There's A Monster in My Pocket.

It came so inconspicuously...so subtly....and yes, I fell for it.

One day a shiny black plastic card came for me in the mail and against my better judgment, I decided to dial the number in the letter and said, yes, please activate me. Yup...I let in a monster in my pocket. It's name: Mastercard.

To be fair, this monster did not start out as a monster. It was a friend, in fact. It came at a time where I was financially stable, investments and jobs all secure but then came the fall of those big companies and the crash of the economy. Prior to this I was just finishing up my two-year car loan. Thus, to keep a float, my shiny plastic friend became a saving grace, or so I thought. Before I knew it, I found myself in a sinking hole called debt. Thankfully I stopped myself before signing a contract for a condo loan!!! As it is, interest rates are driving me insane!

Over the past few months I've been trying to make little changes to get out of where I am, but I have to admit, it was so much easier getting there than getting out. It helps that I made a contract with myself that I will pay a certain amount of my bill monthly no matter what. However, since it is just with myself, I find it difficult to strictly enforce it.

The other day, I was watching a show on cable and a debt manager came on and gave very good tips on how to clear debt in manageable and doable steps. It helps, she said, to get a debt manager and to commit myself to a real plan that will actually cut debt. The problem with some of these get-out-of-debt plans, however, is that they offer you a loan to get out of the loan you are in now. This is definitely one I will not get myself in to! I think what would work best for me is something wherein I have an contract with someone that I have to fulfill. I think having something like it, such as an Individual Voluntary Arrangement or IVA to get out of debt will be a good way for me to truly make a dent in my debts. An IVA is a contract that can allow you to clear your debt as it helps protect you from creditors chasing you plus it helps you find a way out of piling up interest fees.