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November 29, 2015 · Leave a Comment

Our Journey to Becoming Debt Free

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Debt Free· Life

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Becoming-Debt-Free

Google tells me that the average credit card debt is nearly $15,200, and an average student loan debt of $116,000 {at a cost of $29,000 per year over four years}.  That’s a lot of debt for one person!  Sadly, I am no exception.

There was a time I was putting fuel and school related purchases on my credit card left and right assuming the money would come from “somewhere” to cover it later.  Later being the same time I would be able to pay off my student loans.

Anyone see the problem there?  If not, it’s okay.  I didn’t see it at first either.  While my credit card balance is under half of the national average, there is still a problem with the mentality of using borrowed, non-existent money.  I knew the money would need to be paid back, but the “when” to being debt free was never forefront in my mind while I was working hard to finish college.

The moment it clicked…

It wasn’t until I had been on the job/career search for well over a year with no such luck.  It wasn’t long after we had gotten our estimate on Bookworm’s orthodontic work either.  But this particular day I was waiting at Bookworm’s elementary school with Monkey and Lady Bug in tow.  While we were waiting, I was listening to the laments of a friend when that something finally clicked.

They had been trying to selling their home for a few months while trying to buy another house at the same time.  Her husband was offered a new job 17 hours away with the potential for more income and better insurance coverage.  She talked about how their credit cards were near maxed out, as she talked about how stressful it was to deal with the selling/buying aspect while they were packing for their latest vacation.  She went on some more that she, similar to me, couldn’t find a job in her degree field.

Hindsight is always better when it’s someone else’s problem and not your own.  Listening to her helped me realize how much I wanted us to be debt free.

Our debt was not wracked up on vacations, the latest fashions, or making sure our kids had every extracurricular activity out there.

Our debt was accrued by attempting to finish graduate school while raising a family.

Our debt came to be when we took out a car loan because it was theoretically cheaper to deal with smaller monthly payments than the major payment to fix our current car.

It came about by paying some medical & surgical bills for Monkey, as well as some furniture purchases to accommodate Lady Bug.

But ever since that talk with my friend, I have tried to be more aware of our debts because I don’t want to be that person living paycheck to paycheck well into our 50s, and yet still trying to keep up with what everyone else tries to have.

Goals for the future…

I would like to be able to take the kids on vacations, but pay cash for it all.  But the reality is that these vacations aren’t very memorable for our kids while they’re this young.  While they are young is the perfect time to work on becoming debt free.

I would love to know that there is money in the bank for when our spare fridge breaks, or something goes wrong with the car.  I want there to be money for retirement and spend time with my husband as we travel across the US, and possibly the globe.

Most of all, I want our kids to see their parents having a strong grasp on their money, and being able to save it, and not treading through debt.  I’ve seen my parents struggle to raise three kids on a small income, and it gives me a little bit of perspective.  I want my kids to see that positive influence so that they can do the same later in their lives… that they can learn from our mistakes.  Being more aware of our finances is how we can do that.  Becoming debt free is how we can do that.

Our debt free journey…

We both would like to become debt free sooner rather than later.  I started my accountability at a separate blog name, but decided that this is blog is where I can continue to be accountable and make our income work for us.  Making our cents matter to us.  This is a continuation of our chronicles on how we have been cutting costs, our progress throughout or debt repayment, and what we’re doing to keep on trudging along the way while still having some fun.

Please keep in mind that as of writing this post, we have been working at this for the last 30 months {the beginning of 2014}, and as a result three credit cards have already been paid off!  After consumer debt, our largest balance is on our combined student loans; it’s more than our mortgage.

On this blog, I hope to show how we are progressing towards our financial freedom, and yet still taking the time to enjoy the simple and fun things in life.  There have been some wonderful blogs that have inspired me along the way, and I hope I can be one of those inspirational blogs for you and your journey.  It’s a long road ahead, but my hope is that if seeing our journey helps inspire you to begin, or gives you the confidence to continue along your debt free journey as well, I’ve done my job!

