Confessions of The Debt Diva

Before I slipped into the title The Debt Diva, I was the poster child
for poor financial decisions. In my 20s, I learned the hard way that
you have to stay in control of your finances.

I grew up in a fiscally conservative household in Louisburg, N.C., a
small town outside Raleigh, N.C. My father was a banker and taught me
at an early age the differences between right and wrong, cash and
credit, checking and savings. My parents and our small town provided a
sanctuary from labels, brands and frequent shopping escapades. Shopping
excursions for clothes were carefully coordinated three times a year
(once in the spring, during July and after Christmas) by my loving and
thrifty mother. But once I left home for college, I dropped my family’s
fiscal wisdom like last year’s styles.

As a freshman at Meredith College in Raleigh, N.C., I was introduced to
a new and unfamiliar world. My college friends were draped in designer
clothes and for them, shopping was a leisure activity. College was like
peering through a boutique store window for the very first time, and I
knew I wanted to go inside and start buying. So I did.

Fresh out of college, I had a good job and was living on my own, but I
was living beyond my means. I was social spender and my mission in life
was simple: Keep up with everyone else. I was known as a social diva. I
went out every weekend and spent money on clothes, food and drinks. I
was always game for a shopping trip, even when no one else would go.

A few closets of clothes and a couple of car accidents later (I put the
repairs on my credit card because I didn’t have any money saved), I had
more than $8,000 in credit card debt! I reached my lowest point when I
was paying $500 a month in credit card payments. I knew I could be
doing other things with the money and decided to do something about my
situation.

I did something drastic: I relocated to another state. I had to isolate
myself from the social temptation to spend. At a time when