Still Deep in Debt - We had to Charge it - Life Couldn't Wait

We didn’t want to charge anything… but this week, life didn’t give us a choice.
Still deep in debt, trying to budget every dollar — and suddenly we’re facing birthday promises, dental emergencies, Easter, and a household running on empty.

We planned. We cut back. We tried.
But in the end… we had to charge it.

In this video:

The impossible $1,500 list I made

What we spent in cash (and what we didn’t)

The emotional decision behind what we prioritized

And the surprise at the end of the week that gave us a small win - you may have this surprise too!

If you’ve ever had to spend money you didn’t really have — you’re not alone.
I post weekly budget updates from a real mom trying to get out of debt in a broken system, without losing her mind or her heart.

💬 Let me know in the comments — what would you have done this week?
📅 Subscribe for weekly updates — next video drops this weekend.

[SearchingforCalmChannel]

I know not everyone would agree with our spending this week — and that’s okay.
We’re just doing our best to care for our kids, stay afloat, and make thoughtful decisions in a world that doesn’t always make it easy.

[SherryBudgets]

This is very interesting. Not something I would do but it’s your money and your debt so that’s your decision! I do think a lot of people will overspend and take on debt due to fear, but I have more fear of my actual current debt than I do of what may or may not happen months from now. I personally refuse to go into more debt right now. Thanks for sharing your experience!

[Pamcatmom]

Totally get this. Something always seems to happen when you are trying to get ahead.

[EileenVillar]

Happy Birthday to your daughter! Keep working hard. You got this. I agree. Showing up is the first and most important step.

[Lesh]

I feel you, when you have plans to put money on debt, and instead it goes to expenses. We ended 2022 debt free and were building back up our emergency fund after back-to-back car repairs and home repairs. In 2023 we had to buy two vehicles, within 4 months of each other. Because both of our paid for vehicles had died, and all our cash was used on medical bills. Two unexpected surgeries, one being dental, so it didn't count under our medical deductible. Then in 2024 we thought we'd pay down our two car loans, unfortunately that money went to repairs on the vehicles and new tires. Sadly, one blew its engine (only 76, 000 miles and loan of $11, 500). We opted for the cheapest route of buying a "cash car". This year we again, wanted to chuck money down on the car loans. And wouldn't you know our patio door is rotted and bowing. So now we will be saving money for that. But we paid off the loan for the "cash car" in February! Had we not had all these bumps in the road we would've had the paper weight vehicle paid for. I so wish we were sitting at only $10, 000 owed on one vehicle and the other paid for. Instead, we are sitting at $25, 250 with $9, 940 of that on a vehicle we can't drive. We have also had our mortgage increase, and our electric bill's budget plan discontinued. We have $600 balance pay up on top of our bill next month. I had to laugh because of course that would happen after we had two of the coldest months we ever had since 2020. Which I'm sure our drafty patio door and bay window didn't help with that. 😂I just wake up thankful that we can pay our bills and that it happened to us. After all the repairs on the two "new to us" vehicles we had considered selling them. Had I known we would continue to have issues I wished we had sold them, the loss would've been less. But then who knows who would've been stuck with a blown engine. I couldn't imagine if we had sold the car, that blew its engine, and someone who didn't have the means to replace it had bought it.

[brandiwasek]

One simple savings would be to cancel your pest control. You can buy the spray solution from Home Depot and do it yourself. It's a very similar solution for a fraction of the cost. Also, I'm a firm believer having emergency savings isn't more beneficial than carrying debt. I'd use that 3k to pay for the stock pile and your husband's surgery. You are quick to be okay putting items on debt (which most people are too). I think you have to get out of that mindset if you really ever want to get out of consumer debt longterm. Good luck.

[vickylichty]

Next time you are looking for paint, go to the mistake area at the store. You can sometimes get a gallon of paint super cheap. It may not be exactly your color, but close.

[budgetforwithstephanie]

I've been checking daily for a balance transfer offer lol ty for sharing.

[StillWatersSleep-cs]

What a great surprise! I will have to check to see if I have one too!

[michelle-estateoforder]

Could you have reduced some of the cc payments (assuming you typically pay more than the minimum) to pay for the birthday and Easter out of pocket? Also, you know that Easter and birthday would be coming in March. Did you budget for it? Did you use the card after you knew about the 0% transfer offers? Is that why you made the conscious decision to add to the card instead of cash flowing those expenses?