Back when I ran a staging business, I drove all over creation and hardly spent an hour at home. I’d have to remember to invoice them to get paid. I also only accepted checks from my clients. It was awkward and inefficient.

If I had this neat thingamajig back then? Wow.

It’s called SquareUp – a teeny credit card card reader that fits in your smart phone!

I don’t use this my self (no smart phone), but I’ve talked to a couple of people lately who do — and who can’t say enough good things about it. It’s great for business owners on the go.

The Square itself is free and the pricing to use it is about the same as PayPal. When you swipe cards with Square there is just one fee: 2.75% and when you enter the number manually, it’s 3.5% + 15¢ per manual entry transaction — and the money goes right to your bank account. No other fees or contracts.

Currently, the Square works on Apple iOS and Google Android devices. You just download the app and go! Pretty cool!

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We talk about debt around here. It’s safe.

When I first mentioned my credit card debt last summer, tons of people commented with relief, “So it’s not just me who’s working on this!” I still can’t believe that I shared my total number, but I’m going to do it again. And also a cool tool you might want to try.

My numbers, today:

Total: $28,621 (down $1,784 since last August!)
Card 1 9.9%: 4,712 (down $679)
Card 2a 2.9%: 1,420 (down $633)
Card 2b 34.9%: 2,522 (down $56)
Card 3 23.9%: 14,467 (down $416)
(Update: Bank of M&D Loan 0%: $5500)

The bad news:

Out of the $4,800 I’ve actually paid to these companies over the last 5 months, only a fraction of that amount went towards paying down principal.

But it wasn’t just the interest rate that got me. I take responsibility for the 2 late-fee payments because my bill-paying system isn’t working effectively enough. And the increased APR on Card 3 as a result of one of those late payments. It’s ouchie, yes. I had some big emotions about it (mad, sad, giving up, etc.). But there it is. Those slip-ups cost me cash.

The good news:

Gosh, it feels good to be in the 20′s – and out of the 30′s!

The plan: Even with the setbacks, I’m on track. My plan is working: pay a set amount every month that exceeds the minimum payment. I won’t bore you with the intricacies of that plan, but in short, I’m paying as much as possible on the highest APR accounts first. And this highest % happens to be the lowest balance, so I’ll be excited to get that one outta here!

New laws: On February 18th, the new credit card legislation goes into effect (CCARD details) and the payments I make to Card 2 (which has 2 different interest rates) will start going to the higher interest account, not the lower. Thank you muchly, Pres. Obama, Congress and Senate! That will put more of my money toward paying them off.

Cool tool: The cool tool I found is a credit card pay-off calculator. According to this tool from CNN Money, it will take me 3 years and 3 months to eliminate my debt if I keep paying the same amount ($800/month). And only about 25% of that will be interest. What, you might wonder, would it be if I only pay the minimum balance? A nice, round 30 years to pay it all off – and about 75% of that would go toward interest.

If that’s not an incentive, I don’t know what is.

Do you wonder how long it will take you? Get out your most recent statements and fill out the online debt calculator (completely anonymous).

Share if you like – what are your most recent successes toward getting out of debt?

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Getting out of Debt is a series about a topic many feel too embarrassed to discuss with even their closest loved ones. My hope? To share this journey with you so we can all live more freely and abundantly.

How I got into debt in the first place

I’ve just typed this title and now I’m staring at it. Thinking hard.

How did I get here, anyway?

In all likelihood, I got here by spending a little here and a little there. A few extravagant dinners a year didn’t seem like much. A vacation there – well, I deserved a break. I quit my job and started a business. Twice. My car needed repair. I bought groceries, heating oil and gasoline.

I didn’t wake up one day and say, “You know, I feel like spending 30,702 bucks! Charge!”

Debt arrived in dribs and drabs.

In truth, I feel a lot of shame about this debt. When I feel ashamed, I want to make excuses to explain my behavior. But explaining also leaves me feeling like a victim of my own choices. Which is crazy because I made them. I signed the receipts. I just didn’t realize how many.

So out of this mental pickle came a realization: I’ve spent unconsciously.

Two things I’m doing about debt

Back in elementary school gym class, we had these colorful, sturdy cups with a looped string attached. You’d stand precariously on top, a cup under each foot,  and hold the string while attempting to clomp forward. Remember those?

Getting out of debt, for me, has felt like walking on those cups. I’ve been taking one awkward, clompy step at a time.

Step one is compassion and forgiveness.

I have such a hard time with this. I mean, I know it’s good for me to be kind and compassionate with myself. I talk about this all the time. But it’s hard.

If I’m so not happy about the debt, it makes some sick kind of sense that I should be mean and judgmental with myself about it. That somehow this would help. But it doesn’t. I can learn from my choices without being hurtful to my spirit.

So, whenever I pay a bill, I take a deep breath and say, “You made a choice. You have a plan.” And I breathe some kindness toward myself. Clomp clomp.

Step two is honesty.

Mind you, I’m no financial expert. And I don’t play one on television. So my process for getting honest with myself comes from my own research and a stalwart desire to get the heck out of debt – not a degree in finance.

I started with a debt summary. That’s a fancy way of saying: “I wrote down all my loans and all my credit card balances.” Last month, I added them all up and got $30,702.

(Can you feel yourself reacting to that number?)

Maybe you’ve got more debt than that. Maybe less. But discovering the actual number was powerful for me. I was being honest with myself.

It was a clompy, awkward step. And stressful – so I gave myself some compassion.

And even though I’m wobbly, I’m finding my balance

As I’ve been alternating between compassion and honesty over the last 6 months, I’ve managed to shave off about $1500 from the total debt. And – WOO! – that feels good.

Feeling some control over the situation finally came from cultivating a few effective, soul-nourishing systems.

Granted, the total still feels to staggering to me, but like I tell my clients, “When you change any part of a system, the whole structure changes.” Even the tiniest action begins a snowball of progress that grows larger over time.

Holding the space

I’m taking other steps that I’ll reveal in other posts, but I want to stop here in case you want some room to digest this topic. We like to take small steps around here. Or try.

My plan is to check back in next month and let you know how it’s coming along, celebrate my successes, and share the journey. Would you like to, too?

I welcome your comments on your own financial or debt situation. I also request kindly, firmly, that you not give advice to me or others unless it’s specifically requested. This makes exploring safe and learning possible for every reader.

So. Debt. Small business. Honesty and compassion. What thoughts and ideas come up for you as you read this post?

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