I HAVE NEWS.
$1639.89
Um. Yeah. So close I am tearing up.
$1639.89 left until The Nichols are debt free minus the house!
PRAISE JESUS.
This is a victory. A loooooooong road.
Today I want to tell you that YES you can do this. I'm praying for those reading this with tears of defeat or who's spouse just won't be on the same page. I'm praying for you. You guys can do this. There will be healing.
I can't believe I'm even typing that we are about a month and half or so maybe less of being done with debt. Again, still paying the house and utilities of course.
Can I share what helped us? Reverse-pride. Unbragging. Get proud of the ol' tired stuff you are living with- that's what is going to get you to the end. That's what the "gazelle intensity" that Dave Ramsey teaches- is all about.
Non-Flat TVs and NO Cable:
We were/are proud of the non-flat screen in our living room. Do people want to come watch stuff at our house? No, but we don't have cable either and we are proud of that too!
We know and love our true-blue friends that come to our house, because we literally just sit and talk and enjoy them so much!!!
Getting rid of the cable has helped my soul y'all.
John was ticked at first. I mean I told him that I felt convicted about watching a certain show. If it was on, I'd watch it (It was Real Housewives) and it drained my energy and truly made me ill with all the backstabbery/fake crap.
He did NOT want to release cable. So we babystepped it.
And each month went down a package.
And down another package.
And survived.
Until finally, blammo, goodbye.
Now yes, we have netflix and amazon prime- which I use for my biz, Kindle and we stream shows.
After a yr, John was finally cool with it and now LOVES it. It was all his idea anyway....
I LOVE bragging that I don't have cable. Plus, I got friends that do and they invite me over b/c they are amazing. Thank you 'zing friends.
Cars:
Yo. That's my car with the dings, stains, and I'm rockin an '08 with low mileage. And yeah, huszzby is rollin in the Corolla- '05 baby- "Ol Smokey" with the cigarette burns from the previous owner/renters.
And we like it.
We don't feel oppressed because those bad boys are paid off. We know we are "Living like no one else, so we can live like no one else."
We thank God for our vehicles at all.
Be proud of what some might consider a jalopy and know where it's really taking you to- FREEDOM.
Clothes n' Things:
acquaintance: Hey Jillian, cute shirt!
me: Thanks I got it at KCM boutique for $4. It's Ann Taylor Loft!
acquaintance: Whaaaaa????
If I can't score something $10 and under I don't buy it. $15 and under for dresses. I know that is disgusting to some of you.
This is really easy for me because I really don't like trends anyway.
Now I did just buy a yellow backpack for my camera and it was NOT following these rules. Purses do not fit here, because you will be burned by buying cheap since you use it and abuse it. Also, I am realizing that yellow bags are trendy.
I have loved yellow forever so I am plainly stating that I'm not following a trend here.
But know, that there will ALWAYS be cute shirts and things to buy.
Emeals!!!! Yes. They really do help. I didn't like the fact that I have to pay, but I've acquiesced to the fact that my brain doesn't function this way. It pays to pay them think for me so I can save money and eat better by not going out.
Anyone else care to share???
So we have filled out the form to go see Dave for August. We are awaiting their approval. We hope to be on the Aug. 9th show. We will let everyone know!!!!
1 comment:
I call it living like I am still a broke college student... Driving old cars, no cable like you, a nice TV/Stereo system gifted to us by a good friend when he upgraded, jeans and t-shirts make up my whole wardrobe, etc,... But you can also nickel and dime yourself to death, so you still have to watch even those inexpensive purchases or they will quickly add up! We are down to one small car note. Hopefully, after tax time, we will pay off the last credit card (used to pay for new house AC which is NOT optional here in SE Tex, hehe). Beth regularly puts money aside into a savings account that we ignore. That helps with the unexpected stuff. I have some dental work coming up in the future. I will be paying cash and negotiating a price with the dentist. Most healthcare folks are pretty good about giving steep discounts for upfront cash payments because it saves them a LOT of work.
I don't know how long we'll be able to stay debt free. Life has a funny way of doing things sometimes. But that is our goal. I do have this weakness for motorcycles and camera gear... but fortunately my website generates enough to cover those or I would have to make some hard choices!
I remember paying off my last student loan, which was a six figure amount. What a feeling!! It was like a massive ball and chain cut loose from my leg. Keep at it, it is worth the effort!!
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