Debt Free and Happy?...

I think I've talked about our journey to get debt-free on here before but I haven't talked much about life after getting out of debt. So, here are my thoughts on that and a glimpse into our everyday life......

Living debt-free (besides our mortgage) is a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. We basically keep to the same strict lifestyle that we did while getting out of debt. That means that we live on a zero based budget, meaning every dollar is accounted for, it has a place. We learned in FPU (Financial Peace University) that if you don't name every dollar, if you don't tell every dollar where to go, you will just spend it. That is so true for Donny and I! So, we continue to do that today. I admit, some months are better than others. That's O.K. though. We are a work in progress and it will take a lot of time to change habits that are 20 some-odd years old. We try not to get too down on ourselves and make an effort to do better the next month. If you sit and stew on your mistakes you tend to start giving up so we try not to do that. I believe that one of Satan's tricks in this modern world is the enslavement of money and debt. This "get what you want when you want it" world has become numb to the effects of debt and love of money though God warns us of it many times in the Bible. And the world doesn't understand those of us that are trying to break free, which brings me to my next thought....

When we got out of debt I thought everyone I knew would rejoice with me. I was wrong! Most people close to us did rejoice with us, like our family and friends. We were heavily supported through this process which I think helped us succeed. But there are always people that don't understand and don't agree with what you do in life. I told everyone about our experience including strangers. I wanted everyone to try FPU. I wanted everyone to experience the freedom, relief, and joy that we had. So, I know I heard a lot of criticism because I was talking to so many people. But there is one comment that I will never forget. Someone told me once that they "would rather be happy and in debt than debt-free". Whoever said I wasn't happy? And that's exactly what I told this person. I told them that I was the happiest I'd ever been, that I appreciated things so much more because we sacrifice for them, we work for them, we plan and save for them. I explained that once the debt was gone we realized the stress it was causing us and the freedom from that was immeasurable. But they couldn't understand. And that's what I mean about being numb, being blind, to the effects of debt. This world equates being debt-free with unhappiness when it should be the other way around. 

During FPU we were taught to have weekly budget meetings and then slowly move to monthly, then bi-monthly and so on. This really helped a lot because it was a good reminder every week of where our money needed to go and what our goals were. It also helped us to see our accomplishments which kept us encouraged. We still have budget meetings about every other month if there needs to be a shift financially. Since having Q I am a stay-at-home mom. This means that we are down to one income so these budget meetings are crucial to keeping us on track. This is the smallest amount of money we've ever tried to live off of but I think we can do it. But this does mean that my sweet husband is going to go back to working two jobs. He feels so strongly about keeping me home that he wants to make this sacrifice. I don't deserve him! Also, financially it doesn't make sense for me to work full time. Daycare for an infant is only a few hundred dollars less than I could make in a month. So it's really not worth it right now. We have a plan though!

This is something we also learned in FPU, to always have a plan A, B, C, and D and sometimes more if you need them. We have so many plans because you never know what God is going to do. We want to make sure that we are giving Him room to work and provide for us so each plan is for different situations should they arise. This has also been a lesson for me in flexibility. I like having a plan. I like knowing what we are doing and for how long we are going to do it. But if I truly want God to be in control then I have to sit back and wait sometimes to see what He will do. That is so hard for me! I have to pray a lot for faith and trust in the Lord. 

Here are some practical things that we do, or don't do, to stay on budget......

1) We do not exchange gifts with each other. If we do, they are small and have been planned for. For example, on Father's day I hand-made Donny a pretty kick-ass card and a button that he had to wear all day. I then used a coupon I had from Shutterfly and made him a photo book full of pictures of him and Q. He freakin' loved it! We had lunch from Subway in the park that day after church. All in all, it cost less than $30 and was a great day. 

2) We do not go on many dates. We have a lot of "in home" date nights because they are so much cheaper. We love watching movies together so I will often cook us a meal, Donny will hit up a Redbox, and we cuddle up on the couch. This is the best during the winter because then we also have a fire in the fireplace. So romantic! :) We try to focus on just being together and enjoying each other rather than what we are doing. 

