The Dry January Challenge is Here!!!

Congratulations! You survived another calendar year on this spinning ball of constant chaos.

The bad news? The holiday credit card bills are coming due.

The good news? Throughout this month I’m going to give you an easy-to-follow plan to pay them off. I’m calling this THE DRY JANUARY CHALLENGE.

Credit card debt is objectively bad. Unlike a mortgage, student loan, or even a car loan which you can argue is helping to build equity in an asset or giving you some sort of return on investment - credit card debt is high interest and serving you absolutely nothing but stress and limits on what you can financially achieve.

We MUST pay it off. I know for some, this “Dry January” credit card challenge will be a breeze and with the click of a button you’ll have it all fully paid off. You’re doing amazing, sweetie.

For those of you who are thinking “my credit card debt is going to take me friggen (fill in the blank) years to pay off, I’m totally screwed,” NO YOU ARE NOT!

This challenge is going to take a little strategy, planning, and taking action - but I promise you, it’ll set the wheels in motion to a financially healthier life in 2025.

LET’S BEGIN!

1. First, Take Inventory

The very first thing I want you to do THIS WEEK (by the time the next newsletter hits on January 8th) is to understand your credit card debt.

In Excel, Numbers, on a piece of paper, on a wall in blood - I don’t care, I want you to write out each and every credit card you currently possess.

2. Find the Info

Bear with me, this is the toughest step but once it’s done we can move on. I need you to locate for each credit card the TOTAL CURRENT BALANCE, THE INTEREST RATE, MINIMUM MONTHLY PAYMENT, AND MONTHLY PAYMENT DUE DATE.

In neat little columns, record this information so you know exactly what you need to know to put a plan in place.

3. Tally It Up

Now I want you to add up the total minimum monthly payments (how much are your total credit card bills this month?) and your total balance (how much do you owe overall?)

That’s it. That’s all I need you to do this week. Throughout January I’m going to give you the step-by-step game plan to pay off debt and stay out of debt. All you need to do is follow along and put the plan into action. It won’t be hard, but you’re the only one that can do it.

Remember motivation always FOLLOWS action. Never the reverse. Don’t wait.

The other thing you can do is help me spread the word about Cents of Humor!!! Share this post on your socials, with friends, family, let’s build this thing together.

I love to love ya!

-Catie