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Friday, January 13, 2012

Debt Free for One Month

This sweet baby girl is nearly one year!
Well, we successfully became debt-free for the month of November, then in December we bought Tyler a car.  Total regression, right?
We were a one car family for a year and a half and it was due to the help (and rides) of family and dear friends that we lasted so long!  Public transportation was never an option as Tyler works far far out of town and it isn't safe for a pregnant mommy with a baby in tow.  But we did it.  It is possible, although you will spend an incredible amount of money on gas because you double back around so much.
With our second pregnancy 1/3 of the way down we thought that it was time for a second vehicle.  We hate debt.  It makes our skin crawl.  It causes us to argue.  It is a pain to not own something that you consider your own and use on a daily basis, but the reality is for my mental, emotional and social health we had a choice to make.  And so we did.
Are we going to dump every cent into this vehicle?  Not at first.  We will let the baby come and assess our situation as a family of four and then we will move forward on debt reduction.  For now we are trying, some days much better than others, to save.  Save save save.  It is much more difficult to choose to put money away that could be used for sprucing up the home, more elaborate date nights, entertaining family, etc.  But we are trying. 

Do you fight the American debt battle?  Stay positive!  Stay focused! Share your story and tips in the comments below.

*UPDATE: Oops!  Seems I forgot to highlight that we do not include our home in our immediate debt-free goal.  Because it is an investment and it is a HUGE HUGE HUGE amount to pay-off it will be a goal of its own, that we hope to begin tackling in the next five years!

2 comments:

  1. I'm impressed that y'all survived on one car that long! That's awesome. The only debt we have is our mortgage, and we're currently trying to work on our finances so I can stay home with our baby when he arrives. It's tough to do without certain things, but it's so worth it in the long run!

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    1. We are still shocked we lasted that long too! Even more shocking is that for a year of that time we had a baby - wow! God gives all the necessary graces. We have our mortgage (updated correction above) and now Tyler's car. I think that once our savings is built up it will make it easier to focus on his car. I promise doing without and simplifying your life will be so incredibly worth it once your sweet baby arrives! Wish we were closer!

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