That trend is seemingly reversing now, and we want to get rid of the interest-only second mortgage and get everything locked into a fixed-rate loan.  As my wife and I pulled into the bank parking lot, she asked me a very valid question:  Can we even refinance while enrolled in a debt consolidation program?

Let me rephrase that:  2014 is most definitely going to be a spectacular year.  2014 is the year that we finish our debt consolidation program.

Knowing that money was tight, I would just plug my ears, close my eyes and hope that it would go away.  Have you ever not updated your checkbook register for such a long time that you just turn the page, write down the current balance and start over?

Here are 3 of the best reasons to stick with your debt reduction plan.

As the tears start rolling down my face, it is hard to read what I am writing. Maybe that is a good thing.

Instead of cutting things, I try to find a way to come up with extra cash.

Here are seven unsatisfying but necessary travel expenses you need to budget or account for when planning your next trip.

As I look back at the last four and a half years, I was able to break down my debt consolidation experience into four different and distinct time periods and the feelings that came with them.

Her basic attitude has been that I am a killjoy, and she seems to think I overstate how hard it is to live on a tight budget. Since she spends so much time with us it has created some struggles. Well . . . let's face it: we have had some fights.

When you invest in yourself, you are likely to see solid returns that continue to reward you over time. When you invest in yourself, you can not only improve your outlook on life, but you can even improve your earning power.

I kept hoping that the next salary increase would finally be the one which caused our income to outpace our spending, and allowed us to start paying off our debt.  But our lifestyle inflation along with growing credit card payments grew just as fast as our income.

Have you ever shopped at a bakery thrift store?  If not, you are missing a wonderful opportunity to get the same bread, rolls and sweets as you buy at the grocery store for dramatically reduced prices. 

Here are 11 creative ways to hustle some extra cash and clean house at the same time.

I am taking a look at my 2013 budget and seeing which months my budget worked out great, and which months I didn't meet my budget.  

Finally I turned around to see what she was doing.  On her lap were two calendars that she was writing information into.  It then occurred to me that we often have two very different ways to looking at a situation. 

There is no being thankful for your bike or hopeful that you will get a video game for Christmas. During those eight days these things are on our minds. What are we really thankful for? What do we really hope for? It naturally becomes part of conversations.

Why do our budgets get out of whack during the holiday season - despite our best efforts? Most of the time it's not buying gifts that throws everything off kilter; it's...everything else.

I couldn't help but thing about my get out of debt journey and the things my family and I have had to do to successfully make it this far in our debt consolidation plan. 

I know that I wanted my children, family, and friends to know how much they meant to me. Back then, that meant spending money I did not have on gifts for them that I could not afford. What a show of love right?

We're going to explore five creative ways to earn extra money online - regardless of your expertise.

She she wanted to watch the movie Elf with her friends, but she also wanted to include an activity, and asked for help coming up with ideas. We thought about it for a little while and came up with the perfect holiday activity.

With no credit cards, no savings, and our mountain of bills, if we pay for this we will not have money for a tree or stockings. We just won't. We do not have to like the facts to accept them. 

Now I can not only afford a trip like this, with the proper amount of planning of course...I can enjoy it knowing that I paid for the trip in advance!

Some people (like my wife) live to host such gatherings, and some are happy to step aside and let someone else do it.  But I think everyone can on some level agree that being the host is at least a little bit stressful. 

It has been a tough year for us financially. I have been worried about Christmas shopping for months. It has just been this huge cloud over my head. It has always been a challenge, but this year is the worst.