Blogging Away Debt

Question of the Week- What Are You Willing to Sacrifice?

This is our Sunday series where we all respond to reader questions. If you want to submit a question, please go to this post.

Question of the Week

What are you willing to give up, or not willing to give up, to get out of debt? For example-not willing to give up the gym because health is critical: willing to give up current home to live in a small space and save money. posted by Juhli

Stephannie

I feel like we have already made a lot of changes and none of them have caused a decline in our quality of life. For the last year my girls did not participate in dance or cheerleading (which they’ve both done since they were three) and while they miss it and will go back at some point, it was kind of a nice respite from how crazy our weekday evenings used to be. They currently only participate in sports that are offered locally for free and that keeps them happy and us busy enough to stay out of trouble! I also think my going back to work full time has been a huge sacrifice because I can’t be nearly as involved with my girls’ school activities as I used to be. This has been a big adjustment for me but even more so for them. I think it’s safe to say that we are pretty much willing to do anything short term to get out of debt as quickly as possible. The long term goal will be to stay out of debt.

Jim

Basically I am willing to sacrifice any superficial thing to get out of debt. We have already gotten rid of cable and our cell phones. Starting last month we cut back on eating out, with the intentions of only eating out once a month. As for not willing to give up… Well I think you all know that answer. I have very strong feelings about my self employment. I know in the deepest parts of my body, that I can make this entrepreneurship work. I know that eventually with what I am doing, I will be better off. And I also know that if I did take on a job, that I would let this dream die in me. Which eventually will do devastating things to me.

Hope

I will not give up opening our home to children in need. That was easy. Pretty much everything else is up for negotiation. And every day I’m looking for new ways to make money, save money and cut costs. I’m certainly not perfect and it is a daily battle for me, and I do mean daily, but I am committed – all in.

Ashley

I’m trying to be open to sacrifices both big and small. In terms of “big,” Chris and I have decided to forego our annual Christmas trip back to Texas so we can save money (it will be our first Christmas in the 7 years we’ve lived out-of-state that we won’t be returning for the holiday). We had also originally been planning another trip this Spring. Chris has family in Seattle and I’ve never been to the area. Chris hates flying (read = ~~scared~~ terrified), so we were planning to drive, spend some time, then take our time driving down the California coast line to get back to Arizona – take a couple weeks for the full trip. Obviously that’s out the window. In terms of “small” sacrifices, I’ve been making all kinds of things homemade or DIY instead of buying, we’re trying to cut down how often we eat out, and I’m trying to generally “make do” with what we have instead of buying new things (first thing that comes to mind is a swim suit for summer, though this applies to more than just clothes). In terms of “not willing to do,” one thing I do not want to change is our residence. We pay $1055/month for rent in a reasonable (small 1 story) home in a safe area. In the past we have lived MUCH more cheaply (rent for only $595). But to do so, we were living in the extreme “hood” (in a really rough area). That was all fine and good when it was just me and husband but now that we have children I really value living in a nicer, more family-oriented neighborhood. I’m sure there’s some compromises – places “in between” where we currently live and where we used to live….but at this point I’m not really interested in looking elsewhere. We moved here last August so we haven’t even been here a year, we love it here, and I do not want to uproot us again at this point. I’m not saying this will NEVER be a possibility, but currently it is not an idea I want to entertain.

Mother’s Day Update

by Ashley

Last minute reminder – Mother’s Day is this weekend!

Yikes! How did that happen?

Remember our conversation about gift-giving and how to save money on gifts (basically by not giving any!) Well I wanted to give a little update.

If you’ll recall, we have a lot of family events this month. The first two were my two brother-in-law’s birthdays (the 5th and 7th, respectively). In the past we’ve always sent cash or gift cards. This year they each got a card from the Dollar Tree (fifty cents each)…..and nothing else. If you read in the comments, I admitted that I felt pretty guilty about it as I walked down to our mailbox (its around the corner). But as soon as I put the cards in the mail I somehow felt….relieved? almost lighter even? I can’t describe it, but it felt right. Like I’m doing the right thing.

Next holiday “up” was Mother’s Day (this weekend). I had originally thought I would print pictures and send, maybe in a cheap Dollar-Tree frame. Well time got away from me and we needed to mail them out ASAP and that hadn’t been done. So I took the advice from commenters and let the girls do another art project. Someone commented on how baby’s drawings are like priceless Picassos to grandmas. So that’s what we sent.

I let the girls color on some pink paper, then used scrapbook paper I already have to “frame” it. Before making any cuts I first measured the envelopes to make sure everything would fit inside the card envelope (I didn’t want to have to buy larger envelopes). So it all fit perfectly. One for my Mom, my MIL, my Grandma, and Chris’ Grandma. Got everyone covered. : )

It was really fun getting to decide which way was “up” and “down” and to sign the girls’ names in the corner! On the back I simply wrote, “Happy Grandma’s Day” or “Happy Nana’s Day” (depending on what the person is called).

I slipped these little works of art into Dollar Tree cards, where I wrote a more personal and heart-felt message, signed our names, and dropped in the mail.

Total cost was 50 cents per card (I LOVE the 2 for $1 cards at the Dollar store!).

Certainly not as extravagant as gifts in the past (which have included gifts like delivered flowers, chocolate of the month club, tickets to a show, etc), but I feel so much better knowing that this didn’t set back our debt-payoff journey, and I honestly think our Moms will enjoy these little works of art more than some chocolate in the mail (side note: If anyone has ever thought of doing the chocolate of the month club….DON’T do it! The chocolates are supposed to be packaged with ice packs but always arrived totally melted and inedible at my Mom’s house! Not to mention the insane expense!)

All in all, I feel like this has been a small “Win” in our debt-payoff process.

The remaining 2 events from this month include my Dad’s birthday and MIL’s birthday. I just picked up some pictures from Walgreens (I spent under $2), and plan to put a couple pictures in both cards, along with more heart-felt messages. Not a bad spending month, considering all the gift-giving “holidays.”

Money Envelope Update

We’re only 1 week deep into using money envelopes so I’ll update more as we go along, but so far I’ve really liked using the envelope system! They’re still bulky and slightly annoying and just a general change in habit since I’m almost “programmed” to just whip out the debit card for all purchases. But I have to admit that they’ve been working GREAT at curbing spending! I have also liked having the envelopes to be able to tuck receipts inside or to store coupons for the grocery store (otherwise, these slips of paper would just be floating randomly around inside my purse and often got lost or trashed).

I’ll let you know how I feel 3 weeks from now but so far, so good!

What “Wins” have you had in the debt-payoff (and/or savings) journey recently???