One member settled her last credit card debt at the end of the year.  She had faithfully chipped away at the amount over her five years of steady D.A. recovery.  It wasn’t easy.  She reflected on how manageable the program of recovery is once she surrendered her pride and trusted the process:

“After months of making the payments I could afford, the bank eventually charged off the loan, and reselling it to an outside agency .   The impact of this on my credit score terrified me, and what the new company would do to me.  But I stuck to the spending plan I had worked out with my pressure relief group and pressed on, knowing that it was the best thing for everyone concerned.

The day after the charge-off, I noticed something strange: The world kept revolving.  I got up, made breakfast, and went to work.  No one in my office looked at me differently.  I shared at my meeting that nothing in my life changed, other than an arbitrary score in some database.  ‘The number’, once so powerful,had become just another part of my recovery, one that I honestly owned up to.  I learned to hold my head high again.  I came to realize that I am more than a number.

Today I may have negative net-worth, but I have positive self-worth, and that is the key to happiness .  My  plan for recovery puts my needs, and the needs of my family, first – and that is priceless!  As a bonus for participating in my life, the charge-off gave me a 0% interest rate going forward, which made the debt even more manageable.”

Mediation for Today:

Our creditors are just doing their job.  We have a job, too: we work our program of recovery one day at a time, however humbly.  We exchange our pride for freedom from the disease of compulsive debting.  We share our recovery with those we owe money to, and with those who still suffer.

As this year comes to an end, am I mindful of where I came from?  Have I accepted where I am at in my recovery today?  Am I allowing my Higher Power to work miracles by letting go of yesterday and tomorrow, and living this day?

Affirmation for Today:

Self-worth is a precious gift I give myself when I honor myself, and trust in the loving Higher Power and the fellowship of D.A.

Prayer for Today:

Make me grateful today, and in the year ahead.  As I go forth, give me strength to not debt today.  Help me to share about my debt recovery with those who still suffer from this addiction.

Recommended Reading:

(By clicking the link below you will be brought to Amazon.com, where you can buy this book.  Using this link in no way increases your costs..  Using this link helps us defray the costs of running this website, as we get a small commission.)

” How to Get Out Of Debt, Stay Out of Debt, and Live Prosperously”, by Jerrold Mundis, is a comprehensive guide to getting “Back to the Black”, using the concepts of debtors anonymous.  Many have benefited from Jerrold’s thoughtful encouragement, especially in dealing with creditors, increasing income and reversing under earning.