Debtors Anonymous Information
This Web page contains information about Debtors Anonymous, a fellowship of persons desiring to avoid unsecured debt. We use the 12 steps and 12 traditions as adapted from Alcoholics Anonymous. This page is not connected in any way with Debtors Anonymous, the General Service Board of Debtors Anonymous, or any Debtors Anonymous meeting or service board, or any other organization, none of which are responsible for its contents.
What to do if you want to start to recover from debt
While this page is not official DA literature, it reflects the experience of a number of people who have successfully used the Debtors Anonymous program. DA has recently issued an "official" publication, Getting Started, which is available online by clicking here.
According to the Preamble of Debtors Anonymous, the only requirement for membership in DA is the desire to avoid unsecured debt. There is a slogan that many recovering debtors have found helpful in starting and continuing that recovery:
Don't debt, keep records, and go to meetings!
What does this mean?Don't debt?
Don't debt means don't incur any additional unsecured debt in any form. Examples of unsecured debt are:- Bank credit cards such as Master Card or Visa.
- Store credit cards.
- Travel cards such as American Express and Diner's Club -- you incur a debt when you use them even though the balance is due in a month.
- Personal loans or credit lines from banks (unless secured, such as a home mortgage or auto loan).
- Writing checks when there is no money in the account to cover them.
- Using overdraft protection on checking account if it involves a loan rather than a transfer from another account.
- Paying rent or utility bills after they are due.
- Borrowing money from friends or relatives.
- Student loans.
- Extending payments past the usual due date for personal services, such as home repairs, medical treatments, etc. once the services have been received.
- Unsecured loans for a business.
So, just for today, put down the credit cards, put the checkbook on the shelf if there is no money in the account, and don't incur any additional unsecured debt just for today. Tomorrow, resolve to do the same just for that day. We recovering debtors generally find that in the beginning we need to focus on the here and now, and we always remember that we have to work this program one day at a time.
Under some circumstances, secured debt is consistent with the principles of Debtors Anonymous. Examples are home mortgages and auto loans .However, it is generally a good idea not to incur secured debt right away if you are new to the DA program -- talk to others to make sure you can afford the payments, and that the purchase is really something you would value.
We know that this may seem like an impossible task -- not using debt.Many of us are so overwhelmed with debt that we don't see how we can live without more debt. Don't worry -- many of us didn't think we could either.We in DA have found that the answer to excessive debt is not more debt!The most important thing you need to do in starting to work the recovery program of Debtors Anonymous is to make the commitment to avoiding any form of unsecured debt. And this is true no matter why we have a debt problem -- whether it is from compulsive spending, chronic under earning, excessive student loans,business failures, or just plain vagueness, the recovery begins when we stop incurring additional unsecured debt.
Keep Records?
In Debtors Anonymous we maintain records of all of our income and expenses. The way most of us do this at first is to purchase an inexpensive pocket-sized notebook and record everything we spend, and the purpose of the expense. This can be done either immediately after we make a purchase or shortly thereafter if we can save a receipt. Later, perhaps once to three times a week, we transfer that information to some form of spreadsheet on a computer or manually on a ledger sheet. Some of us use special purpose software such as Quicken or Microsft Money, but this is not necessary (and Debtors Anonymous does not endorse any particular software). We classify our expenses by category. At the end of each month, we total up our expenses and income to have an accurate picture of our expenses and income. This information is used in working with other DA members in planning our future actions in accordance with the spiritualists of the program. We make use of these records in developing spending plans and action plans that would include retiring our debts.
You can use Microsoft Excel to see a couple of examples of spreadsheets used for record keeping and developing spending plans.
For many of us, record keeping. sounds like a real pain! But we find that it is critical to our recovery.
Go to meetings?
In Debtors Anonymous meetings we share our experience, strength, and hope with the purpose of helping each other to recover from debt. Meetings are located in most major cities in the U.S., and in many other countries as well. You can find out locations of DA meetings by calling the phone numbers that exist in many areas, or by writing the General Service Office. In rural areas, there aren't very many DA meetings. You might be able to find one and you can also start one on your own. There are also online DA groups. On-line meetings don't take the place of a live, face-to-face meeting, but have helped many recover from debt. DA members support each other in living life debt-free. We meet with each other members to discuss financial particulars (or non-financial particulars if they are making life hard!). We talk to each other via phone or Internet before making big decisions,and we do service to give to others what we have gained.
In Debtors Anonymous meetings, we learn about the other tools of DA and about the spiritual aspect of the program. In fact, the spiritual aspect IS the Debtors Anonymous program, adapted from the program of Alcoholics Anonymous. We read AA literature and practice the twelve steps, replacing "alcohol" with "debt."
"How It Works" and "Into Action" describe more fully the spiritual basis of our recovery.
If you have gotten this far, you may be ready to take the plunge. Good luck! There are a lot of us who have been there before you and we are prepared to help you along to the best of our abilities.
