It was my fault that I allowed this master. It was my choice to wear the chains of debt. It was my decision to want more than I could afford. That is what put me into this position. I can’t blame anyone but myself. It was my wants and my childish actions not to be disciplined enough to say no. There was also the fact that I married a man with a good bit of debt (my choice).
One day I had enough. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I was DONE! Done being afraid of opening the mail. Done with wondering if there would be enough to pay the bills and buy food. Something was going to get done and there was no turning back.
We had our starter emergency fund set up ($1000 in a savings account). We had cut back every where we could to eke out a little more cash to start applying it to the bills. We wanted to start the ball rolling to let it start picking up speed. So we decided to start with the smallest bills first. To knock them out quickly and then have that money to start to pay down the next larger one. It was time to get serious.
I sat down and wrote a very painful budget. I also wrote a list of all the bills we owed and how much. We lined them up - smallest to largest and posted it on the fridge so we could see our goal every day. We started with the smallest, the first one on the top of the list. It did not matter how much the payment was (I think it was larger than a few others, but it was the least owed). I know a lot of counselors say to pay the one with the highest interest rates first, but this is about seeing progress. Getting that “high five” moment, that pat on the back. If you don’t see progress you tend to quit. I needed those quick wins to keep it going.
It wasn’t hard to knock that one out. It was a dental bill that I had been paying on for a little while. We had a yard sale and sold a few things on eBay and voila, it was gone.
We rolled that money over into the next bill. That one took about 2 months to pay off. We took all that money and rolled it into the next...see the ball picking up speed?? We broke the chains of the master (Master Card). Within a matter of 7 months we were down to two car payments. We were determined, we were a force; we were not going to be slaves to debt any longer.
Every spare cent we had went into this. We took our lunches to work. We didn’t step foot in a restaurant. We didn’t go on vacations. We cut cable and our land line phone. We clipped coupons and cooked from scratch. Macaroni and cheese with hot dogs was a frequent meal for us. So were meatless meals with beans instead. We didn’t buy new clothes. We didn’t go anywhere just to save the gas. But, we did it!!
We were debt free (except the house) in 18 months. We paid off $32k worth of bills in 18 months on an income of less than $70k a year. It was not easy. It was not fun. It was hard and at times it hurt; but it was worth it.
They say money can’t buy happiness and I agree with that. It can make you feel free and you feel you have the power back in your life. To break those chains, to slay the master that held you in bondage feels so good.
Next step is to build up a fully funded emergency fund. That would be the recommended 3 to 6 months (or 9 if you really feel your job may be at risk) of expenses.
Financial freedom here we come!!
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PREVIOUS "FRUGAL SALLY" ARTICLES IN MACARONI KID : NEPHILLY-EMC
- What Makes Me This Way -- Friday, May 11, 2012
- Frugal Lessons Every Parent Should Teach Their Children -- Friday, May 18, 2012
- What Would YOU Do For A Million Dollars? -- Friday, June 1, 2012
- "Make it so!" -- Sunday, July 8, 2012
