Tackling Debt 101 - Be honest about your assets and liabilities
I’m getting ready to storm the castle, and like Wesley getting ready to take on Prince Humperdink, we need to list our assets and liabilities.
I’m not talking about financial assets and financial liabilities, I’m talking a gut check type of list that says, this is what I’ve got going for me and this is what stands in my way.
Assets:
1. Me – I’m naturally cheap. In fact, the great irony of this mountain of debt I face is that, for years, I was exactly like my mother! I never paid interest, never missed a bill, always had a savings account, and basically lived debt free.
What happened? For me, I know exactly when it happened. I bought a house. Ever since my first house, I’ve surged in to debt and out again as I added window treatments, furniture, basketball goals, and the list goes on and on.
2. Intelligence – I know enough to know that we are in trouble.
3. Business acumen – my job requires me to be on top of client problems like white on rice. I can improve processes, create status reports, understand gap analysis, make recommendations, etc. all day long. It’s high time I turn some of that back on my own business. That is the business of personal finance.
4. Support – my mom and grandparents are fantastic role models for debt free living. I know I can turn to them for advice.
5. Technology – I am computer literate, have laptops, desktops, internet access, etc. and the ability to figure out how to use these tools in my favor. You’re reading a perfect example of how I plan to make access to technology an asset in my debt battle.
Liabilities:
1. Sports – first let me qualify. I love love love the fact my kids are involved in sport. By itself it’s not necessarily a liability, but the reality is, having a family is expensive. I have soccer and cross country dues, uniforms, balls, tournament fees, etc. Basically a whole set of variable costs that make budgeting that much more complicated.
2. My sweet wife – right now my wife doesn’t work. Right now, my wife likes to occasionally engage in what she calls, “retail therapy.” This means that sometimes, when she may have a bit of the blues, she’ll hit Target or Costco and load up on CDs, DVDs, or other superfluous purchases which zap our reserves’ or push our credit card debt that much further out. This is what lands her in the liabilities column.
The flip side is that if my wife got a part time job, she would have less time to fret, feel more engaged and productive, and could become a part of the Kick Debt’s Butt solution rather than adding to the problem.
I know that until she is 100% on board, this effort will fail. And as soon as that happens, she gets moved to the assets column.
I’m not talking about financial assets and financial liabilities, I’m talking a gut check type of list that says, this is what I’ve got going for me and this is what stands in my way.
Assets:
1. Me – I’m naturally cheap. In fact, the great irony of this mountain of debt I face is that, for years, I was exactly like my mother! I never paid interest, never missed a bill, always had a savings account, and basically lived debt free.
What happened? For me, I know exactly when it happened. I bought a house. Ever since my first house, I’ve surged in to debt and out again as I added window treatments, furniture, basketball goals, and the list goes on and on.
2. Intelligence – I know enough to know that we are in trouble.
3. Business acumen – my job requires me to be on top of client problems like white on rice. I can improve processes, create status reports, understand gap analysis, make recommendations, etc. all day long. It’s high time I turn some of that back on my own business. That is the business of personal finance.
4. Support – my mom and grandparents are fantastic role models for debt free living. I know I can turn to them for advice.
5. Technology – I am computer literate, have laptops, desktops, internet access, etc. and the ability to figure out how to use these tools in my favor. You’re reading a perfect example of how I plan to make access to technology an asset in my debt battle.
Liabilities:
1. Sports – first let me qualify. I love love love the fact my kids are involved in sport. By itself it’s not necessarily a liability, but the reality is, having a family is expensive. I have soccer and cross country dues, uniforms, balls, tournament fees, etc. Basically a whole set of variable costs that make budgeting that much more complicated.
2. My sweet wife – right now my wife doesn’t work. Right now, my wife likes to occasionally engage in what she calls, “retail therapy.” This means that sometimes, when she may have a bit of the blues, she’ll hit Target or Costco and load up on CDs, DVDs, or other superfluous purchases which zap our reserves’ or push our credit card debt that much further out. This is what lands her in the liabilities column.
The flip side is that if my wife got a part time job, she would have less time to fret, feel more engaged and productive, and could become a part of the Kick Debt’s Butt solution rather than adding to the problem.
I know that until she is 100% on board, this effort will fail. And as soon as that happens, she gets moved to the assets column.
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