We in America are acclimated to debt, and lots of it. If you don’t think so just look around. Everywhere you look you will see signs asking you to buy now and pay later, 0 down and a low 1.8 financing, and no payments till next year. Just turn on the TV and you will see one of the major credit card companies making you think life stops if you use cash while another tells you it’s plastic is priceless. Your friends and family often times will lead you into a credit crunch. They are probably driving more car than they can afford all the while urging you to get the latest model automobile. So you don’t have enough money to purchase the latest fad, no worries here … a short trip in most cities will lead to the local payday loan and there you can live a little (or a lot).

As I said earlier, we are acclimated to living beyond our means. I once read an old sign that said, “In God we Trust, for everyone else there is cash.” Of course, that sign was not written for today’s consumer. Probably around the end of World War II acceptance of debt in our culture changed. It went from a once negative necessity to being a positive accessory. You could now have that second TV, washing machine, entertainment center, jewelry, lawnmower and pool table and best of all you could have it today. The phrase buy now and pay later became part of the American Dream. Of course, most people are not think of the latter part of the phrase as they come home with their new 60″ TV. People started thinking it was ok to buy the car of their dreams, even if it indebted them with huge payments for 72 months. And let’s not forget about the car being worth only a fraction of its value at the end of the loan.

OK, you get the point and if you are like most Americans you are in debt yourself. You probably feel like there is no way out or at least the road to being debt free is so long it is not worth taking. You have probably heard all the get out of debt spills before. Have you decided that paying someone a lot of money to tell you to eat beans and drink water is not for you? If you really want to live life owing no money; please keep reading. I am not going to sugar coat this pill. It is very bitter and tough to swallow but if you take it (along with some beans and water) you will feel so much better in the end.

Before you start beating yourself up let me tell you that not all debt is bad. If it is ok with you, we will talk more about good ‘not so’ bad debt later. As I was typing the word good and debt together in the same sentence my hands began to cramp. My mind could not believe what my eyes were seeing. No matter how hard I try, I can not tell you that debt is good. So we will label it the ‘not so’ bad debt.

For now let’s just focus on the reason you are reading this, that being the fact that you are in debt and want to be debt free. If you can come to terms with the previous statement then you my friend are one step closer to being debt free. The fact that you know you are in debt is not really that important. This is not like an intervention to a drug addict. No one has to walk up to you and tell you that you are in debt. You may not feel it is a problem but you certainly know whether you are in debt or not. The key is your decision to want out of debt. If you do want out then there is hope. If you do not want out of debt, I would ask you to bookmark this page and come back when you change your mind. If you are determined to do this then I recommend you keep on reading, for the fun and the pain are about to begin.

Stay tuned for Part 2.