Weapons Of A Debt Assassin

To celebrate the blogs thousandth visitor I decided to show some of the tools I use to assassinate debt.

Google Docs

This is probably one of the best web based applications ever invented.  You can do word type documents, spreadsheets, drawings, and presentations and it is all free.  This is where I keep my budget and you can access it as well.  Just be sure you open your own account and copy and paste it there.  The best part is you don't have to install anything and don't need any software.  All you need is your internet browser.

PerkStreet


PerkStreet is an online bank that pays you up to 2% cash back on all your debit purchases.  PerkStreet even offers you 5% on some purchases depending on the vendor.  PerkStreet offers  you everything a big bank would offer except they are online and they actually give you money.  I got fed up with large traditional banks and all the fees they charge for me to use my money.  It is a hassle to change banks, and that is what most big banks count on so you won't move, but you must vote with your feet in order to change things.  PerkStreet made that change easy for me but look around first and find a bank that is right for you.

Mint

Mint is an online financial tracking software.  I like mint for its simplicity in set up.  You simply type in your bank info, investment accounts, and the finanical software starts catagorizing everything for you.  It really gives a great look at all your spending in some great graphic formats.  The drawback to Mint is that the info is not up to date that it pulls from your account.  The information lags about a day.  I use Mint mainly as a look back into previous months to see how my spending and savings are trending.

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) Reader

I have spoken about the use of this tool before and it does take some time to setup but once you do it is a great time saver and helps to block out noise to achieve your goals.  The RSS Readers enable you to pick the information that is useful to accomplishing your goals instead of digging through multiple articles for it.  Think of it as having the food (good information) that is useful to you delivered fresh instead of having to rummage through the entire garbage can (main stream media) trying to find a useful morsel.  I use the Google Reader but there are hundreds of good readers out there on the market that will keep you focused on the things that are important to your goals.

The Bible

This is the most important tool for me in killing debt and also doing anything in my life.  Without the Bible this blog would not exist and I would not be writing to you at all.  I would still be struggling with my financial health, living for myself instead of for God and celebrating Christ dying on the cross for my sins.