Commitment made to be Debt Free – CHECK
Debt Freedom Plan – CHECK
Family on Board with Plan – CHECK
Workable Budget – CHECK
Bad Habits with Money Changed – CHECK
Preparation for Unexpected Expenses – CHECK
Patience for the time it takes to Pay off the Debt – FAIL
I see the light! And I want to run towards it, out of this debt tunnel. But for now, it’s just a waiting game.
The debt that seemed overwhelming in the beginning, has now progressed to an annoyance . It’s the stain of our past poor financial choices. The scarlet-letter “D” that sits there as we wait for the paycheck to put another chunk towards paying it down. We get the paycheck, we pay the bills and then we wait, and wait, for the next paycheck to roll around. And the cycle continues…
In the meantime we continue to do the right things, we stick to the budget and we forgo impulse buys. What else is there to do when you’re saddled with debt?
Perhaps I’m being a tad overconfident but we just had a month where: one of our animals required a vet visit, there were three family birthdays (gifts), one christening (gift) and the TV Broke. We made it through without resorting to credit card use, because we were prepared.
I feel invincible and impatient. That scarlet “D” is still hanging around as a reminder of the past, but it is no longer representative of how we handle our money.
Our “reasons” for being in debt seem so pitiful now that I hesitate to even write them. I can see, only in retrospect, they were the root of all our debt:
1) We really didn’t care.
2) We took the easy (irresponsible) way out of everything.
It was that simple. All of the excuses that go along with those “reasons” are just that, excuses. So the “D“, while annoying is rightfully deserved.
I take being debt free very seriously, but it is hard to keep solemnly caring about it. We made financial mistakes, we rectified them, we are making slow and steady progress. Wake me up when we get there.
Our dreams, like travel (paid for with cash), seem attainable. I look forward to that time, while I begrudgingly wait patiently for that day to arrive.
To those just starting to get out of your money mess, it does get easier, in fact in gets downright BORING. (But in a totally good way.)
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April 6, 2010 at 1:49 pm
It does take time whether you’re paying down debt or saving for the future. I would like to have no debt at all but the mortgage is there & all we can do now is to pay it off a bit at a time and look forward to the day when it’s fully paid off. I suppose it is boring when you think of it that way but when you have the plan in motion, like what you have, you just have to be patient. Focus your energy on other things… =)
April 6, 2010 at 3:13 pm
Sounds like you need to GET MORE INCOME!!! The only way to bust the boredom trap is to make more money to get that snowball rolling even quicker. I know you are worried about the “family time” but you guys need to just do it. Paying the bills and sitting around watching TV will only last so long and it sounds like you are at that point. Get out a piece of paper and write down how long it will take to get out of debt without doing anything. Now add $1,000 extra per month and see how long it will take you. Make a pact with your man that you guys will be out of debt by such and such date and do it. You WILL find the time to be together. I give up sleep to make it work for me. Of course I’ll detail it out in a post, but for now just figure out the difference it will make in time to debt freedom. It’s a huge difference. Then suck it up at do it
Your debt buddy Jeff
April 6, 2010 at 4:32 pm
I’m glad you made it through the month without falling back on credit cards — great job! I’m with Jeff on the extra income. It will make the debt disappear even faster. I’ve taken on freelance writing to help us knock it out faster.
April 6, 2010 at 4:50 pm
We haven’t chosen to boost our income. We’ve chosen to live our life with balance and spend the time with our kids that we will never get back. Our student loans are at 2.5% though and we aren’t dealing with any crushing interest rates. But I don’t jump on the bandwagon that you have to give up everything on your journey.
April 6, 2010 at 7:04 pm
Sounds like you are doing a great job so far!
I like the tunnel analogy!
I don’t know if this really applies, but we use financial milestones. Once we got past certain milestones, we would celebrate in some way (usually going out to your favorite restaurants)… The only problem with the milestones approach is that it slows you down that much more…
Kudos to you for sticking it out!!!
April 6, 2010 at 10:45 pm
The good news is you’ve got your head screwed with good intention, excellent strategy and motivation. You know that you will get rid of your “D” demon sooner or later. You do and you will.
The better news is you don’t need to carry that “D” demon around with you. Why do you need to remind yourself of that? The “D” will be there standing in the form of debt bill/statement; leave it there.
Like Jeff said, it’s a great idea to focus on other things such as making more money or enjoying your kids (before they acknowledge the “magic power” of mobile phones or branded clothes
teens are teens everywhere).
Pre-congratulations on your debt free life
April 7, 2010 at 3:39 pm
Congrats on keeping the credit cards on ice through a challenging month! Sounds like you lived at my house!
You’re sure right about it being boring. You took the time to make a solid plan, you’ve projected your payments and your debt-free date, now it’s just a matter of working the plan. After three months of it, you’ve got quite good at it, now it’s routine.
Maybe that’s the message for those who haven’t lined up at the starting gate of the debt retirement race – the work is front-end loaded. Make a budget, make it a good one, revise, revisit and just keep chugging away. After that hard work, the rest is simple – just stick to the plan and the numbers will go down and up as planned.
Do you think when we’re debt free that watching our savings grow will be as dull?
April 8, 2010 at 10:47 am
I love the Scarlet D reference. It fits too–not because you’re a social outcast, but it’s that lasting feeling of indebtedness and ‘paying for your sins.’ I definitely felt that way when I was in debt. Nice analogy.
It does get easier–you’re right. It becomes a no-brainer. What’s really interesting is to see how you keep improving. Your first step might be learning to live through a challenging month without resorting to credit cards, but you may find yourself taking steps years from now that will surprise you.
PS–I wholeheartedly agree with your decision to spend time with your kids–that time cannot be replaced.
April 11, 2010 at 10:23 am
[...] The Scarlet D (Stay At Home Mom, CFO) [...]
April 13, 2010 at 8:53 am
Thanks for the information. My husband told me about this the other day, our mower is included in the same lawsuit!
So far, no problems though.