65% of Americans would live on a deserted island all by themselves for an entire year for $1,000,000.

83% of Americans still pay with checks instead of credit cards!

The average wedding in America costs a staggering $20,000.00.

92% of us would rather be rich than find the love of our lives.

One out of every four Americans believe their best chance of getting rich is by playing the lottery.

Read the rest here. Does it reflect what you think?

Seeing as how this is a blog about debt, we thought we’d share our own personal story about debt. This is where it changes from ‘we’ to ‘me’, Jules.

When anyone asks me what was the moment I remembered most from my childhood, I’d paused and say, “When I was 17, and my mum gambled away $400,000 of my father’s money.” There’d be an awkward silence, I’d shrug and conversation would swiftly move on, but the memories would linger in my mind. (more…)

• This is Your Life On Consumer Debt by Growing Up…
• 10 Credit Card Practices That I Disapprove by Ask Mr Credit Card
• How to Close Credit Cards Without Affecting Your Credit Scores by Single Ma’s Fabulous Financials
• My Payment is Too High and I Can’t Make It by Searchlight Crusade
• Campaign Against Financial Myths: Part 5 - Credit Cards & Credit Score by Grad Money Matters
• How to Start Budgeting by Simple Pound
• 10 Ways to Save Money in Your Budget by Advanced Personal Finance

In case you haven’t discovered this handy tool, CNN Money’s Debt Reduction Planner helps you calculate how long it’d take to pay off your credit card based on paying the monthly minimum balance or a monthly fixed sum and the amount you actually pay upon completion including interest.

Based on a balance of $9,500.50 at 18.5% APR and paying only the 2% minimum balance, this was how long it’d take us to pay it back…
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There are many circumstances that can lead to debt. Some are conscious and necessary, such as student loans that act as a means to a better end with the premise that a good education is the a stepping stone to a well-paying job (unless you’re one of those tech mavens who dropped out of college and were just smarter than the rest of us).

Then there’s debt that occurs out of plain bad luck, bitter circumstances that made one wonder: why did it have to happen to me?

Frugal Babe was unfortunately one of the latter. Together with her husband, she explored different businesses to make a living. Her first, an insurance brokerage turned out to be a lemon and her second, a multimedia business saw her supplier nearly going belly up that left them with almost $18,000 worth of debt. Then an unexpected, but necessary dental procedure for her husband added another few thousand dollars. Forced to survive on credit cards they gradually found themselves stuck with close to $40,000 worth of debt.

But through careful saving and frugal living, they slowly paid it all back and made their monthly mortgage payments on time too! Now two years later, she is almost completely debt free with only the rest of the mortgage left to pay.

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After reading about Joel Maxwell’s success with Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover program, we wanted to hear from the man himself. In this interview, he tells us to use cash, ‘get intense’ and create an emergency fund.

Disclosure: We’re testing a new video publishing service called TheNewsRoom, which publishes news clips along with advertising.

Starting a successful business is the dream of many. Heck, it’s one of ours. What could be better than doing what you love and making a living out of it? Then we came across Joel Maxwell’s story. Joel’s dream was to set up a restaurant selling his secret recipe fried chicken. Hence in August 2005, The Lazy Susan was born. It seemed to be going well, he made $10,000 in the first weekend, the future was looking bright.

Less than 90 days later, everything came crashing down. Creditors were pounding at his door demanding money for equipment, furnishings and contractor’s fees. He owed $556,848.35, 53 creditors wanted his head and his beloved restaurant was forced to close barely three months after it opened.

Faced with the responsibility, Joel decided that he couldn’t let the debt monster overcome his life, it was time to be proactive and take charge of his finances. Since then, Joel has cleared $214,007.52 in just 18 months. 18 months! We were flabbergasted when we read that. Joel, you are the man!

Find out how he did it after the jump.

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We have a confession to make: Suze Orman scares the bejeezus out of us. Her voice, the way her face contorts into a million expressions, it feels like she’s right in our living room giving us a lecture on bad money management. But we have to admit that there’s some perverse pleasure in watching her show, especially when she invites a guest viewer to pour out his or her financial woes. It’s like watching a lion tearing into a bunny rabbit. It makes us want to bleat, “Just say you’ll stop using the credit cards, just say it!”

That’s why when we came across her book, The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke on Amazon, it took us some time to consider buying it. But despite her rather grating nature, we have to admit that Suze does dispense some excellent advice, and we like her brand of tough love. Her mantra is that life comes first and money second, but in a sensible manageable balance, so if your life philosophy falls in her line with her thinking, you should consider picking this up.

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We caught Michael Moore’s Sicko recently and enjoyed it thoroughly. At one point of the film, Moore interviews Tony Benn, a prominent British Labour politician during the 1970’s and 1980’s, on democracy which we found very intriguing.

Transcript after the jump.
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Over coffee yesterday, we realized that although reading about success stories is totally rewarding and motivational, it’s just not enough for those who want to learn about managing and getting out of debt. Education is everything when it comes to personal finance. So we decided that one of the goals for WBD this year is to gradually build up a knowledge base of debt management articles that will cover the A-Z of debt management. We want to empower folks who are planning to take that brave step towards financial freedom.

We already have lots of ideas, but we need your help. What would you like to read about?