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• He's paying off their debt, she's adding to it

  Posted Jul 27 2008, 12:43 PM by Karen Datko
  Filed under: Debt, Family, Marriage, Karen Datko
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  The headline on JW's post at We Need To Be Debt Free says it all: "What's the use?" He's been working hard to aggressively pay off about $41,000 in non-mortgage debt, and then his wife revealed at a marriage-counseling session that she's been hiding -- and using -- two credit cards.

  "When she mentioned it, I felt completely broadsided. It was like being run over by a truck," he wrote. The damage to his debt-reduction plans? Just over $4,300.   Read More...

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• Pay it forward: Attack your debt twice a month

  Posted Jan 25 2008, 08:37 AM by Donna Freedman
  Filed under: Debt, Credit, Marriage
  Rating:

  This post comes from freelance writer Abby Freedman, daughter of Smart Spending blogger Donna Freedman.
  
  Deep, dark secret time: My mother writes for Smart Spending and I am in credit card debt.

  Assuming you haven't fainted dead away, let me explain.

  My fiancé has an inherited calcium deficiency that's been exacerbated by treatment for a couple of other health problems. His teeth were literally crumbling away by the time I met him. Last spring, he made an appointment with an oral surgeon and a denturist.
  

  Since we didn't happen to have the needed $8,500 lying around, we started researching credit card deals. We wound up putting about two-thirds of the cost on a new credit card that offered 0% percent interest for six months. The rest was paid with "convenience checks" from my existing credit card at 3.99% for six months.   Read More...

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• Sometimes the best financial decisions aren't about money

  Posted Oct 09 2007, 02:55 PM by Karen Datko
  Filed under: Debt, Spending, Family, Marriage
  Rating:
  Getting hitched to Mrs. Dough 19 years ago was the best money move The Dough Roller ever made, he reports in " My best and worst financial decisions ." Why? In the early days, she kept a lid on spending when Dough, a graduate student, was using the ATM "like it was a slot machine." Then, when it was his turn to work and hers to go back to school, she put him in charge of their finances and he learned the value of a buck.
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