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Nov 5, 2020    |       4 comments

What is Our Why?

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This morning my husband and I were on a short run together and we were lamenting our inability to get up earlier so we could actually do a real workout. We hit snooze again and again, sometimes never getting up in time to exercise. In the end, we decided we’ve lost sight of our “why.” Having a “why,” a good reason for doing something, is food for your motivation.

My husband and I have been working out in the mornings together for about a year and a half. We gave up our gym memberships when we started to get serious with our debt, and we didn’t miss them. We started doing some workouts in the mornings, and for the first six months we were consistent and we loved it.

But then we began to taper off. We’ve gained our 2020 twenty between the two of us, and we just feel blah. Halloween candy ain’t helping. We want to feel better, but we are experts at talking ourselves out of doing things that are good for us. We lost track of our why.

Losing Sight of Our Why

Having a why helps with debt payoff too. Paying off a large debt draaags. Seeing we have $276,000 left to go is a drag. My husband and I have lost our momentum, and we’ve been losing sight of our why. With 2020 being such a dumpster fire, we’ve put less energy into our debt and more towards survival. I maaaay have recently yelled in a moment of frustration, “IF THE WORLD IS JUST GOING TO END, WHY ARE WE WORRYING SO MUCH ABOUT THESE STUPID STUDENT LOANS???”

I get surges and make extra payments, but then I’m disappointed when they make such little difference. The small milestones help, but I still get tired of the slog. My husband is more concerned with retirement, and we don’t have our why in the forefront.

So it’s time for a reminder:

Why do we want to pay off our debt?

  • To repay what we foolishly borrowed and to keep our word
  • To take more control of our paycheck
  • To give us the freedom to give more
  • To lose the feeling of having two mortgages
  • To spend money on fun things without feeling guilty
  • To eat out more often
  • To give us financial security
  • To give us more freedom during our retirement
  • To have a stronger marriage and family
  • To model better money habits for our kids

So it comes down to freedom, security, and—as Dave Ramsey says—changing our family tree. And if the world is going to end, I guess those aren’t bad things to shoot for in the meantime, right?

Life feels heavy right now. I’m sorry to see storms in Hope’s area and a furlough for Beks. Plus this has been an especially long week for America. Right now I want to give up a little and make minimum payments and push snooze in the mornings. But I need to hang up a list of all these reasons and not forget my why. Because when I look at the list, I remember it really is worth it.

What is your “why”?

A Reminder of Our Why

Nov 4, 2020    |       4 comments

The Furloughs Are Coming…

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I got the dreaded e-mail last week; we are being furloughed.  The company hasn’t made a final decision yet but they are letting us know what to expect and when.  Furloughs will be starting next month and last through early next year.  Rather than furlough us for weeks or months solid, the company has decided to make us only take a couple unpaid days each month.  They also announced that we won’t be getting raises through 2022 but I think we all expected that anyway.

 

The reality is, I’m still going to have to work those days, I just won’t get paid for them.  We had a mandatory hiring freeze that went into effect at the start of the pandemic.  They have also done a couple rounds of layoffs.  There are less people doing more work.  It’s comical to think I can get more work done in less time.

 

The positive spin is I get to spend more time with family over the holidays.  Yes, I’m going to have to work most of the days but you can bet I’m going to enjoy a couple of them guilt free.  The other good news is we budget for Christmas the entire year.  We’ll cut the budget this year on Christmas spending and that will help bridge the gap a little.  Chris has also picked up more work that usual so we should be close to normal.

 

Things are really bad in my sector of the economy so if this is as bad as it gets at work, I’ll be extremely excited.  I’ve been fortunate to last as long as I have unscathed.

 

How are your jobs holding up?

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