I created a bucket list of 40 items to experience in my 40s. Blog posts are devoted to telling the stories of items I cross off my list. Follow along, be inspired, and make every moment count!
Something was different today, and it took me most of the day to figure out what.
It was usually around the 22nd of the month that payment on my line of credit was due. And this month - for the first time in years! - I had no payment to make! Woohoo! It was strange and wonderful, and weird but good - oh, so good!
The last few years of paying off my debt has been a L-O-N-G journey
and a hard journey. I am slightly ashamed to say that although I dug
this hole of debt all by myself, I really wanted (and was half hoping,
half expecting) someone else would get me out of it. Now that's mature
thinking, isn't it?
Once I finally decided this
was my mess to clean up and really leaned into it, I began to see my situation change. I am incredibly
pleased to say I finished paying off my debt in 19 months!
Was it easy?
Certainly not. Was it fun? Definitely not. Was it worth it? Oh yes!
I almost can't believe it! In two weeks - when I get paid at the end of this month - I will be debt free! It feels so good and so freeing to know my remaining debt total is under $1,000. There truly is light at the end of the tunnel! I can do this!
This last year and a half since I decided to push through and get rid of my debt has been challenging to say the least. I have fought, cried and wanted to give up so many times. My debt battle has taught me patience, perseverance, strength and endurance - all of which I thought I had (and maybe did), but I have grown stronger in each of these areas.
I encourage everyone to take charge of their future by dealing with their past, whether this means financially, emotionally, physically, etc. Having debt is living life in the past - you are paying for what you've already consumed or experienced - and saving is planning for the future. Using a car analogy, do you want to live your life looking through the rear-view mirror (debt) or looking through the windshield (saving and planning)? I choose the windshield. I hope you do too.
I got paid this morning and for the first time in far too long, I had more in my bank account than what I owed! It was only a $30 difference, but wow, what an encouragement to see that!
My debt-free journey is finally almost complete. Three more months should do it! Very soon I will be able to say, "I'm debt free!!!"
I was introduced to Dave Ramsey's principles to get out of debt in January 2018. To keep motivated while paying down my debt, I often watch his clips on YouTube. Lately, I've seen several videos about setting goals - it's that time of year, you know.
Ramsey recommends creating goals for each of the following seven areas: physical (health, exercise, weight, achievements), intellectual (read, study, learn something new), career, social, financial, family/relationship (one example I heard was about putting the phone away when the family is all together), and spiritual goals.
The next step is to make them SMART goals. When goals aren't specific or measurable, they are only wishes. Do you want goals or are you happy to wish your days and year away?
While not exactly as shown in the image below, I've heard SMART goals described this way:
S - specific
M - measurable
A - attainable
R - relevant
T - timely
The written component is very important too. When goals are not written down (or shared), how do you keep yourself accountable?
So, with all that said, here are my 2019 SMART goals in each of the seven categories:
Physical - lose 20 pounds this year; run a 5K
Intellectual - read at least one non-fiction book each month
Career - research one career or field of study that interests me per month
Social - meet with one friend per month that I haven't caught up with in far too long
Financial - be completely out of debt by the end of June (six more months!)
Family/relationship - TBD
Spiritual - TBD
I haven't come up with any specific or measurable goals for two of my categories, but I'm not going to let that hold up my post. I'll plan to do an update at some point this year - maybe then I'll have something to add to these outstanding categories.
Hi, my name is Jill and I have two lines of credit to pay off.
I had a balance on one of my lines of credit before I began my business, but when things didn't go as planned and I lost two key clients early on, I started relying on my other line of credit. Interest rates were low and everything was going to turn around, right? Wrong. I decided to go back to work full-time to get back on my feet, financially speaking.
But you know what happens when you haven't made much and then start making a lot of money? That's right, you spend it - like crazy! I look back on some of my decisions and just shake my head. There was absolutely no reason I couldn't have gotten out of debt while I was at the Court. My position was even extended, giving me yet another chance to make a dent. However, I bought what I wanted when I wanted and also took three trips in 20 months! Money in; money out. Oops.
Last fall, I got frustrated with my finances. I have always tracked my expenses, but when I really looked at my income and what I was spending, I couldn't believe that I was barely making it each and every month! I only had about $100-$200 of wiggle room per month, and more often than not, I was spending more than I made!
I started making cuts where I could. Here are some of the things I've changed:
I reduced my internet package.
I removed extra cable channels and packages.
I started growing my hair longer and stopped buying salon hair products.
I drained my other bank accounts.
I transferred as much as I could from the higher interest rate line of credit to the lower one.
I removed additional health coverage from my personal health insurance that I wasn't using.
None of these changes made a massive dent on its own, but when you add them all up and look at the savings over the last six months, I saved approximately $500! Another blessing was a friend of a friend who was a former mechanic that did some much-needed work on my car and saved me at least half the cost I would have paid at a shop. God helps those who help themselves, doesn't He?
Over the winter I took a finance class through my church that used Dave Ramsey's teaching called Life, Money, Legacy. It was a very eye-opening and incredibly challenging five-week series. Here's the first message:
Others in the class talked about larger items they could sell, but I had nothing like that. I've downsized multiple times over the last few years and really didn't have anything to get rid of that I hadn't already sold or given away. It was time to make a budget, revise the budget, stick to the budget and live within my means.
The first major idea I had to let go of was my plan to go on a 45th birthday trip in the spring of 2019. I really wanted to go to northern England for a couple of weeks. I even looked into volunteer options for room and board, but I just couldn't justify spending money I didn't have (and couldn't afford). I had to let go of that dream. There will be another time - when I can pay for it!
"The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender." - Proverbs 22:7
