Debt Free & Saving Money

When I posted my 2011 Intentions and Goals (some people would call them New Year’s Resolutions but I prefer intentions/goals), my number one priority was to pay off my credit card debt.

I am thrilled to report that my American Express has been paid in full!  A hefty five-figure sum.  Paid. The weight of the world on my shoulders has been lifted!

The reason I had credit card debt in the first place was fallout from an ill-timed real estate transaction in Phoenix.  I never clicked with Phoenix and you can read about that story here, but it was a life lesson.  A learning experience.

I learned what I place value on, that I adore San Diego, the beach, the weather, the friends I have here, and the life I’ve built here.  Those things matter more than home ownership just for the sake of owning a home in a city that wasn’t for me.  Different strokes for different folks.

But in order to buy the home I bought (and have since sold), I racked up lots of credit card debt.  I put things on my credit card that I never should have, but hindsight is 20/20.

Going into 2011, I know my #1 intention was to pay it off.  And I did!  And I will never repeat the same actions that got me into the bind I was in.  So, I lived, I learned.

I am now debt free:

No credit card debt

No mortgage

No student loans

No auto loan (one car is paid for, the other is leased, but I don’t consider this true debt)

No other loans

No money is owed to anyone

And that is all a great feeling!

Intention #1, however, was two-fold: paying off debt and saving money. And I am happy to report that I have also saved quite a bit of money, too.

I don’t talk about my paid work, but I work like a dog and have been fortunate enough to squirrel away some savings the past few months.  Like the animal references there? Being able to save money has made me feel so productive and that all my hard work is going toward something and like I am accomplishing things, not just working to get out of debt, and pay our day-to-day bills, but also to save.

Enough talk about my financial life, let’s talk about what I’ve been eating.

Fresh pineapple.  It was on sale at Target for $2.49 for a whole pineapple.  Score.

Need tips on how to clean & slice a whole pineapple?  Here you go.

 

Some Vegan “Lentil & Bean” Sloppy Joes (no bun) with a salad

I dressed the salad with Vegan Slaw Dressing

I also had a couple No Bake Oatmeal Raisin Carrot Cake Bites

From my last post about possibly getting an iPhone, thanks to everyone who chimed in on whether you have one, if you want one, if you like your iPhone, and giving me the pros as you see them to iPhones.  As I had said, learning to use the touchscreen after coming off years of Blackberry keys is a concern, but most of you said it’s not that bad.  An iPhone may be in my future.

Dessert: GF Peanut Butter Marshmallow Bars with Vegan Chocolate Frosting

If you like butterscotch chips, peanut butter, marshmallows, and chocolate, then this recipe is for you.

 

Questions:

1. Are you debt free?  If you have debt, how does it make you feel?

I think most Americans are drowning in debt!  I don’t really consider a mortgage, or an auto loan, as true debt.  We all need someplace to live, and most of us need a car.

The debt I am referring to is from major credit cards, department store cards, student loans, personal loans, or other loans or debts you have incurred.

Debt for me is very heavy on my heart, mind, and spirit.  I don’t feel free when I own (large) sums of money.  Even though I didn’t think about it every day, I thought about it most days, for the 18 months or so that I had credit card debt and I hated it.  I hated that I had used less than stellar judgment and got myself into debt and that I had to work extra hard just to get out of it; to remove something that I could have avoided all together.

Life lessons and a learning experience, though.

I did a post on Life Lessons and #4 on that list about repeating a lesson in life until you learn it.  Well, I have learned. Now I can move on to the next lessons my life has in store for me.

2. Are you doing anything to save money?

I think that, again, most Americans are not only drowning in debt, most people don’t have any money saved!

If you, your spouse, or anyone who is providing you financial support cut you off tomorrow or you lost your job tomorrow, what money do you have saved and how long could you support yourself? Did you just have a panic attack thinking about that because you realize not very long and that you have zilch saved? Thought so.

Whatever you need to do to start saving money, be it buying conventional produce not organic, quitting your Starbucks habit and brewing coffee at home, not impulse buying cute dishes or random items at Marshall’s, using these tips to save money on your grocery budget, wearing old workout clothes and not feeling pressure to buy the latest and greatest brand name or current trend, telling your spouse/significant other you’d prefer to skip gifts for birthdays, holidays, anniversaries and just save money instead, whatever it is, you will feel better with something in your bank account than wearing the latest yoga pants or that your significant other bought you roses for your anniversary that cost $40 bucks and will die in a week.

Sorry if that sounds harsh.  It is. But saving money is hard and can be harsh.  Do what it takes is my approach.

However, as with food and exercise and lifestyle choices, we all must make our own financial choices and decisions, too, and do what’s right for our own situation.

And, of course, there are some things that are worth the splurge and we all have to decide what that is for ourselves.  Depriving ourselves all the time backfires.  There is a balance between fiscal discipline and deprivation.  Like me wanting to buy an iPhone and deciding if that’s the right decision for me, at this time.

Talking about money, debt, savings, planning is hard because it hits nerves but we need to talk about it and acknowledge it and plan accordingly.  Where are you at with these things?