12 Tools & 12 Promises

The Twelve Tools of Debtors Anonymous

Recovery from compulsive debting begins when we stop incurring new, unsecured debt, one day at a time. (Unsecured debt is any debt that is not backed up by some form of collateral, such as a house or other asset.) We attain a daily reprieve from compulsive debting by practising the Twelve Steps and by using the following Tools.

1. Meetings

We attend meetings at which we share our experience, strength, and hope with one another. Unless we give to newcomers what we have received from DA, we cannot keep it ourselves.

2. Record Maintenance

We maintain records of our daily income and expenses, of our savings, and of the retirement of any portions of our outstanding debts.

3. Sponsorship

We have found it essential to our recovery to have a sponsor and to be a sponsor. A sponsor is a recovering debtor who guides us through the Twelve Steps and shares their own experience, strength, and recovery.

4. Pressure Relief Groups and Pressure Relief Meetings

After we have gained some familiarity with the DA program, we organize Pressure Relief Groups consisting of ourselves and two other recovering debtors who have not incurred unsecured debt for at least 90 days and who usually have more experience in the program. The group meets in a series of Pressure Relief Meetings to review our financial situation. These meetings typically result in the formulation of a spending plan and an action plan.

5. Spending Plan

The spending plan puts our needs first and gives us clarity and balance to live within our means. It includes categories for income, spending, debt payment, and savings. The income category helps us determine our resources and focus on increasing our income, if needed. The debt payment category guides us in making realistic payment arrangements without depriving ourselves. The savings category helps us build cash reserves, however humble, and can include savings for a prudent reserve, retirement and special purchases.

6. Action Plan

With the help of our Pressure Relief Group, we develop a list of specific actions for resolving our debts, improving our financial situation, and achieving our goals without incurring unsecured debt.

7. The Telephone and the Internet

We maintain frequent contact with other DA members by using the telephone, email, and other forms of communication. We make a point of talking to other DA members before and after taking difficult steps in our recovery.

8. DA and AA Literature

We study the literature of Debtors Anonymous and of Alcoholics Anonymous to strengthen our understanding of compulsive disease and of recovery from compulsive debting.

9. Awareness

We maintain awareness of the danger of compulsive debt by taking note of bank, loan company, and credit card advertising and their effects on us. We also remain aware of our personal finances in order to avoid vagueness, which can lead to compulsive debting or spending.

10. Business Meetings

We attend business meetings that are held monthly. Many of us have long harboured feelings that ‘business’ was not a part of our lives but for others more qualified. Yet participation in running our own program teaches us how our organisation operates, and also helps us to become responsible for our own recovery.

11. Service

We perform service at every level: personal, meeting, Intergroup, and World Service. Service is vital to our recovery. Only through service can we give to others what so generously has been given to us.

12. Anonymity

We practice anonymity, which allows us freedom of expression by assuring us that what we say at meetings or to other DA members at any time will not be repeated.

The Twelve Promises of Debtors Anonymous

In the program of Debtors Anonymous, we come together to share our journey in recovering from compulsive debting. There is hope. In working DA’s Twelve Steps, we have developed new ways of living. When we work DA’s Twelve Steps and use DA’s Tools, we begin to receive these gifts of the program:

1. Where once we felt despair, we will experience a newfound hope.

2. Clarity will replace vagueness. Confidence and intuition will replace confusion and chaos. We will live engaged lives, make decisions that best meet our needs, and become the people we were meant to be.

3. We will live within our means, yet our means will not define us.

4. We will begin to live a prosperous life, unencumbered by fear, worry, resentment or debt.

5. We will realise that we are enough; we will value ourselves and our contributions.

6. Isolation will give way to fellowship; faith will replace fear.

7. We will recognise that there is enough; our resources will be generous and we will share them with others and with DA.

8. We will cease to compare ourselves to others; jealousy and envy will fade.

9. Acceptance and gratitude will replace regret, self-pity and longing.

10. We will no longer fear the truth; we will move from hiding in denial to living in reality.

11. Honesty will guide our actions towards a rich life filled with meaning and purpose.

12. We will recognise a power greater than ourselves as the source of our abundance. We will ask for help and guidance and have faith that they will come.

All this and more is possible. When we work this program with integrity and to the best of our ability, one day at a time, a life of prosperity and serenity will be ours.