“How Do I Live Without Debting?”

Thought for today:

Living with the insanity of overspending, under earning, and taking on unsecured debt became a habit for most of us before we found the program of recovery.  We couldn’t imagine any other way except to debt.  It made sense to us.

The pattern of debting became ingrained in us to a point where we resisted the very things that could bring us peace.  We avoided people.  We never talked with anyone about our debts.  We lived in shame and isolation.

But debting is not inevitable!  Human beings are able to live and thrive without credit cards.  The fact that this was so strange a concept to us should have been a clue as to how far down the rabbit hold we gone chasing this disease.

A member shares:

“In the beginning of my DA program I felt like my debt followed me everywhere, and at meetings I kept asking for the secret to getting out of debt.  No simple/quick fixes came, but I kept coming anyway.

“I was told to start going through the steps and tools, in order.  After taking the Fifth Step, my first Action Plan was to go home and consider what I had accomplished, taking Step Six.

“I knew I had been totally honest in my Fifth Step, holding nothing back, but I also knew I couldn’t blame anyone else for my debt any more.  My inventory made me realize I had been a willing participant in debt.

“But I also had the power to choose not to debt, no matter what, one day at a time.  In Step Six and Tool Six I became willing to change.  Instead of self-justifying blame, I had to humble myself, admit that as a mortal being, I had basic needs for sleep, food, entertainment and clothing.  I started to choose not to overspend and debt any more, but to allocate money on these basic needs I had so long neglected.

“So my first Action Plan became to commit myself to live within my means, yet not let my means define me.  My plan has grown since then, but always includes this basic thought at its core.”

DA Step 5:

Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

DA Step Six:

Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

DA Tool Six:

Action Plan.

With the help of our Pressure Relief Group, we develop a list of specific actions for resolving our debts, improving our financial situation, and achieving our goals without incurring unsecured debt.

Ask:

Am I willing to turn my defects of character over to a “power greater than myself” and to live within my means?

Meditation for today:

Simple pleasures are very rewarding – a child’s giddy laughter, a pets loving gaze, a sunset, a sunrise, moonlight, the seashore.  A child plays with the box a gift come in instead of the gift itself.  Simplicity is a theme worth thinking about.

Affirmations for today:

“I will let go of every defect of character every day.  I will seek the loving thing to do.”

“Today my intuition will let me know the best time to speak up and when to be silent, when to act and when to wait, when to retreat in solitude and when to engage in the world.”

A Currency of Hope: The basic text of Debtors Anonymous.

Please click the book image to get these important resources.

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