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It was great reading about Sara’s ‘why’ about wanting to become debt free so I thought I’d share mine as well.

My husband and I weren’t particularly interested in shedding debt early in our marriage. It was annoying but not a big deal. It wasn’t until we had our first son that it became a problem. A big one. I always imagined myself being a stay at home mom. I loved that my mom stayed home with me and I watched as my sisters became stay at home moms in the years earlier. I remember clearly the night Chris and I went to dinner and I had a breakdown. We were sitting on an outdoor patio, the flowers on the trellis behind me filling the air with their delicious scent. My infant son lay sleeping in his car seat. It should have been a perfect moment but as I stared at my son’s beautiful sleeping face, my eyes filled with tears. “How can I give him to someone else to raise?” I sobbed. If we didn’t have debt, I could have stayed home.

We jumped into Dave Ramsey but we didn’t use the right tools for us and we failed. We started telling ourselves, ‘everyone has debt so we will too’. We repeated this to ourselves for years. In 2014, my brother called me and shared YNAB. Finally, a tool that worked for us. Over the last 6 years, I’ve thanked him repeatedly for sharing a tool that worked for me. Nope, that might not be the right tool for you but you should find the one that fits your life.
When the prospect of being debt free finally became something I could see, we attacked our debt with a crazy vengeance. ‘I WILL BE A STAY AT HOME MOM!’ I yelled to the universe.

Life sometimes throws curveballs. Wait. Life ALWAYS throws curveballs. It didn’t work out that I could stay home but it did that my husband could. I realized my goal was to have a stay at home parent. I didn’t care if that was me or my husband.

No, life isn’t all rose petals and rainbows but it’s so much better without debt. Every time we get tempted to take on debt, we say, ‘Is this worth throwing away our ‘why’’? It never is.

Find your ‘why’. Find the fuel to your fire.

Beks

Beks is a full-time government employee who enjoys blogging late into the night after her four kids have gone to sleep. She’s been married to Chris, her college sweetheart, for 15 years. In 2017, after 3 long years working the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps, they paid off more than $70K and became debt free. When she’s not working or blogging, she’s exploring the great outdoors.

A Little Splurge for Me

by Hope

After 4 years of using my hard, solid wood dining room chair as my office chair, I decided to treat myself. I bought myself an office chair! Cushioned, adjustable and with armrests. I’m in heaven!

My workspace where I spent 10ish hours per day.

I ordered it off Amazon and it’s been work-altering! The purchase wasn’t just driven by my sore behind. But also my achy neck from sitting at an odd angle.

But I did it, I spent $150 on myself and I know it is a worthy investment as my aches and pains have already subsided. Which results in a more productive and longer work day. Score!

One of my takeaways from my “million dollar” exercise was how selfish personal finance is and in fact, needs to be. As someone who has always put others first (ie my kids or at least my dreams for my kids,) this has been a hard pill to swallow. But as I have been rolling around my goals in my head, I have realized that it is time I start putting myself first. My future, my dreams, my security.

So my plan is to sit down with my goals and dreams, the goals and dreams that are just for me. I’m not going to think about the kids. I’m not going to think about the kids’ college expenses or their need for a car. Or what I “should” be doing. Instead, I’m going to focus on my goals and what I need. My future.

As JP mentioned in the comments last week, I’m going to make a 5 year plan. And see how that looks.

Is this something you have done? And when you have a 5 year plan, do you work backwards to set up your personal finances? Like this is where I want to be and then work on the steps to get there? That’s how I would work a work project, but I’ve never done it in my own life, my personal finances.

Hope

Hope is a resourceful, solutions-driven online business manager with over two decades of experience helping clients streamline operations, manage projects, and grow their businesses through digital marketing and technology.

But life has a way of rewriting your plans.

A year ago, Hope made the decision to move in with her aging parents full time – a season she wouldn’t trade, even as it came with its own financial and emotional weight. Earlier this year, she lost her mother, and is now walking the tender, disorienting path of grief while learning what “forward” looks like from here.

Hope came to the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015 as a single mom raising five foster and adoptive children. She’s written through job changes, financial setbacks, and the bittersweet transition to an empty nest. Her kids are finding their footing in the world now – and so is she.

Rooted in faith and fueled by the same perseverance she’s brought to every hard season, Hope is ready to face her finances with fresh eyes and an honest pen. She believes that clarity, courage, and community can change the trajectory of anyone’s story including her own.

She lives in Austin, TX with her dad, loves adventures with her dog Addie, and is figuring out, one step at a time, what this next chapter is meant to be.

Blogging Away Debt Blogging Away Debt follows real people on their journey to debt freedom — with tips on the debt snowball, budgeting, cutting expenses, and staying motivated.

What is Our Why?

A Little Splurge for Me