Without question, the biggest budget buster than my wife and I uncovered in our Penny Hoarder journey was the ridiculous amount of credit card debt and the accumulation of interest being charged on the interest, month after month.
Have you added up the total of minimum payments and the amount of interest alone from just one month? We were aghast at how many of today and tomorrow’s dollars were going to pay for yesterday’s expenses… hundreds and hundreds of dollars each month.
We found a tool on the Bankrate web site that allowed us to calculate very closely how much longer we would be paying for yesterday’s trips to the Golden Arches and the reality was not pleasant.
The tool allows users to enter up to nine accounts (I left off the mortgage and car loan), inputting a few figures from statements and printing out a doable plan for repayment AND allows for additional monthly payment amounts and/or expected windfalls.
It’s been said those who fail to plan are planning to fail.
Check this out:
