live a more austere lifestyle

What a wonderful feeling, I am officially debt free! Having said that, I guess I do still have a mortgage and pool payment, but no charge card debt, loans, etc. All of my landscaping, patio furniture and frivolous purchases were paid off with my last bonus and tax return. Yay! It feels great to officially live within your means. Next goal will be to focus on paying off my pool early and refinancing into a 15-year fixed rate mortgage.

I utterly amaze myself. In my opinion it is quite impressive (or unimpressive, actually) that I can put nearly $2,000 on my charge card in one month. I am very aware of my potential for overindulgence. Therefore, I thankfully only allow myself one card. Usually I am able to pay it off at the end of every month. However, my latest expenditures will now force my charge card into prison. I gave it to Doug yesterday and told him not to give it back to me until it has a zero balance.

So, vacationing is the antithesis of austerity. You overindulge in every aspect of life. Overeating, overspending, overshopping with little or no concern for future consequences! It is definitely necessary to have vacations, but I must admit, it will be great to get back into my simple little routine. Prior to vacation, I had a zero balance on my charge card (actually didn’t do too bad here, probably didn’t need to spend $470 on tennis outfits, ha!) and had consistently followed all of my rules: 2 caffeinated beverages a day, 5 workouts a week, washing my face daily, vitamins, etc. It was a great feeling to “stick” to it! May I just say that all rules and routines went out the window while I was on vacation. I failed miserably at any notion of an austere existence while in Canada. But, I did have fun! I go to Hawaii for 4th of July and my new goal will be to find a happy median between rules & routine and still having fun.

I am in a state of pure admiration and envy of people who actually possess these qualities. I am probably the furthest thing from “austere,” but I am modeling my life to head down this road. Let’s face it, I will always have an appreciation for frivolous purchases. But in my mind, an austere life is someone who sets goals, sticks to them, and lives within their means. I can do this, but I’m never going to have the character of a Monk!