3) We do not buy extras at the grocery store. We eat simply, meaning chicken and ground round because they are cheap. Probably about once a month I make something with pork.We do not have much junk/snack food in our house. I make a meal plan for the week and I buy only what I need for those meals and our lunches. Every other week our grocery bill is a little higher because that is when I buy paper goods, toiletries, and items to restock the pantry. Donny moved to cheap beer and I stopped buying vodka. I miss my margaritas but being able to stay home is worth it. :)

4) We keep the lights off if we are not in a room. Simple but effective. 

5) I only turn the AC on when it is unbearable and I keep it set at 79. I turn it off as soon as it cools off outside and then I open up the house for the rest of the night.

6) My house is not decorated. Now, before everyone gets all crazy let me say that it is not decorated because I don't care enough to do it. I would love for my house to look like a magazine but I'm lazy and lack the talent to put it all together. So, by default, this has saved us a lot of money. Things are just pretty basic in our place. What I do buy for the house is often used or on sale. In our living room the only piece of furniture we bought was the couch and it was used. The two chairs were given to us and because the space is so small we use the piano bench as a side table/coffee table. The piano was free. The rug was a birthday gift which I had put on my Amazon wish list. So was our other side table. Our kitchen table we bought off Craigslist and, unless we have more than four kids (which is highly unlikely), we will never need another one. The two bar stools were Target sale finds so I did spend a little more for them than I would have liked. But I freakin' love them. As far as actual decorations I'm just not a huge fan. I don't really like things hanging on the walls and I'm not a big knickknack fan. My husband likes these things, though, so I'm trying to find some sort of compromise. I try to re-purpose things that I already have. For example, the piano needed something on top of it so I used a table runner I already had. It's free, simple, and just what it needed. When we were putting together the baby's room I was trying to find a shelf for over the changing table. But, of course, I wanted something all cute and stuff. Well, "cute and stuff" is expensive and never in the right size. I gave up on the shelf until Donny suggested two we already had but weren't using anywhere. They are just simple and white but they are deep and long which is what I needed. And FREE!!! (As if Q's going to even care what his shelf looks like anyway.) Q's dresser was also a Craigslist find and exactly what I wanted. I looked for a dresser for almost a year so patience is key!

7) When people found out we were having a baby we got offered hand-me-downs left and right. I took almost all of them. Who cares what Q wears? He's just going to poop, pee, and spit up on it. Plus, it's the summer and it's hot here. Half the time he's hanging around in just a diaper. I took other things besides clothes too. We were given a lot of gift cards which were such a blessing. Because I had so many of the big items I was able to use those gift cards for other things to fill in what we needed like a few more bottles, more formula, groceries, etc. Getting ready for Q was pretty easy though. We were really blessed by friends and family and ended up being given three baby showers! We got almost everything we needed and then some! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

8) I like to sew but fabric is really expensive. I first try to do my project out of fabric I already have. If I need a certain color that I am lacking then I call my sister, my mom, and a few friends to see if they have any fabric they would be willing to give me. I do the same for them so fabric is often being moved around among us. A few times a year they will go through all their fabric and de-stash, get rid of what they don't use/need to clean up their crafting space. Those bags of unwanted fabric are then circulated through us. I am usually the last to get them but I still totally score and keep almost everything because you never know when you might need something made out of poodle printed flannel. :) 

The last thing I want to say is that I do believe there are times in life when it is unavoidable to not go into debt. For example, if I total my car tomorrow, we will not have enough money saved yet to buy another car and will have to take out a loan. Yes, I know the insurance company will pay me for my totaled car but my car isn't worth that much so we would need to put in some money. The goal would be to stay within a budget so our monthly payments were as low as possible and then focus on getting the loan paid off ASAP. The point is to plan for all these things and save, save, save as much as you can. Even if it's only $10 a month, it"s something and it gets you going. 

Well, I know that was long and boring. I was just thinking about it all this morning so decided to document it for myself. If you ever have any questions about FPU, living debt-free, or life afterwards, feel free to ask. I'm an open book and would love to share with you how this amazing program has changed our lives. Debt-free and happy? HELL YES!!!!