I have been thinking a lot lately about my financial situation. I think this often happens around tax time. It's when I take stock of what I made the previous year and what I owe to the feds. But I owe a lot of money not just to the federal government, but to credit card companies, to student loan providers, to family members. This is not the way to live.
Full disclosure: My husband does not live this life. He inherited excellent money ways from his parents, culture, and some luck of the draw. He has no debt that isn't easily done away with by earning one week’s pay.
Also I do not believe my husband with his cash fluidity should just pay off my debt. He works hard for his money as do I, and it's almost cruel to make him take his savings to eliminate my debt. Especially when he has such lofty goals for it, like buying a home.
My debt was primarily accumulated pre-marriage. It's my debt. I need a plan to get out of it.
My initial plan was to get a "real" job. Meaning 9 to 5 with benefits. And I did that. The pay is good, and I'm making a small dent in the mountain of debt. But now is the time to make a more aggressive plan. Now is the time to strike.
I have free time. I work 8:30 to 5:30. There's lots of hours left in the days.
I have no dependants. Currently it's just me and my husband. No hungry mouths to feed, or minds to mold.
Since I am now an employee, I no longer have a fear inducing tax burden every year.
So first step: cut spending.
Step two: earn more.
Step three: Pay off wisely.
Step four: celebrate!!!
So easy to write, so hard to execute.
This time I'm hoping to rope in a few people to hold me accountable. I'm hoping to write once a month about my progress. Because it's actually a relief to share and one more way to be accountable.
I don't know about setting a timeline. It just isn't reasonable to say that I will pay off over $100,000 worth of debt in 12 months with only $50,000 in income. And I can't fathom what life will bring me in 6 months let alone a year, 5 years, or 10 years. I do want to calculate how long it will take me to pay off the full value according to the current payment plans. And I want to slash the time it takes.
100% debt free isn't the goal of this blog. My personal goal, yes; of this blog, no. I will discuss what measures I'm taking to reduce my debt, what obstacles I'm facing, and the latest theories I've encountered.
Also what this is not: A discourse of someone who has significantly less debt than income. I hate to break it to those people, but if they just cut out their daily Starbucks habit, or cut back their excessive shopping habits, they would be just fine. As I pointed out earlier, my debt far exceeds my annual pre-tax income. There really is no way I could pay it off in a year. Unless I won the lottery. Literally.
And I know of lots of people who are in this situation. It actually worries me how many people I know who are in this situation. If the percentage of debtors to debt-free people in my life is indicative of the proportions in the rest of the country, I am deeply worried. But hopefully, I will become one less. As I learn, you will too.
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