BALANCE AND JOY THROUGH INTENTIONAL LIVING
Paying off debt is not an easy feat, even if the balance is on the smaller side. With all of the shiny things that are dangled in our faces day in and day out, prioritizing debt payoff instead of acquiring it can be challenging. What we’ve found is that making the process fun and as interesting as possible helps. We’ve found that these 5 tricky ways help us speed up the process without getting overwhelmed.
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There are many philosophies on money out there and just as many philosophies on debt payoff. We choose debt freedom over investing because it works for the lifestyle we aspire to have. As we wrapped up 2020, we spent time reflecting on the year we had and planning where we want to go. It’s time to hone in on our goals so we set a good pace for ourselves in 2021.
Some use debt as leverage to amass more wealth. Think of the real estate investor who has lots of debt in the form of mortgages but even more equity in the properties. There are certainly ways to become wealthy using debt.
Others prefer to use their disposable income to invest in the market and grow their nest egg first, then deal with the debt later. Investing well and with the market on your side, you could potentially make even more money than you owe and be able to pay off the debt, if that’s what you desire.
Then there are those who work on both simultaneously. They split their focus and set money aside to invest and pay the debt. While others think that debt just comes with adulthood and something they will always have.
Continue reading “Why We Choose Debt Freedom Over Investing, For Now”
Haircuts have always been important to me and my brothers. I have three siblings; one sister and two brothers. I’m the youngest. Growing up, to my brothers and me, nothing felt better and made us feel more confident than stepping out of the barbershop with a fresh haircut. A perfect line up and a little hair spray make you feel complete. But Simone and I are on this debt-free journey and regular haircuts are a personal sacrifice I have made to trim our budget.
For the first seven years of my life, my mom put me in a high chair on the back porch and cut my hair. I had a 4-inch afro back then. She’d trim a little off the top with her clippers and that was that. My brothers got the same specialized haircut.
As my brothers got older, they started asking my mom for professional haircuts. Eventually, she said yes and we all started going to the barbershop every other week. Thanks brothers!
Continue reading “An Interesting Personal Sacrifice I Am Making For Debt Freedom”
To keep or not to keep the credit cards, that is the question. A very polarizing question. If you follow Dave Ramsey, then you know he is all about cutting up the credit cards and never using credit ever again, as long as you shall live. Bring out the Bible. The only exception is a 15-year mortgage. We follow Dave Ramsey’s plan – mostly. The zero-based budget, debt snowball, and gazelle intensity are game-changers. I subscribe to them. I live and breathe them and I believe they are our quickest route to debt freedom. BUT! And there’s a big but. We have credit cards. And I guess that makes us Dave-ish. Here are 3 reasons why we are keeping our credit cards.
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All couples have a unique way of managing money. What works for some may not or will not work for others, and sometimes it’s a combination of practices that ends up being ideal. We have a hybrid model but when we got married our bank accounts got married too. And merging our bank accounts was the best decision for us.
Some couples keep separate bank accounts and one joint account where they each place their contribution to the monthly bills. But the majority of earnings are kept separate. Others don’t have any accounts together and they decide which bill each person covers. It’s really a personal choice. Ultimately your decision should result in positive financial outcomes for the family and not just one individual.
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We will be sharing monthly debt summaries to show our progress and use it as a way to reflect and keep us accountable and motivated. This month we paid off less than expected. A bit disappointing but we had some extra expenses. Hopefully, we can make it up in the coming months. Let’s get into it. Below is our monthly debt update.
Continue reading “Monthly Debt Update: October 2020”
Halloween is right around the corner but we aren’t afraid of goons and goblins. What we are afraid of is debt. There is something so unsettling about debt and the only thing in life that’s for certain is that there are things out of our control. Hello pandemic!
If you are considering a debt-free journey and you are having trouble getting started, calculate the interest you will pay over the life of the loan. We don’t think you’ll need much more motivation than that.
There are several reasons we want to get rid of debt but it all comes down to living a simpler life. Debt freedom will give us more options to live the life we desire. We also want to set our future generations up for financial success because generational wealth is important to us.
I came to the marriage debt-free and had paid off almost 90k in 4 years – most of which were student loans. I made a lot of missteps as I transitioned from high school to college and graduate school. If I could do it over, I would have been more intentional in finding smarter ways to get through school with little to no debt. But I learned valuable lessons that I now share with others and we will be passing these lessons on to the kids.
Sean had very little debt when we got married – kudos to him! We quickly paid it off shortly after the honeymoon and that left us with just a small mortgage that we were comfortably paying month to month. But we weren’t intentional at paying it down quickly.