live debt-free

Okay, here’s the story. My friend accidently bid on two of the same item on eBay and won them both – a lovely embroidery computerized sewing machine. So, I have agreed to purchase the second one from her so she wouldn’t be stuck with it, on the condition that I would have to make payments on it, I couldn’t afford to pay for it all at once.

To me, this IS a debt. I don’t feel very good about having a debt, as it goes against my grain. At the same time, it’s helping her out of a jam (her choice is to not pay and get a bad mark on her eBay or be stuck with two of them or try to sell it herself or give it to her daughter).

I will plan to pay this off as quickly as I can, without allowing myself to be in a state of financial hardship.

What I have started doing is paying a little extra on my combo phone / internet / long distance bill every month, so that eventually, I will be one month ahead in payments.

Instead of paying the $83 and change, I pay $95.00. I don’t miss an additional $11 and change, and I am hoping that I can keep this up so I won’t be living month to month.

I know that some people would say, well .. that’s kinda stupid, over-pay a bill every month, why not just put it in savings? Yeah, sure .. okay. At 41 years old, I know myself and I know what I do with ‘savings’. I do set aside $20 a month in my sock drawer for ‘emergencies’, but it’s soooo easy for me to come up with ‘emergencies’ – something awesome on eBay that I can’t live without. .. rolls her eyes …

I will feel better knowing that the phone and internet is paid ahead and if some kind of disaster does strike, I won’t be in a panic trying to get the money to keep up the monthly payment.

In June my gym membership contract will be over so I won’t be making payments on that, and then I can finish paying off the final $400 or so on my credit card. Once that is done my only real financial obligation is my rent, and I can handle paying rent!

I don’t want to be another American. I want to actually make it. I work two jobs and go to college to keep myself debt free.

My phone bill is paid and I am now caught up. On the first of the month, when my cheque is deposited, I can pay the latest phone bill. Tomorrow I will make a payment to Mum’s Visa card for the two charges I put on it. Why did I use it when I had the cash in my pocket? For the reward points, of course! LOL

I was late paying my phone bill, so .. according to Debtors Anonymous, I debted. Why was I late? I had the money, had the bill (hadn’t misplaced it or lost it altogether). Hmmm, forgot? lazy?

Not sure what that’s all about, why did I slip into an irresponsible mode?

I am trying to see if I can go a few months buying nothing but food and gas. So far this has enabled me to cut my spending by several hundred dollars, which I have sent to my credit card company. I’m feeling like I want some clothes right now, and some books, and some music . . . and some makeup blah blah blah and some shoes. Stupid!! Being out of debt is more important! I am also putting off some dental work and going to the doctor, which won’t hurt me at all or I would not be doing it. This stuff can wait for now but if it couldn’t I would go. There’s lots of fun things to do for free that I can do also.

I’ve wanted to do this for a LONG time. I will knuckle down and finish it off after I get out of college and get a job as an assistant professor or something. Hehe. I won’t be miserable about it. Hell, one of my “creditors” has been “paid back” in interest already, and is quite well off enough to “forgive” my “debt”. I don’t even feel a moral obligation or an ethical one anymore, if I ever did, since I’ve been taken advantage of, in my opinion.

Can one really live debt-free? I have a plan in place to pay off all of my credit cards and student loans in 2008, but that still leaves the mortgage and the car loan. Is it even possible to buy a house without a mortgage in this day and age?

I may tag this one as completed once I pay off all of my revolving credit accounts.

I am still on the same budget I was on when I was in debt. After I had been on the budget for a while and the debt was gone, I couldn’t remember how I would “need” to spend so much money. I had broken all the habits that put me in debt and had new preferences for where I wanted to spend my money.

Hang around people who will support your lifestyle and not pressure you to blow all your money. You can talk your friends who are interested in cutting debt to change their lifestyle one day a week so you can have a different friend everyday of the week who is interested in saving money too. This is better than trying to hang out with the same person/people all the time who can not commit to your change.

Also, if you take a stronger interest in a hobby, the environment, politics, or maybe all, you will be able to occupy a lot of your freetime working on projects and reading books from the library. Your freetime will seem too preoccupied and you won’t get bored and go shopping, self-empathize and treat it with retail therapy, and feel a need to socialize in restaurants, bars, and theatres for cultural experiences.

It helps to know other people are in your shoes or worse. Reading a book about these people or finding online communities with people like you will help the experience feel less grim and maybe empowering and fun.

It doesn’t end when your balance is no longer red. You have to live within your means. You will defintely have extra spending money, especially if you have NO financial goals, but you most likely will not be able to go back to the lifestyle that created your debt. I have continued to read the same types of books and found a book called “Not Buying It (My year without shopping)” after I was out of debt and it has helped me be aware of all the things that influence your spending habits other than true need.