re: Say you were to "give up" and go with debt consolidation?

OP: If you are only reading the book and haven't actually taken the class, go to the class. If you have already taken the class then you should go through it again. Going to the actual classes on a weekly basis will surround you with people who are going through the same thing that you are battling. You will have a support group and may even find some accountability partners to keep you steered in the right direction.

To quote Dave, "paying off debt is not about math and interest rates, it's about momentum and self discipline." Sure...you may save a few bucks by combining everything and coming away with an overall lower rate, but you don't have the self discipline to use that plan. Someone like you will simply go and finance a jet ski, or something flashy and fun because you now have an extra $300.00 per month to spend.

I'm not trying to bash you or beat you down, but I know too many people in your same situation that could have so much less stress in life if they just gained control of their finances.

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Friends of ours did the envelope thing. Thats Ramsey too, right?

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Yes. Works like a charm. Instead of being an abstract concept, money becomes a tangible thing again. I know some folks laugh it at and it is hokey, but we use in it place of audited accounting (which would be prohibitive to run a private residence not occupied by billionaires). Sometimes, we have to move things around to zero it out, but it is much more of a zero sum game that way.

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The idea of "paying everything off" and then being left with one note instead of 11 appeals to me.

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Psychologically - it's new borrowing. You're borrowing money when borrowing money got you in the situation in the first place. What you will find is that you'll pay on your consolidation plan, effectively a second mortgage (or pay for a house you don't own), and then all your paid off cards will start drawing spending again. You won't develop any discipline and you'll not generate wins.

The psychological feedback of the snowball works. You build small wins (paying something off so it never hurts you again. Write the letters "FO" on that last check to retire a debt if you want). Which encourages you to keep going. As you pay off bigger and bigger amounts, you start to build up momentum - "the snowball" becomes an avalanche - a good avalanche.

Sounds like you are mentally ready, and that is the hardest and most important step, stick to your plan, dont worry about the consolidation, pick up a few extra shifts, put every extra dollar to the CC's, as Dave says "live like nobody else does , so you can live like nobody else"

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Complete and utter disgrace that we are in this situation.

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Don't beat yourself up over it too much. Scores of people out there are in similar circumstances. At least sounds like you have the means to do something about it, just need to find the right strategy.

Maybe going online and setting up an auto-draft of that $600 Acura note payment towards one of the credit cards, and set it up on payday so you never really see the money hit your checking account.

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How much right now are your monthly payments VS what would they be if you consolidate?

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$1745 total. All credit cards and one small student loan.

I do not know what a consolidation payment would be. It is one of the reasons I am here asking.

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Beer and margaritas. And all the food involved.

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Just as an example, wife and I paid off ~$8,000 in CC debt in 7 months right after we got married by drastically cutting down on going out to eat. Took a lot of discipline, but it's doable. We learned to cook together, and cook well, in the process, so it was a win-win.

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70 bucks. What I SHOULD do is take that 70 bucks and throw it at the Amazon card bill (most recent target). But we aren't. It stays in checking. Eventually it will get spent on something.

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Then you aren't truly following the Dave Ramsey plan. Every dollar must have a name assigned to it before it goes out.

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Then you aren't truly following the Dave Ramsey plan. Every dollar must have a name assigned to it before it goes out.

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I dispute nothing that you have to say.

Others in this thread have given you solid financial advice, I'm gonna edge over into the relationship arena. Read back throu your thread and see where, at least twice, you state that you're gonna have to be the "dick" and spend your spare cash on the debt. Are you spending money to impress your spouse, or does saying no to him/her somehow diminish you in your mind? Cause you also need to figure out if 1)you're the problem spender, or 2)he/she's the spendy one, or perhaps 3)you've kept your spouse in the dark about your debt problems. This is a household/family problem....anything you do should be discussed jointly.

Think long and hard about what holes in your life you're trying to fill with frivolous spending. Do some volunteer work in lieu of beers/margaritas in the evenings...you'll feel better about yourself, help others, and not be in an environment where spending is necessary.

Also, work on your financial literacy. Avail yourself of the public library's free books....yet another interesting, entertaining place to go that doesn't take money.