This blog is an update to what got my blog rolling in the first place. My very first blog entry, which I was very reluctant to write (for some reason when I think blog, I think hipster) was about the road of recovery in my families finances. The focus of becoming debt free started about two years ago since the vacation up in Montana. Much has happened since then and things have happened since my first blog entry. Here is the update.
Because of the recession and the fall of housing prices we had to make a choice that was hard, which was to sell our house. When we bought our house 5 1/2 years ago we were not quite sure if/how long we would be able to afford it. I mean I was 21 and my wife was 22 buying a new 1900 square foot house. I was well aware of the financial burden that would be on us. But we jumped in with both feet and were able to live there for 5 years. What is funny is when we bought that house, our plan was to live there five years, sell it and buy something we really wanted. Little did we know (or anyone else for that matter) how far the housing market would fall.
With our new found goal of destroying our debt, this became our top financial priority and we were doing well at it. By the end of 2009 as equity was sinking it was time for us to make a decision. Try all we can to keep this house or short sell it and free up money to pay off debt. The decision was hard. This was the house all three of our boys were born at. We put so much love into that house, upgrading it, decorating it, and maintaining it. But after all that we realized, it's just a house.
Well with that decision comes a decision of where to go next and what plan do we set forth. So the plan is to rent for two to three years, and by that time we will be completely debt free and be able to save up a down payment for our next house. As many know, with moving comes costs. These costs have been our stumbling block as they have thrown off our focus to our debt-free goal. It took me almost 8 months to realize I was off track. I was not accomplishing my goals.
The other night I was paying our bills and figuring out our debt snow ball. I realized that since we had moved into our new house, we have not been attacking our debt. I cannot tell you how sick that made me feel. I mean..I was sweating, dizzy, and confused. At that moment I was so disappointed in myself being the leader of my family. The next day I set up a goal, a very structured goal. We have four credit cards left to pay off and two car loans. I am tired of having these drag around my neck and it is going to take fierceness to break free and capture that breath of fresh air.
The goal from here on out is to pay off our B of A card by the first of June, our American Express off by September 1st. By that time we will have one of our cars paid off, then by that time we will be able to put $1500 a month towards the remainder of our debt which will take about 10 more months to pay off. This does not take into account any commission checks I will be receiving throughout the year. With those checks we will put 80% of those towards debt. Hopefully, God willing, we will be able to be debt free by the new year.
Why I wanted to share this was because although I did have a season of failing my goals, it's never too late to turn around and start attacking it again. It's hard to remain perfect in your plans, so give yourself some grace and make a decision to reach your goals. We are once again on the right path, taking a lot of action and aggression towards financial freedom. If anyone needs to know how to plan out your goal paycheck to paycheck, I would be happy to help with that. Having a plan and having support is necessary. I am thankful for the path I am on because I know it will allow me to help others in a more substantial way in the future.
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