A few months ago I read The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. In case you have not read it and/or do not plan to: the book provides common sense strategies to get out of debt and remain debt free. I’m not in financial despair. But you never know when you will wake up and find yourself sleeping in your car.
Shortly after reading the book I read Jeff Atwood’s article on technical debt. Finally I had a way to tell my boss why I cringe every time someone wants to add or tweak something. Finally there was a way that everybody can relate to. She understood completely. Of course the first question was How? A light burst in my head. In great excitement I went over Dave’s plan.
Dave’s method is fairly simple in theory. You list all your debt. Things that are due now go on top. Under these items you list your debt from the least to the most money you owe. Once you have your list you start with #1. The other items you pay your minimum. #1 gets every extra cent you can pinch out. Sale the lawnmower if you have to. Once #1 is paid off you take that payment and add it to the minimum payment for #2. You keep collapsing the list in this manner until you are debt free. The most important thing is that you do not acquire additional debt through this process. The reason you list your debt from least owed to most is the belief that you will accomplish one goal, get excited, and continue on accomplishing these goals.
This is perfect for the technical debt I have. Using Covey’s quadrants I can prioritize my debt to find what has to be paid today. Next in line will be the 10-minute fixes followed by the 16-hour fixes and so on. Once my list is complete I can work to remain debt free.
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