Blogging yourself out of debt

According to Anya Kamenetz, author of Generation Debt, twenty-somehtings are now the most indebted generation in Modern History.
College studies cost a lot, and when you enter the workforce, you are already in debt, sometimes for hundreds of thousands dollars. Credit cards are given to practically anyone, social pressure can make young adults take bad money decisions, and those cards are maxed out in no time.

I went through this painful process myself. When I started working, I didn’t make much, because I was working for a small company that didn’t give big salaries or many benefits, but I was convinced I was lucky enough already to have a job. I was surrounded by people who were older than me and pressured to leave my parent’s place, become an independant adult myself, and come live closer to my work place. So I took the decision to go live on my own, and within 6 months, I was in debt. I remember having had to pay for food with my Visa. I remember a particular Winter where I wore only 2 sweaters, bought with a credit card, and a pair of black tennis shoes from previous Summer, because I didn’t have the money for Winter shoes.

Now years later, I often think about that time. Actually I kept these 2 sweaters in my cupboard for a long time, in order to remember that time and make myself manage money wisely. And I still have a few thousands € to pay off.
That made me think about how we learn to manage money when we are kids. And I think I simply did not. Actually, my mom started giving me money when I was about 6 or 7 – maybe like 50p a week. Sometimes I would ask her to give me more in advance, that was credit without interest to pay, and she would accept.
But for the rest, my parents were very wise with money management without having had someone teaching them – lucky people – I think they never thougt I could not be the same. So we never really talked about money. Sometimes I would do shopping with mom and she would say « you spend a lot, I am worried » and I would answer « don’t worry » because I really believed things were under control, even when they were not.
I am not blaming my parents at all, they just did not realize what happened and after all, I was all grown-up and independant already.

It is on the web I realized I was one among many. At that time, there already were a couple of message boards about money management, debt support, even bankruptcy on iVillage.com. And nowadays, debt is all over the blogosphere.
Here are just a few examples:

Maxed Out Gen says « Millions of people are caught in the trap of credit dependence. There is a silent epidemic of shame and anxiety because our society perpetuates the belief that this problem is self-inflicted, that people who have debts are deadbeats. Meanwhile, credit card companies keep coming up with new ways to deceive us and to keep us locked in debt, with the help of our lawmakers. This blog explores the human side of debt, what the credit industry doesn’t want us to know, and strategies for survival. »

Blogging Away Debt tells the journey of Tricia as she and her family are getting out of debt. « I’ve decided to take all the steps that I need to take to finally become debt-free. I am going to use this blog to chart my progress as well as share information that I have learned along the way. I think debt is something that is crippling many of us. Once we get in debt, it is so hard to get out of. »

And there are many more others.

And sometimes, luckily, people will success. Like this poster on No Limit Ladies
There is hope for our generation who is trapped by the debt trick as soon as they enter adult age.

The wisest things I have read/learned about debt/money management is:

• do not use credit to buy something that is not going to gain value. A house loan is ok, but not a car loan. Do not even think about getting a credit card to pay for food or buy a fancy new TV

• cut all your credit cards into small pieces, put them on a bowl in your kitchen or living-room and look at them every time you need courage or are tempted to get a new credit; you have to start somewhere and there is no such thing as getting out of debt while keeping even one « just in case » credit card

• look for help; you are not alone and you are not responsible for not having been taught how to manage money and debt – after all we are surrounded by offers for more credit like it’s something everybody else does so why shouldn’t we? There are people who know what you’re going through and you can benefit from their experience.

But there is work, too, on teaching our kids how not to do the same mistakes again.