“How Important Is it?” – Keeping Perspective In Worrisome Times

Thought for today: Everyone worries at times, but for many of us who lived through extreme debting, under earning and overspending, worry became a way of life. That low-grade anxiety seemed as if it would never leave. In the fog of worry we bounced checks, and forgot account balances. Obsessing over our debt, we lost […]

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February 27, Why Anonymity Works (DA Tool Twelve)

Thought for today: “Why do we stay anonymous in DA? After all, doesn’t it make life easier if we shared publicly what our program offers? Why hide it? What is this – a ‘secret society’?” These questions are natural for anyone outside of the fellowship to ask, and need answering. Old timers to DA will […]

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February 26, Why Do Service? (Tool Eleven)

Thought for today: “It’s so inconvenient to volunteer to do service in my group. Why bother?” Haven’t we all said this to ourselves at one time or another?  We may excuse ourselves for not showing up at a meeting when we’re tired or the weather’s bad (but still do-able).  How many times did we go […]

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February 25, “Why should I be responsible for my own recovery?” Why Business Meetings Matter (Tool Ten)

Thought for today: One of the signposts of being a compulsive debtor is the longing to have someone else take care of us “in case things get really bad”.  In other words, we find ways to reinforce the idea that we “can’t handle it ourselves” – “it” being the business of life. At some point […]

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February 24, Am I Aware of My Self-talk, As It Relates to Tool Nine?

Thought for today: Some members shared about their new self-awareness about money: “When I was a young child in grade school, I used to sell candy to my friends. When the parents and principal found out, I was made to feel ashamed of my profit motive, and had to give back every dime, and I was out […]

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February 23, Why Does Awareness Matter? (Tool Nine)

Thought for today: If we are honest, we will recognize that however seductive advertisements can be – showing us illusions of driving off in luxury with the perfect mate by our side, for example – they don’t portray us months later, with late fees, repossession, rejection, and despair.  Such consequences are the likely result for us of vagueness. Vigilance and clarity are the […]

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February 22, Why We Use DA and AA Literature (Tool Eight)

Thought for today: A member recalls: “My thinking was just out of line with reality when it came to money. I had so much to learn, and there were only so many meetings I could get to where I lived. Thanks to DA literature I was able to stay connected to the fellowship at any […]

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February 21, Using the Telephone And the Internet. (Tool Seven)

Thought for today: How trapped we felt before DA – isolated, alone with only our debts for company, overwhelmed, neglecting ourselves and our loved ones. Relief came when the people in DA showed us what sane living was. We began to connect in DA fellowship in many ways – in meetings, using the telephone, online […]

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February 20, How Action Plans Work (DA Tool Six)

Thought for today: Did you ever walk into a room and forget why you went there? DA Tool Six, Action Plan, can bring us to a point where we figure out our spending, earning, saving, and debt repayments, sure. Those were huge tasks. But then we may start to say to ourselves “Where was I […]

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February 19, Why Is a Spending Plan the Best Way to Bring Clarity, Balance, Humility and Realism to My Life?

Thought for today: Practicing Tool Five corresponds to compiling our Eighth Step list. Just as in Step Eight we don’t actually do any amends (that’s done in Step Nine), it isn’t until the next tool, (Tool Six, “Action Plan”), that we actually have to change anything in our living arrangements. In Tool Five we are […]

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