Dear Debt, You Can’t Come Between Us Anymore

by Melanie

Hey debt fighters! Today we have an awesome dear debt letter from Jayme. Jayme is a freelance writer and blogger at sonotniche.com who has paid off more than half of $65,000 on a low income. She blogs tips on surviving as a family of five living below poverty level while still kicking debt’s butt. 

Dear Debt,

I will no longer be the “other person” in my husband’s life. I will no longer take a second place to you.

I know that you two had a relationship long before he and I met. Even though I am the better person, you still manage to occasionally seduce him with your ‘feel-good’ promises.

As my Gramma would say, “You ain’t nothing but trouble.”

For half a dozen years now, we’ve lived with you between us. Lurking like a dark temptress in the night, you take many forms.

You are past medical bills. You are our mortgage. You are the disembodied spirit of past marriages. You are things we had to buy out of necessity, and interest that accumulated over years of only being able to make minimum payments on past mistakes.

But…

Slowly, we have managed to remove parts of you from our lives. You are losing your appeal. My husband is learning to desire freedom more than things. To realize that he doesn’t have to belong to you anymore. There is a way for you to break up forever.

I’m more attractive than you, Debt. I am more seductive. I am tempting my husband with promises of things you never allowed him to have, like fat savings accounts and delectable little luxuries bought with cash.

This is the big year. This year, you need to pack up your bag of tricks and get ready to buy yourself a bus ticket out of my town. In a few months, we will only deal with you through the bank, as we begin padding out our mortgage payments. That will be the only lingering trace of YOU in our lives. In less than three years, you will be nothing but a bad memory.

Will he miss you? Don’t fool yourself. You aren’t that great. In fact, you suck.

You’ve eaten our food, taken our holidays, and stolen away time we should have been enjoying our family. You’ve made us hang our heads in shame and try to hide the times we couldn’t afford even basic necessities.

You’ve spit on us one too many times. Now its my turn.

As we speak, a check is going in the mail. One small piece of you is about to die.

I hope it hurts you like you have hurt us, you abusive piece of baggage.

Cheers,

Jayme

Melanie
Latest posts by Melanie (see all)

10 comments

Tyler January 25, 2016 - 4:54 am

Wow, such a powerful letter. Debt consumes your life and causes so many problems this is such a wonderful letter.

Reply
Jayme January 26, 2016 - 5:21 pm

Thank you! Debt really is all-consuming, and it leads to us stressing about every minor expense!

Reply
Natalie @ Financegirl January 25, 2016 - 5:46 am

I think it’s SO hard to pay off debt on low income. That’s why I’m so focused on increasing my income from blogging and freelance writing. My law school debt has to go ASAP!

Reply
Jayme January 26, 2016 - 5:25 pm

Natalie, I couldn’t imagine having to pay student loans and debts right now. I wish you the best luck! (If you are who I think you are, then I’ve found a lot of inspiration in your blog posts, so I think you will be successful!)

Reply
Mortimer January 25, 2016 - 8:53 am

So powerful! Thanks for sharing this awesome story. Looking forward to reading about the end of your mortgage–and debt forever!

Reply
Jayme January 26, 2016 - 5:30 pm

Thank you, Mortimer! We are steadily chipping it away one month at a time, and should be paying a huge chunk next month. I will definitely be excited to write about that!

Reply
Prudence Debtfree January 26, 2016 - 11:56 am

Paying off debt on a low income and with a family is a HUGE success. Well done, Jayme! All the best as you and your husband make your way to ZERO debt.

Reply
Jayme February 1, 2016 - 5:28 am

Thank you, Prudence! Its not easy for sure, but it certainly feels good!

Reply
Abigail @ipickuppennies January 26, 2016 - 12:21 pm

Awesome! As someone who took on debt with her husband — and had to pay it off on pretty low income — I definitely get a lot of these sentiments. Tim’s desire to be with me made him learn to shy away from buying’s siren song. Well, mostly.

Congratulations on (soon) being down to just your mortgage.

Reply
Jayme February 1, 2016 - 5:44 am

Thank you, Abigail! Sorry to hear you are in the same pickle. It is definitely harder to get ahead when both partners have different spending habits!

Reply

Leave a Comment

* By using this form you agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More