Get Rid of the Debt

Another thing that really helps us financially is that we barely ever use our credit card. If we do, it is a couple of times a year just to keep it active. We always pay off the entire bill when it comes. Credit card interest can kill your finances and suck you dry. It’s not worth it. There are so many things that I want. I don’t necessarily need them, but I feel like I have to have them. I have to make a conscious effort to delay gratification. If I cannot afford it, I shouldn’t have it.

We don’t have the latest and greatest things in our house. I guess we use things to the fullest. Until recently, we had cell phones that were pretty old. If it weren’t for a great deal where we could use our current plan (a lot of minutes for a low amount) we wouldn’t have upgraded our phones. There was also the fact that my screen was shattered.

The bottom line is: You don’t need it just because everyone else has it.

I can’t begin to tell you how much I HATE debt! I absolutely hate it. I don’t want to owe anyone anything. I want to own it free and clear. Three and a half years ago we were in the process of saving for a car. Evan was driving a work vehicle and my car was getting a little old. We took it in for routine maintenance one day and were told that it was rusting out and we needed a new one right away.

We may have jumped the gun a bit, but we bought one that day and ended up with a car loan. I hated that loan from the first day it came into my life and began paying extra on our payments. We will have it paid off this year. Due to some unexpected tax law changes, we may have it paid off in the next two or three months. That will be a great day in my book!

Right now we make sacrifices so we can save up our money.  I can sleep at night. That’s a biggie for me. I don’t want to worry about money because we are in debt. We also have a smaller house with a smaller mortgage. When I was working I was paying extra on that too because I want that mortgage even smaller. We had to put the kibosh on that when I stopped working, but one day, I hope to begin that again.

If you are swimming in debt, take the steps now to get rid of it. If you have to sell things in your house for extra cash, do it. If you have time to take a second job for the time being, do it. If you are eating out all the time, stop and put that money toward extra payments. All that stuff that you had to have is not really yours if it isn’t paid in full. Somebody else owns it (and you)! If you were to lose your job or have an unexpected financial expense come up, you would be in big trouble. If you don’t owe anyone anything, then you can breathe a whole lot easier.

Dave Ramsey has something he calls the “Debt Snowball”. You can read about it here.  This is a great way to make a plan to reduce and eliminate your debt.

You’re going to be okay if you don’t keep up with the Joneses. The Joneses are probably broke anyway. It doesn’t matter if someone makes more money than you. You don’t know how much debt they’re swimming in. Foreclosures have happened all over the country. It isn’t just the small houses that are not paying their mortgages . . . Who cares if you live in a smaller house or don’t have a brand new car every few years? I am happy to say that we have a positive net worth. Even though we don’t have a high income, our net worth is probably larger than others who make more than us. This is not to brag, but to make a point. Don’t be jealous of others. You probably don’t know the whole picture anyway.

I'm not perfect and I've had times of jealousy myself.  But, then I hear that most of these people used their credit cards for all these "cool" things or have severe loan debt and my jealousy seems to fade.  I think we all (myself included) need to learn a bit about contentment.  Stuff isn't going to make us happy.  It really doesn't make you happy when you're paying for it for years and years.

Once you have eliminated debt, you can free yourself up for new opportunities. Start today saying “no” to new debt and get rid of the debt you have. Once it is gone, don’t go back to your old ways. If you want something, save for it. It feels so much better walking away from a store with no chains tied to your ankle. There is freedom out there!

Stay tuned! I want to talk about Christmas next.

 
You can read Part 1 here.