According to The Total Money Makeover, the first step is to make a budget and stick with it. Man I have never been happier to start pinching pennies. It feels nice that we are choosing to be cheap rather than having to be cheap because we can't afford anything. the next step is to get a 1k emergency fund. Check :-) now that feels good, and I have no desire to touch that money. Since the decision was made to get out of debt, I have been planning and making calls and writing lists and rewriting lists and coming up with plans of attack. We listed our debts smallest to largest and man it wasn't pretty. The final calculation was over 50k in debt including the one car we do still owe on. I knew to get motivated and to stay at it we would have to pay off several of the smaller debts at once to feel like we actually accomplished something. We bought a 3 paneled display board and wrote down the steps outlined in Dave Ramsey's book and used the large center panal to list our debts in order of payoff. Thanks to careful planning and Uncle Sam, we were able to pay off 11 items in full. This will give us over $500 each month to apply towards the next debt. I also have my little boutique Tuu Tuu Cute which will bring in a little money as well. Adam is lining up side jobs and we are finding things every day that we don't use that could be posted on craigslist. I have become a mad woman again, and the bills bag is back out. I don't care if i'm the bag lady, ill also be the lady who has no debt and can afford to focus on my own business, stay home with my children and have another baby as well as a fully funded savings account, and my children's college education paid for. Since we no longer have the $570 car payment, and I am saving at least $400/month working closer to home, and now I'll add $500/month from paying off these first debts. We will be out of debt in no time. With the new budget we will be able to live off of adams paycheck and my checks can go directly to debt. Now I have to admit that I'm on a little high from being able to pay off so many of the little items, so now we will start to attack the larger debts, but it won't be the immediate statisfaction of paying off a $200 in full. One debt may take several months to pay off until we get to the next one, so this may be where it gets to be not so fun and seem like there's no end in site. These are the moments I will have to find my own motivation, and I think being stuck in a cube all day will make it easy to find this kick in the pants.
When I go on a diet, I usually try to motivate myself by saying, when i lose 5lbs, I'll buy myself a new shirt, when I lose 15, ill buy a pair of new shoes. This type of motivation usually doesn't work so well because ill lose that 5lbs go by myself a new shirt then next month im buying another new shirt because i have gained and lost that same 5lbs. Why should I reward myself for reaching only part of the goal. If I have 20lbs to lose, why should i reward myself at 5? I should reward myself when I reach 20lbs and have kept it off for a few months. Same goes with paying of debt. Oh when I pay off 5 things we will be rewarded with a weekend in San Antonio. Ok we go to San Antonio, spend too much money that could have been going towards debt then break out a credit card that has already been paid down or off to live on. Isn't that just dumb? Seriously we could have stayed our butts at home, use that money to pay down more debt kept the paid off cards paid off and enjoy a nice week long vacation somewhere when we have no debts and have all the cash to do it. Man, what a smart idea ;-)
Sounds like you are doing great! It sounds like this change will also make you think about more creative, memorable ways to spend time with family. Pick-nicks instead of going out for dinner, trips to the part instead of shows or exhibits you have to pay for :) You're going to do great, girl!
ReplyDeleteThank you Shelli :-) The grandparents are on their way to pick up the kids for the day, so adam and I have a date day, first one in forever, a little ironic since it's not in our budget
ReplyDeleteSounds like you're making great progress. Keep it up. "Date" days/nights don't have to be expensive. As the weather gets warmer, you can pack a picnic lunch and go for a walk in the park; or rent a movie from Redbox, microwave some popcorn and watch a movie or two. You'll find some things to do. And it's okay to "reward" yourself every once in awhile, just so long as it's in the budget. "Date" night is very important to every relationship. So maybe in March you stay home and watch movies, but in April you budget in a dinner out. (Preferably some place that doesn't sell chicken nuggets! ;))
ReplyDeleteKeep up the great work. You're doing awesome!
Thank you. I really appreciate the advice. I know date nights are important especially since it has never really been just Adam and I, we have always had the kids. Now as we past the 5 year mark the dynamic of our relationship is changing so it is nice to enjoy the grown up us.
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