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Hey everybody, John Nugent here with the Good Life Cast Podcast. As you know, this podcast is about fitness, finance, and faith. And today I thought I'd talk about finance a little bit and credit card debt. This isn't one of those scams to kind of get you to spend money or do anything like that. I think this story here, this is something that we need to have a conversation about on a regular basis in this country. Um let me start by putting the uh credit card debt issue in this country in perspective. According to the latest data, we have over $1 trillion in credit card debt just on credit cards throughout this country. $1 trillion with the average interest rates running like 24, 25, 26%. Just incredible. It's almost like a loan shark type situation where people are just being ripped off and they don't even realize what's going on. The average Floridian, as we call ourselves here, uh their debt is like $8,000 in credit cards. $8,000 a year, and you're paying 25% interest on that. You're making your minimum payment, that's going to take you like probably 15 years just to pay that off. So I have an approach to finance that's centered on the principles of living like debt-free, building wealth, taking control of uh your own financial future. Uh, when it comes to credit card debt, I just think we need to start thinking a lot different about it. Um, we just need a radical shift in our our behavior. So my belief begins with you know, it's more of a burden uh than a tool or a thing that we use to kind of just get through the month or get through the week. Um it's actually a burden on our lives. And I think um until we think about it that way, uh, we're really not going to find what I call financial freedom. So um funny is I was thinking way back when I got my first JCPenney credit card. Um I think I had like a $300 credit line at the time and went out and bought some new shirts and new jeans and stuff like that. And I think it cost me like $1,100 by the time I got paid off between the the interest and the late fees and everything else. And I think I was only 18 years old at the time. So uh just you know, I I I I some people say I come off as uh having this wealth of knowledge about finance, and and the reason being is I've lived through it. I've gone through some of the things that we don't want to do, and I'm trying to share that with you. So how do I suggest we take tackle this credit card issue? I think it all starts with uh commitment to living within our means and embracing cash-based lifestyle. That's right. I said cash, uh only spending money on what you have uh in your pocket, so to speak, or in your bank account, and uh just kind of getting away from those impulse purches and luxuries that uh we really can't afford. Uh, my approach to to paying off this is kind of the Ramsey way of doing things. It's the debt snowball where uh you list your debts from smallest to largest, uh, you start paying off those credit cards, smallest to largest, regardless of what the interest rates are, and start just paying those things off and finding some wins because we all know when we're making those minimum payments, it's just never ever going to happen. So you need to get those things paid off. Um as you eliminate each debt, the amount you're paying into the next smallest debt, creating a snowball effect that accelerates your debt payoff journey, so to speak. So you pay off the smallest one, take that money that you don't have to spend anymore, but pay it towards the second one, and the snowball effect will eventually get those credit cards paid off for you. Of course, becoming debt-free requires like discipline and sacrifice. It's not just the plan, but you gotta really sacrifice and get through this. I can't emphasize enough the importance of creating a budget, uh cutting your expenses if you have to. Um, sometimes you just got to go out there and and make some more money. Uh, you may not have enough income right now to cover these debts. And uh, we want to put this in the past and we want to get through this. So maybe taking on that part-time job, maybe finding additional ways to bring in some resources will get you through this. So alongside the the debt repayment program, uh, and this again is kind of like the Ramsey uh solution, is put some money aside. Like, like have an emergency fund where you have a thousand or fifteen hundred dollars set aside. That way, if an unexpected bill comes up, you don't have to use that credit card as we go through the process of getting them paid down. So, I mean, ultimately, this is uh again like the Dave Ramsay philosophy about taking control of your financial destiny and reclaiming your freedom uh from debt. It really is uh uh you are the slave to the master when we talk about debt. So um it's a journey that requires, you know, like I said, a lot of commitment and determination and a willingness to make uh short-term sacrifices. So um if you got some questions out there on getting these credit cards paid off or you need some help or some direction, shoot me a message. I'd love to help you with it. I've been there, I've been through it. Um I know how good it feels afterwards uh when you don't have that debt, when you have emergencies come up and you can just pay them off, when somebody has a need and you can just help them and not have to worry about you know, am I going to be able to make my own bills this month? It really is financial freedom, and that's what we're talking about here. And um, if there's something I can do to help you with that, I would love the opportunity to do that. So shoot me a message if I can help at all. Again, this is John Nugent with the Good Life Cast. I hope this has been helpful, and we'll see you next week.