Do you have any goals you are working towards?  If so, let me know in the comments!

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makingcentsmatter

makingcentsmatter
Only you can determine what your financial goals a Only you can determine what your financial goals are. If that means you're adding money to your savings account, or contributing to your retirement, while you are paying off debt, then so be it!⁠
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Do what looks right for you and your personal finances.⁠
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#budget #budgeting #savingmoney #savings #cashbudget #cash #cashisking #frugalblogger #frugalmom #frugalliving #financialgoals #personalfinancetips #personalfinance #debtfreejourney #debtfreecommunity #debtfreeprogress #makingcentsmatter #financialfreedom #debtfree
The trick to meal planning is to make it predictab The trick to meal planning is to make it predictable. But predictable doesn't mean the same thing week to week. You could have a chicken meal, a soup meal, a pasta meal, a leftovers meal, a family favorite meal, and so on.⁠
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We always try to go with themed days, but some weeks are so hectic the theme is literally "fast". Thankfully that hasn't been the case lately.⁠
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#mealplanning #mealplan #budget #budgeting #monthlyincome #savingmoney #savings #cashbudget #cash #cashisking #frugalblogger #frugalmom #frugalliving #financialgoals #personalfinancetips #personalfinance #debtfreejourney #debtfreecommunity #debtfreeprogress #makingcentsmatter #financialfreedom #debtfree
I can only hear about my extended warranty I never I can only hear about my extended warranty I never purchased so many times. 😣⁠
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#makingcentsmatter #budgets #monthlyincome #debtfreecommunity #realbudget #savingmoney #payingoffdebt #savings #frugalliving #frugalblogging #budgeting #monthlyincome #zerobasedbudget #financialgoals #personalfinance #personalfinancetips #financialfreedom
March Debt Paid numbers are in!⁠ .⁠ House: $51 March Debt Paid numbers are in!⁠
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House: $511.13⁠
Citi: $0 – this has a residual $3 in interest charges since payoff, due in April⁠
D NelNet: $100⁠
K NelNet: $100⁠
K Chase: $600⁠
Explorer: $336.27⁠
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Total Paid in 2021: $8,258.84⁠
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Extra Payment: There isn’t one this month since we were $25 away from zeroing out the budget for our February 15th monthly paycheck. That $25, and monies left from our January 15th paycheck, covered our OOP costs for Hubs’ filling. We also have some savings goals coming up that need to be met, making our debt payments a little lower for the time begin.⁠
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#makingcentsmatter #debt #debtfreejourney #debtfreeprogress #debtfreecommunity #realbudget #savingmoney #payingoffdebt #savings #frugalliving #frugalblogging #budgeting #monthlyincome #zerobasedbudget #financialgoals #personalfinance #personalfinancetips #financialfreedom⁠
The battle for who can charge what tonight is abou The battle for who can charge what tonight is about to begin. 😬⁠
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My kids run off with my charger, plug it into one outlet 5 feet from where they found it like that particular outlet is the only one in this house, and then proceed to fight over who can charge their device first at night.⁠
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Then they get grumpy when it's their turn and it's not the proper input cable. #itwasmychargerfirst #dontlikeitgofindyourown⁠
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#parentingteens #parentingtweens #momlife #realife #budget #budgeting #savingmoney #cash #frugalblogger #frugalmom #financialgoals #personalfinancetips #personalfinance #debtfreejourney #debtfreecommunity #debtfreeprogress #makingcentsmatter
A needs his wisdom teeth taken out. I've talked a A needs his wisdom teeth taken out. I've talked a bit in our February Budget Check-In about how much of this I think we'll owe, and you can check that out on my YouTube channel if you're interested, but I wanted to say here...⁠
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To the mother with little kids struggling to get your finances in order, it will get better. I wish I could have heard those words years ago.⁠
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Nearly 10 years ago we were facing a $1,400 out-of-pocket portion for A's Phase 1 orthodontic work (I looked it up after I uploaded the video... we had a $1,400 portion).⁠
