Dear Friends and Family,
You know the feeling? When you finally accomplish something you've been working towards for a long time? It's a good feeling.
Since Mr. mouse and I met, eons ago, we've been chipping away at debt - credit card debt, car debt, student loan debt, house debt, you name it, we had it, debt. Well, yesterday marked the end of a long journey to debt freedom. Our only monthly fixed obligations now are taxes and insurance. Everything else is solvable... to a degree... We'll always need water, electricity, and gas for heating. But, it gives us a ton of flexibility now.
For instance, I could take a year off if I wanted to. Or, Mr. mouse could open a restaurant if he wanted to. Or, we can start saving toward a new car if we wanted to.
For now, we're just savoring the sense of freedom and pondering the possibilities. Plus, I've committed the next couple of "payments" to our retirement account since it would be a tax deferred investment. Tax deferred. Good.
So, what was the key? Well, there's luck. We've been fortunate to stay employed and to stay healthy. And, then there's skill. We've been sticklers for figuring out how to keep expenses to a single income and use the other income for debt reduction. Mr. mouse's paycheck keeps food on the table and a roof over our heads and the tax man away and the insurance company happy and the utilities paid and covers any fun things we do. My paycheck went towards debt.
Tricky philosophical point - we ultimately decided the monthly obligation would come from Mr. mouse's paycheck and any extra payments from mine. So, if there was a minimum balance due on a credit card that would be covered under Mr. mouse's paycheck. Mine would only cover extra principle payments.
The first couple of months adjusting to life with one paycheck were tough. But, after awhile, we didn't miss the extra money. We got used to deferring purchases until we saved up the cash for them. We dropped cable and life didn't come to an end. We ate out less. We bought less stuff. We managed.
And, now, we're free at last.
Cheers!
mouse
You know the feeling? When you finally accomplish something you've been working towards for a long time? It's a good feeling.
Since Mr. mouse and I met, eons ago, we've been chipping away at debt - credit card debt, car debt, student loan debt, house debt, you name it, we had it, debt. Well, yesterday marked the end of a long journey to debt freedom. Our only monthly fixed obligations now are taxes and insurance. Everything else is solvable... to a degree... We'll always need water, electricity, and gas for heating. But, it gives us a ton of flexibility now.
For instance, I could take a year off if I wanted to. Or, Mr. mouse could open a restaurant if he wanted to. Or, we can start saving toward a new car if we wanted to.
For now, we're just savoring the sense of freedom and pondering the possibilities. Plus, I've committed the next couple of "payments" to our retirement account since it would be a tax deferred investment. Tax deferred. Good.
So, what was the key? Well, there's luck. We've been fortunate to stay employed and to stay healthy. And, then there's skill. We've been sticklers for figuring out how to keep expenses to a single income and use the other income for debt reduction. Mr. mouse's paycheck keeps food on the table and a roof over our heads and the tax man away and the insurance company happy and the utilities paid and covers any fun things we do. My paycheck went towards debt.
Tricky philosophical point - we ultimately decided the monthly obligation would come from Mr. mouse's paycheck and any extra payments from mine. So, if there was a minimum balance due on a credit card that would be covered under Mr. mouse's paycheck. Mine would only cover extra principle payments.
The first couple of months adjusting to life with one paycheck were tough. But, after awhile, we didn't miss the extra money. We got used to deferring purchases until we saved up the cash for them. We dropped cable and life didn't come to an end. We ate out less. We bought less stuff. We managed.
And, now, we're free at last.
Cheers!
mouse
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2 comments:
wooo hooo - you are fabulous and all of your hard work has paid off...literally! well done, mousey family!
i hope you can take advantage of your new found freedom to eliminate those pesky time sucks...you know...your job! ;)
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