Some of you know a little bit of my frugalness but I wanted to share more with you on how we paid off our debt.
My husband and I both went to college and took out student loans. I remember sitting in class my senior year stressing how I could pay off my loans.
My parents lived 750 miles away while I was at college. There wasn’t the chance to just drop by my mom and dads for a free meal or free laundry wash.
Everything was all on me. And as it should be. I was an adult.
It was overwhelming as a college student with bills. My parents told me to get a credit card and use that. So I did.
There was nothing wrong with getting a couple credit cards and using those.
Frugalness is in the blood though. My mom’s frugal. My dad’s cheap. So of course I’m somewhere between.
It wasn’t until we had our first baby that we started to take a good look at our finances and our goals.
We got serious. Dave Ramsey was the one who opened our eyes. My husband started listening to his talk show every day on his drive home from work.
I started reading his blog online and other debt free blogs.
I couldn’t believe there was a mindset of working to pay off your mortgage!
And so it began.
We decided to pay off our car loans, credit cards, and have an emergency fund savings.
We wanted to be debt free!
This was not easy at first.
I had to stop buying home decor items. That’s right. Some of you know about my clearance addiction at Target. I was buying things on clearance and throwing it all on my Target Card…
“But it was 70% off..”
It was hard to come to terms with telling myself that I couldn’t just go out and buy something.
“I’m out of mascara gotta run to Target. I’ll just get whatever is on sale.” That is not good enough now that my eyes are open. If you just wait you can get that Mascara for $0.50 with the power of coupons.
I didn’t want to feel poor. I wanted to fulfill my wants not just my needs.
So I started learning how to use coupons in a way that would save me 50% and more off my grocery bill. I set a limit of $50 a week for the three of us at that time including household items.
We got rid of our cell phone service with Verizon and cable to cut back on expenses. My husband only has his work phone and I have a prepaid phone. We use Netflix for $7.99/month now, but in the beginning this wasn’t in our budget. To save money our daughter watched Sesame Street on YouTube. My husband and I actually talked at night instead of staring at the T.V. If we did want to watch a show we went to the networks online and watched or just rented movies.
This right here was allowing us to make extra payments on our credit cards. But it wasn’t enough. I was impatient and wanted to get back to buying “Stuff”.
So I went to work part time. We decided that my paycheck was going to go to our debt. That was hard. I had to stop thinking I was working for nothing. Instead I was working towards something.
A month after starting a new job I found out I was pregnant. What was God trying to tell me that I wasn’t listening to? I could stay home if I wanted to. We could afford the life he has planned as long as I put my priorities in line.
Well through the 18 months of working part time the Lord worked on my heart and attitude. I didn’t need to buy something to make me feel like I’m deserving in this world. I realized through the death of my best friend how short life is. How silly most of my wants are.
We are staying debt free because we are choosing to live a simple life. When I was pregnant with our second child I kept hearing the world tell me I needed a bigger house. Why have the girls share a room? I need a bigger kitchen they needed a playroom. I needed a living room that I could fit more than a couch in. Sillyworld confusing us with needs and wants. I wrote more about how less is more with our home here.
I could not be any happier with our financial situation right now. My husband and I both learned a lot through the last few years. We now have our emergency savings and than some and have even been able to invest our money.
The key to living in financial freedom is to continue to live within your means. We have a few extra bucks a week now and that doesn’t mean I can just go on a shopping spree. My mindset is completely changed. The extra money will go for family vacations and create lifelong memories.
Join me on this life of debt free living!
Thanks for listening to my story.
Share your story with me! I would love to get to know you better!
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