As I sit here on a Sunday evening, I decided that it was time to see how far we have come with our debt snowball in the last 8 months. My first thought is, “What will people think when I post our debt?” When I started this blog no one except me was reading it, but now I have some followers and it posts on Facebook. Talk about being vulnerable. It’s not everyday that people let the world read about their financial standing, but if it posting it can encourage people to change their thinking…I’m all for it. So here it goes…
When we started our journey in September 2009 we had a total debt of almost $40,000. This number did not include our mortgage and HELOC. I know…scary.
In taking a look at the numbers today….DRUM ROLL PLEASE…. we have paid off $15,055 in 8 months!! Woo Hoo!!!
For years debt was the norm for us. It started with college loans. My husband and I could have purchased a small house for the amount of school loans we had. When you are in a great amount of debt, it’s easy to get frustrated and think,”Well, what’s another $xxx.xx when we already owe $xx,xxx.xx?” That was where we lived. By the time children came along we were still paying of college and thought, “We’ll have bills the rest of our lives…oh well…that’s life.”
I think society had convinced us that there would always be debt in our lives. We thought there would always be a car payment and a mortgage payment and the only way to have nice things was to use a credit card. We saw others spending, but forgot that maybe they might not have a handle on their finances either. Sometimes it’s easier to look like we’re doing okay, rather than admit we’re not.
Is it hard to see your neighbor get a new car or new clothes or go on vacations?
Ummm….yeah!
But it’s even more difficult to make a decision which utility bill to pay when you overextend yourself financially because you were too embarrassed to look “broke” to your friends and family.
Come on. Let’s be real.
If you have friends that require a certain “status” for you to be their friend, then maybe you ought to reconsider your friends. Friendship should require nothing but honesty, integrity, compassion, and love. Friendship should be dynamic; growing and changing in a positive direction. It is also non-judgmental when a friend needs to decline a day out (or a weekend) due to finances.
Friends who support and encourage you on your debt-freedom journey are the ones who can keep you going when you feel like giving up. They are the ones to remind you why you started the journey in the first place. And when you cross the finish line while they are still in the race, they will congratulate and celebrate your victory knowing that it can be done. So remember, it’s not about finishing first, it’s just about finishing.
