He's paying off their debt, she's adding to it

The headline on JW's post at We Need To Be Debt Free says it all: "What's the use?" He's been working hard to aggressively pay off about $41,000 in non-mortgage debt, and then his wife revealed at a marriage-counseling session that she's been hiding -- and using -- two credit cards.

"When she mentioned it, I felt completely broadsided. It was like being run over by a truck," he wrote. The damage to his debt-reduction plans? Just over $4,300.

Goodness knows they aren't the first couple to deal with this problem. What makes JW's posts on this subject and so many others so compelling is the detail he shares about his debt-reduction plan and how the sacrifices it requires has affected family life. For instance, his teenage kids have been unhappy and threatened to move out.

• Bing: Start a debt-reduction plan

Of course, we kept reading JW's blog to see how the latest family crisis was resolved. After his initial anger, JW and his wife sat down and talked things out. She used the cards to help her disabled sister and also spent money during a trip to visit one of their sons, who was recently diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after his last tour of duty.

JW added that "it appears that I haven't been as open or attentive to her needs as I probably should have been, which make me partially the blame for what occurred."

Here's the offshoot:

• She will no longer use the cards.

• She will get a part-time evening job, in addition to her day job, after agreeing to pay off the debt.

• Their planned vacation to Alabama next summer has been postponed for a year.

• Her monthly "blow money" has been cut in half, to $80.

• With that problem behind them, they're now focusing on JW's health problems, including his need for a more healthy, but still affordable, diet.