Saints win the Superbowl!!!!!

And I paid off another bill!!!!!

To be technical, I already posted my debt balance with the bill paid early in the month. However, the check has cleared, (or the online bill pay system has finally hit my account) so it is official!

These two bills I have paid off are "minimal" to my overall debt load... each being under $250. But they certainly did not start off at that amount.

When I lost my job, debt snowballing kinda came to a standstill for me. I was fearful of not making enough money to pay even the minimums, so I was paying the minimums and holding onto the extra cash I had each month in case the income the following month wasn't enough.

In November, I decided to put an extra $200 a month towards one of the debts. Was it as high as I could have snowballed? NO. But it was as high as I was willing to go with my always changing monthly income.

So, although I still have a long way to go, these two victories are sweet.

But nothing is sweeter this week than the New Orleans Saints winning the Superbowl!

Being born and raised in New Orleans, being a Saints fan was not even a question. Of course I am a Saints fan. Year after year... with some good seasons and a lot of bad seasons, I still rooted for my team no matter what. There was still a belief that THIS year, (year after year after year) was the year that everything would come together.

Well, THIS YEAR IT DID!

And perhaps I am seeing more into it than simply a football team winning a championship.

I am seeing, and witnessing, first hand that with a game plan, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.

Head Coach Sean Payton said in an interview that when he came to the Saints organization, he had a four year plan to get to the Superbowl. And that they were right on track.

It didn't matter that for 38 years the team had stumbled. What mattered was that he envisioned a brighter path for the organization, and went about making changes to make it happen.

With patience and discipline and, let's face it, some gutsy play-calls, the entire team has shown that you CAN do it.

With a team filled with a lot much like the Land of Misfit Toys - tons a free agents that no one wanted - players coming off of injuries that should have never played again - players that were shunned by other organizations - the Saints focused on what they COULD do and do WELL.

It doesn't matter that in my financial past I have stumbled. What matters is that with a game plan that focuses on the things I CAN do - things that I CAN control - I, too, can arrive on top.

I can persevere. I can overcome my own obstacles. It may take time, dedication, discipline and sacrifice (even head coach Payton took a paycut so he could get the Defensive Coordinator he wanted) I can become debt free.

Perhaps that is as far from football as you can get. But the Saints have shown the world a very important lesson that we can all take and shape to fit our own circumstances.

For now, I will enjoy my city's celebration of being "Champions". All while I work and strive to become victorious over my seemingly defeated past financial blunders to become my own "Super Financial" Champion.