Blogging Away Debt

I think it’s better if I just don’t know other people’s financial circumstances. It’s inevitable that no matter how hard I try not to, I end up scrutinizing their spending, no matter how much they make. I don’t want to judge anyone for how much they make or how they choose to spend it, and it’s easier to not judge if I just don’t know anything.

So I admit I don’t want to know anything about other people’s money, but here I am telling everyone about OUR money. It is just as awkward writing a blog about our finances as it is talking to loved ones about our finances, and a few times in the last month or so I’ve wondered if what we’re doing is CRAZY. Why would we ever admit to ANYONE that we’re over $100,000 in debt? We’re nuts! Right?

Right. At the same time, though, because of the blog, I had a few great conversations this week with my family and friends about our finances. I sent the radio recording to my immediate family and a handful of friends, and some of them listened and some started reading the blog. When I saw my grandma this week, she told me she had listened to the show and she was surprised to find out how much we were in debt. Then she laughed at us! Can I just say how refreshing that was? We’re doing everything we can to pay off this huge amount, and it was awesome to laugh at how pitiful our situation is, knowing we didn’t have to try to pretend to be okay or try to impress anyone. Much needed laughter and a load off my back! When she was done laughing, she told me how PROUD she was of us for paying off as much as we have so far. Hearing her say that meant the world to me.

I know this conversation, or any of the other conversations would not have happened had we not been able to be vulnerable enough to share our finances. I’ve never talked about it with anyone until we started blogging. What a blessing it has been to be encouraged by people who love us and are trying to understand our situation and encourage us! I kept all this to myself for three years, thinking it would be rude to talk about our debt or it would burden our family/ friends with our troubles, and it’s a relief to finally be able to talk about it and get advice and encouragement.

Do you have people you talk to about your budget and your debt? Do you share your numbers?

Car Maintenance Win!

by Adam Dawson

Over the weekend, I took Emily’s car in to get the brakes fixed. If you remember from our budget, we were supposed to do that next month. But, I had access to Emily’s car this weekend (she’s usually using it for furniture stuff on the weekends) so I decided to get the brakes done while I had the chance and switch my tires to next month.

We have been really impressed with her car. It is a tank and it runs like it’s new even though it has 179,000 miles on it. But since we bought it almost 2 years ago now, it seems like the brakes have always had trouble. We’ve had it in the shop 3 or 4 times in 2 years for brakes alone.

The shop had to resurface all 4 of the car’s rotors, so I was expecting to shell out a few hundred bucks for the fix. Turns out – the last brake job was recent enough that this was covered by warranty! I was out the door and only spent $26 on another couple little items. I don’t remember the last time I went to the mechanic and got out for only $26.

So – I decided to go ahead and get the tires done on my car that afternoon. Can I just say that I LOVE Discount Tire! I have been to at least 3 stores in the Austin area, and the customer service at every location has been second to none. Not to mention their prices. I am very impressed. They had me in and out with 4 new tires in less than an hour.

They do offer an extended warranty (certificate) for about 20% of the cost of a tire that basically replaces it for free if almost anything happens to it. I have never been an extended warranty kind of guy, but I did a little internet research and some people swear by this warranty at Discount Tire. I did not buy it this time, but I was wondering what others have done about this. Would you pay an extra $15 or so per tire for a big fancy replacement warranty?

Also, some people have mentioned saving over time for these infrequent expenses – how much do you set aside each month for car maintenance and replacement? Obviously we had some deferred maintenance but we’re starting to get caught up. I’m hopeful we don’t have to do much else until we can set aside some money for it.

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.

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Car Maintenance Win!