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It was a lot of money for us at the time. Our kids were 6, 2, and 3 months old. I don't think we even had $500 in savings, and I just left a part-time teaching job because it wasn't paying the part-time daycare bill, so paying our portion in full was just a dream I didn't think was achievable.⁠
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I was even stressing about the monthly $100 payments. We were so strapped. It was our breaking moment to start cutting costs and budgeting more effectively. We've learned a lot in that time period.⁠
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What we've learned is that it does no good to stress about it all the time. Life happens. All you can do is try to plan ahead, and if it's something that's unplanned, readjust. It won't always be easy, especially at first, but it will be worth it.⁠
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Nearly 10 years later, we are still paying off our debts. Student loans suck. But I see this bill as a reminder of how far we have come. Seeing a bill like this doesn't stress me out like it used to, and I know we can easily create a plan that can get it done and out of the way.⁠
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Will it delay our debt-free date more? Yes. But it's not worth stressing over. Life happens, readjust, and continue on down the path. It's called a journey for a reason.⁠
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#wisdomteeth #personalfiannce #personalfinancetips #financialgoals #budgeting #budgets #savingsgoals #savings #cashbudget #zerobasedbudget #debtfreejourney #debtfreeprogress #adulting #lifehappens #realife #realbudget #makingcentsmatter
It's almost payday! Here's how our variable budget It's almost payday! Here's how our variable budgeting categories are working out for the pay month.⁠
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Food is looking good this far into our paycheck, probably because miscellaneous - which includes eating out - took a hit with unexpected purchases. Pet is low for this time of the month, and Household is spot on.⁠
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Fuel looks like it'll be lower than last month (yay for weeks of snow days & delayed school starts), and Therapy had one more appointment than initially planned.⁠
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Garden, Dental, Medical & Propane are not included in these estimates so far because those expenses are coming from sinking funds. Once we're done with the month and review the budget, I'll move over the total amount spent from those sinking funds.⁠
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How's your paycheck budget coming along?⁠
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#realbudget #monthlyincome #monthlybudget #budget #budgetupdate #budgeting #savingmoney #variablecategories #savingmoney #savings #debtfreecommunity #debtfreejourney #cash #financialgoals #personalfinancetips #personalfinance #frugalliving #frugalblogger #budgetblogger #makingcentsmatter
Automating your finances makes saving money and bu Automating your finances makes saving money and budgeting more convenient, and therefore easier on you. Out of sight, out of mind, right?⁠
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What's one thing you can automate this week to make your finances easier?⁠
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Me? I'm going to set up our sinking fund transfers to automate every payday (the 15th of every month). Our bank set up a feature on their app where we can schedule savings transfers now, and I'm going to take advantage of it!⁠
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#personalfinance #personalfinancetips #budgeting #budgettips #personalfinancemadeeasy #savingmoney #savings #sinkingfunds #cash #frugalblogger #frugalmom #frugalliving #debtfreejourney #debtfreecommunity #debtfreeprogess #financialfreedom #makingcentsmatter
Oh my word... our miscellaneous category has gone Oh my word... our miscellaneous category has gone a smidgen overboard this month!⁠
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I foresee a goal for March's paycheck to at out less than twice. That's where this category went awry. $99.16 of it went to eating out. 😑 Some of it was avoidable, but not all of it. Having to drive to multiple appointments in one day during snow squalls and rearranging our whole day was one of those unavoidable instances.⁠
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Tracking our expenses - much like a budget review - is vital to sticking to your budget!⁠
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#makingcentsmatter #debt #debtfreejourney #debtfreeprogress #debtfreecommunity #realbudget #budgetcategories #monthlyincome #savingmoney #savings #frugalliving #frugalblogging #budgeting #zerobasedbudget #financialgoals #personalfinance #personalfinancetips #financialfreedom #expensetracking #budgetfail
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