A 12 Step Program for Those With Spending and Debt Troubles

Even with all of the advice and information available to help people break their overspending habits, for some, this desire to spend and rack up insurmountable debt becomes a serious problem that overtakes other aspects of their lives. As with any addiction, this can negatively affect your performance at work, quality of life, and relationships with family and friends.

Debtors Anonymous

Modeled after the 12-step Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) program, Debtors Anonymous is a nonprofit organization that provides support through group meetings for people who are trying to break their compulsive spending habits and debt accumulation.

Debtors Anonymous works with everyone, and there is no cost or obligation to attend a meeting. The only requirement is that you have a desire to stop accumulating debt through uncontrollable spending.

The 12 Steps

1. We admitted we were powerless over debt--that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to compulsive debtors, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Find or Start a Meeting

Debtors Anonymous currently has many established groups and regular meetings across the country, so your best bet is to see if there is a group in your area. Debtors Anonymous has a detailed list of active groups complete with locations, phone numbers, and websites.

If you don't have a Debtors Anonymous group in your area, you might consider starting your own. They have starter kits, literature, and suggested meeting formats to help you put together a successful meeting.

Contact Debtors Anonymous

For more information about their program, meeting locations, or other sources of assistance, you can contact Debtors Anonymous at:

Debtors Anonymous
General Service Office
PO Box 920888
Needham, MA 02492-0009
781-453-2743
781-453-2745 (FAX)
www.debtorsanonymous.org

Michael Carter, Realtor Greenville, SC www.beachboyrealestate.com