A peek into Debtors Anonymous

Having been solvent in Debtors Anonymous for a cumulative total of nearly 25 years (solvent meaning not having incurred any new unsecured debt in any way, in any amount, for any reason), I can tell you that debt has to do strictly with money, with not paying for goods or services in full at the moment you receive them, with not paying bills by their due date, or with using unsecured credit in any other way.

It does *not* have to do with anything else. There is no such thing as "time debting," "personal care debting" or "dental and medical maintenance debting."

No more than there is any such thing as "time drinking," "personal care drinking" or "dental and medical maintenance drinking" for an alcoholic in AA.

Mismanaging time or neglecting to care take care of oneself may indeed be characteristics of some debtors, as they may be for some alcoholics, may be part of the *syndrome* of debting, as they may be of alcoholism, but they are most emphatically *not* debting or drinking.

Donna D. does a great disservice both to Debtors Anonymous and to the debtor who still suffers and who comes to the program looking for help by muddying and confusing the issue this way.

The beginning of wisdom, goes an old Chinese saying, is to call things by their right name.

DA's preamble clearly states: "Our primary purpose is to stop debting one day at a time and to help other compulsive debtors to stop incurring unsecured debt."

Failing to manage time properly or take care of oneself physically are not helpful things to do and may be common among active debtors, but they are *not* debting. The only way to debt is to borrow money, use unsecured credit, or fail to pay a bill by its due date - to end up owning more money today in unsecured debt, even if it's only a $1 more, than you did yesterday.

I wish for everyone who has or who has ever had any difficulty with unsecured debt a deep and abiding recovery.

Be well.

I am looking for a support group on the San Francisco Bay Area'

Working the steps in Debtors Anonymous is the only way to solvency. Most people (myself included) start out by recording numbers, having PRGs, using visions, etc. etc. But eventually if you stick with it you find that those sensible actions don't fix your debting problem. If you really are powerless over debting, then simply taking sensible steps that any financial counselor would recommend won't fix you for long.

Only by working the twelve steps of D.A. can lasting recovery be obtained. Money and abundance and good time management are not really what it's all about. Getting more money never solves a real debtor's troubles. Only a profound spiritual transformation can bring about serenity re: money and debting. Only by working the steps with a sponsor (and passing it on to others) can we get that transformation. I've seen this in myself and in others over the last two decades.

Also, it really helps to follow the traditions, including maintaining anonymity at the level of press, radio etc. This is not about being 'good', it is about taking care of one's spiritual progress, about humility. Just saying.

Jerry.

This is something that I find comes up often, and I respectfully disagree with you to a point.

Yes, DA is about "Our primary purpose is to stop debting one day at a time and to help other compulsive debtors to stop incurring unsecured debt," and you or I or anyone else can choose to focus on that and not include other areas (time debting, self care debting, etc.)

However, I recognize that I do these "extra" things and they lead, directly or indirectly, to my debting. Would I discuss all of these in a DA meeting? Likely not because a DA meeting focuses on not debting.

I find it's like going to the Dr. or the pharmacist when you have a cold. You would ask for cold medicine, focusing on the cold itself and not the coughing, sneezing, stuffy head, runny eyes, etc. I would be looking at medicine for coughing, medicine for sneezing, medicine for stuffy head, medicine for runny eyes, matching the symptoms to the cold medicine instead of the other way around.

Thank you,
Theresa

lOOKING FOR A DEBT SUPPORT GROUP IN lONG ISLAND OR QUEENS NEW YORK AREA

I have been solvent in D.A. a little over 3 three years now, and I completely agree with Jerry M. More so than even keeping numbers, the number one thing that a debtor must stop doing is debting. 1st Step: We admitted were were powerless over debt and that our lives had become unmanageable. What do you call someone who is powerless over debt? A debtor! All this time management, self-deprivation, etc. stuff does seem to work itself out, or it has in my case, but it's all come from a foundation of not incurring any new unsecured debt, one day at a time. Underearning? Go inventory your closet or your basement or your garage or your storage unit. We have so much we debtors don't see. It's not about poverty, but about a sense of impoverishment that no amount of money will cure. Gratitude is the antidote for underearning, not more, more, more. Because if your answer is more, there never is enough.