Now sing along everybody! “The wheels on the bus go ’round and ’round, all through the town.”

Hey, you bus surfers out there, did I forget anyone? Who would you add?

“Debtor’s prison is real, and opportunity cost is a bitch.” (DDSW)