Blogging Your Way Out of Debt: The Fairy Tale

As anyone who has had debt will know, getting on top of it is a journey that involves a whole lot of clawing and crawling. My default flippancy aside, it can be a pretty alienating experience, so imagine my relief when I started coming across blogs where people have charted their journey out of debt. Now I’m an addict. I love reading where they’ve come from, and watching their graphs of debt dwindle. I love finding out what made them decide to fix their debt and what they’ve done to stay motivated. It basically satisfies my need for fairytales, which suffered a devastating blow with the discovery of the falsehoods surrounding Santa Claus.

What’s appealing about this motley crew of bloggers is that, by and large, their blogs started out as nothing more than a tool to keep themselves on track. Most of the writers don’t suggest themselves as gurus; they were just wanted to tell their stories and seem rather surprised how interested other people are. Some have actually managed to turn a blog about debt into a profitable venture. It’s a crazy kind of logic, but that’s just how the cyber world rolls.

Here are some of the best:

Man vs. Debt

I’m just going to come right out and say it, I love this guy. Adam Baker has put together a real-time chronicle of how he “got out of debt and into life”. It’s a refreshingly frank approach to personal finance, and full of interesting anecdotes and tips. He also has just written an article where he pits Dave Ramsey against Suze Orman, and I pay full kudos to anyone who dares venture into that territory.

http://manvsdebt.com/suze-orman-vs-dave-ramsey-should-your-financial-guru-be-changing-hisher-advice/

If you’re into Twitter, you should definitely follow him as he is one of the funnier tweeters out there: http://twitter.com/manvsdebt

Debt Kid

I feel quite strange recommending this blog, as the young lad who writes it managed to cripple his family financially and I don’t really feel comfortable rewarding him for his behavior. Regardless, it’s a pretty interesting blog. While part of the interest is a grotesque fascination about how long it will be before things go pear-shaped, it’s also got some great ideas and tips.

Punch Debt in the Face

This is a blog with an enormous sense of fun and great layout. It also has sensational graphs (have I mentioned how much I love net worth graphs?) and some interesting ideas about how best to get yourself financially on top.

Give Me Back My Five Dollars

One of the few blogs where debt-freedom has been achieved, Give Me Back My Five Dollars now charts a post-debt lifestyle, and how the writer has managed to keep herself clear of credit problems. The writer also has a great style, so if you feel like you need a blog that’s fun to read, this would be where I would head.

Debt Smackdown

Brilliant name, great blog. This one charts the journey out of a credit addiction, which, for those of us who are unsure, does not kill rock and roll stars but is no fun all the same.

If you like to compare your debt to that of the world, the University of Western Sydney’s Steve Keen has a Global Debt Watch blog that, while scary, is also pretty interesting: http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/

Would you blog about your path to debt freedom?

Savings Guide would be interested in hearing from you, we could set you up with a regular gig on the website to document your progress!

Related Posts

• Get Out Of Debt With The Debt Diet

  The Debt Diet programs consists of 2 phases broken down into 4 steps each, it was featured on Oprah in the US and has gone on to help lots of Americans. Now its Australia’s turn to become debt free. Step 1 of the Debt Diet program is to find out how much debt you actually [...]

• The True Purpose Of Debt (Good Debt VS Bad Debt)

  The use of debt doesn’t always equate to something bad. Learn how good debts and bad debts work and how credit can actually help you when making smart financial decisions.

• Should You Pay Debt Off Quickly Or Slow And Steady?

  We all hate our debt. Though should you pay debt off in a couple of big hits? Or should you pay debt off slow and steady, ensuring you aren’t out of pocket for months on end.

• Hot topic: Grow your savings or reduce your debt?

  Emergency fund or credit card balance? Security versus debt repayments. Is this conundrum a case of plastic versus prudence, or a surefire way to make your debt repayments impossible? In this day and age, money is tight and knowing how best to deploy it is no easy task. The debate over the emergency fund versus [...]

• Using a budget to get out of debt

  Debt is something that a lot of us have learnt a hard lesson about, living for the now rather then budgeting our money to avoid debt and live debt free. Looking back at the debts I have had and the problems that it has caused made me realise that budgeting is the key to reducing [...]