Hi ,

I am new here. I am a 36 year old single mom. I must admit that I have not managed my money well in the past and I am tired of living from paycheck to paycheck. Thank goodness that it is never too late to start. I have about $5,000.00 in Credit Card debt and $5,000.00 on a car loan. I also have about $45,000.00 left on my mortgage. My goal is to become debt free. I will be using the debt "snowball" technique to get started. I am also looking for ways to increase my income that won't require an insane about of time away from home. I work full-time and that takes up a significant portion of my time. My son is three and I really value and enjoy spending time with him.

I am hoping to learn how other people are conquering their debt and wise ways to invest all of the money I will have once I am out of debt. I am really excited about the impact doing this now will have on the rest of my life.

Sincerely,
Chan's Mom

Welcome!  You have come to a great forum.  There are lots of people on here with great ideas on how to manage debt, increase income, and/or reduce monthly spending.

Since your son is such a priority for your time, you may want to look into the saving money aspect of debt management (as opposed to increasing income).  I recommend looking at "Frugal Living for Dummies," which has countless ideas on saving money without going crazy.  There are a considerable amount of tips on living with a budget within a family.

I also personally recommend reading "The Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey.  His aproach is a bit more "Guerilla Warfare" than most peoples' about debt management, but I think he's hit the nail on the head as far as doing the debt snowball.

Keep us posted on your progress!

Welcome to the forum.