Please get out of debt!

I have been asked many, many times why paying off our house was so important to us. People told me all the time that I needed to relax and live and enjoy life.  Trust me, we enjoyed life. In the five years it took us to pay off our house, we did a family trip to Disney World and put in a pool.  But guess what? We found other ways to have fun. Fun that cost money went into the monthly budget. And we put every penny extra on our house.  Now, the things we are planning to do amaze us. Friends, the hard work really does pay off.
Today I noticed a few things that validate our beliefs that paying off debt is very important.
BMO Master card sent out a letter today that interest rates are increasing if two months in a row of minimum payments are missed.  You may think that it won't affect you, but making charges on your credit card that you know you can't pay off for a while is a dangerous slippery slope.
Bank of Canada is increasing their interest rates this week, according to an article on Yahoo today.  1/3 of Canadians may not be able to make their monthly minimum  payments and debt reduction. The link is here for a good read.  15 years ago, this was us. I graduated with massive university debt, leased a car, and didn't land the job I went to university for for a few years.
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/canada-debt-survey-third-canadians-131500350.html
On my walk today, 5 minutes from my house, a house had a new sign on the window, Mortgage Foreclosure.  4 streets away there are 2 houses on one street with the same sign.  Mortgage rates are on the rise.
I know that getting out of debt isn't fun. Trust me, I know. It is boring, and there is absolutely no glamour in it.  But I want all of you to know that it is worth it. Don't think of it as overwhelming, it is, that's reality.
Write down all your debts. Make minimum payments on all of them but the smallest. Put all your extra money on it, and knock it out fast and move on to the next debt. This is Dave Ramsey's snowball method.
I repeat, this isn't glamorous. Your friends aren't going to be wanting to hear all your Guess Who's Cheap tricks. 1/3 of Canadians are close to big financial trouble. That's 3 of your 10 friends.  I care about my friends, and I know you do too.
Let's change the stats. Still have fun, take a trip, buy a sweater, JUST STICK IT IN YOUR MONTHLY BUDGET.
PS I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!  AFTER I HIT POST, MY BANK JUST CALLED ME TO OFFER ME A LINE OF CREDIT