I Remember When ...

1. I thought it was a great idea to borrow money from your house to purchase a car, after all, you get a tax deduction for the interest ...

2. I used to have 6 maxed out credit cards in rotation simultaneously ...

3. I got my first payday loan, at 18 years old ...

4. I put my first semester of college on a Discover card ...

5. I took out my first debt consolidation loan from my local bank ...

6. I borrowed from my 401K, this was my second debt consolidation loan ...

7. I joined my first network marketing gig to pay off debt. The problem here is I began to use the credit cards again, after all, these were business expenses and business expenses are what, say it with me, tax deductible ...

8. I took out a second loan from my 401K, debt consolidation #3.

9. I would watch eagerly for the next pay day like a lion waits for his prey. Hoping and praying that certain transactions would not clear before the deposit was available ...

10. I wanted my financial situation to change but refused to (or just didn't) change my habits.

11. I couldn't imagine life without a car payment. I thought having a car note was inevitable and therefore I would always have one ...

12. I thought $1,000 was a lot of money and almost impossible to save ...

13. I picked up Rich Dad, Poor Dad and couldn't put it down. This was the beginning of my personal financial revolution ...

14. I wrote my first financial goals, put up a big poster on my bedroom wall, and looked at them everyday ...

15. I looked at my poster one October and realized that everything on there had been achieved, even though December was the target month ...

16. I discovered the power of written goals, so I wrote some more ...

17. I realized that less debt = more choices ...

18. I learned the difference between needs and wants and subsequently learned the beauty of delayed gratification ...

19. I exited the rat race in my mind first, then watched as my circumstances caught up ...

20. I was in bondage and how much I hated it. Now that the financial chains are loose, I'm never going back ...

Lastly, I remember when ...

I acknowledged that my financial situation was no one's problem or responsibility but mine and mine alone. I couldn't blame my situation on what my parents did or didn't teach me, what I didn't learn in school or the mean ole credit card companies who continuously prey on my inability to just say no. I am the sole determinant of where I land financially.

What are your remember whens?