I’m not sure if I should be embarrassed or proud- either way,
one thing I always am is too honest. I
spent the majority of my 20’s in debt.
Like serious, “What are you thinking, you can’t afford that” debt. This is particularly sad because I hadn’t amassed
any student loans prior to graduation.
My overly generous parents worked their asses off so I could go to
school bill free, and focus all my time on partying- or studying, or whatever
it was I was supposed to be doing in college.
I was living in a big city with big bills making next to
nothing (by Boston standards), going out to nice dinners and traveling wherever
I could find a friend to join me. To say
I was having the time of my life is an understatement. At the age of 26 I had, gasp, $40,000 in
non-mortgage debt. Yes, that means I had
basically zero to show for it. I wasn’t
even driving a brand new fancy car! When
I left the big city, I also decided to live my big lifestyle behind, which
meant moving in with my parents, scaling back my social life, and shopping at
Target & TJ Maxx (although truthfully I shopped at these stores in Boston
too- I just started shopping a lot less frequently). After all, less social life requires a
smaller wardrobe. Thankfully within a
month of moving home I met Kyle, my super financially responsible husband, who
occupied my evenings and weekends with free or nearly free activities.
It has taken me 2 yrs and 8 months, but I am finally debt
free. Whew, exhale. It is SUCH a great feeling to know that I don’t
owe a cent to anyone, aside from our mortgage company- which I’ll consider good
debt, since we have quite a bit of equity and are in a well-priced home. (One of the smallest/least expensive houses
on the street- WHOOP WHOOP!) In the
process of paying off all this debt (think couponing, selling things on
craigslist, odd side jobs, bargain hunting, price adjustments, DIY home/wedding
projects, home cooked meals, painting my own nails, and occasionally dying my
own hair) I’ve also been able to put 5% of my salary aside into my 401k, and
contribute my fair share to our household bills.
If I had a do over, I probably wouldn’t change a thing. I kept telling myself with each credit card
swipe that someday I’d make more money and pay these bills. Well a decade passed, my income didn’t increase
a whole lot, and 29 yr old Beth had to pay off 22 yr old Beth’s debts. I learned such a valuable lesson- which can
be summed up by one word: patience. If I
really want something, I will save my money, and patiently wait until I have
enough to pay for it in cash. Of course
I charge it to get those sky miles, but from this day forward, all of my credit
cards will be paid to a $0 balance each month, and damn that feels good. I still get house envy, car envy, and
wardrobe envy- but I know that in the long run I can’t take any of these things
with me, and I’d rather have financial peace of mind, than a shiny new
anything.
And just because every post is better with a picture... My home, my family, my life!
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