Like many people, I found myself in a difficult place and decided to move a number of items into a Self Storage unit. At the time it seemed like a good idea. I could temporarily house my items in a safe space, then, get the items and move them into my new home.
It didn’t work out that way.
Ten years. The items were in storage for ten freaking years.
I can only say “out of sight, out of mind.” In the beginning of the Self-Storage years I thought that the items would be there for a year at the most maybe two. Then, things got busy, maybe even hectic. The payments were automatic withdrawals and as my finances were a mess even though I needed the money- I was so disorganized that I probably would have wasted that money anyway.
In the last couple of years it started to bother me more and more. I didn’t have a car and I needed help so that I could get the items out of storage. I called around to see how much it would cost to get the items out. I called a couple of different moving companies and the cost usually ended up being between $300-$500. I didn’t have that money. Even though I was making a decent wage I really couldn’t come up with it because my finances were a hot mess. It didn’t matter though, I hadn’t gotten to the point where I was angry enough about the money I was losing monthly to get the stuff out of storage.
Finally, I began to take stock of my life, my money, and my health. As I looked at my outgoing expenditures it became obvious to me that the small amount of money housing items that I couldn’t remember was becoming a substantial amount of money. This year I have been paying $160 a month to store items that I no longer care about. There were another person’s items in there as well and those items were important to that person (as well as to me). At this point, it was almost like the feeling you get when you wait in line for hours to get something and you’re just about to leave but you stay anyway because you’ve invested so much time into waiting.
Let’s take a look at some simple math:
$160 x 120 months (10 years)= $19, 200 WTF!!!!
When I look at this amount I just want to shake my head. But, before you get too judgy on me think about the things that you’ve wasted money on. Quantify it over ten years, maybe it’s not as bad as this, but, it’s probably not good. Maybe you had a fast food/eating out addiction plus cigarettes for the past ten years. Not looking so good now.
I couldn’t get the stuff out of storage because I couldn’t get the cash together to pay for the service. Also, that sh$t was HEAVY. I wouldn’t be able to remove it myself. Finally, at the end of 2012 I just had enough. Enough with treading water in every aspect of my life. The storage was adding salt to the wounds. It had to GO!
As I looked deeper into my finances I saw a number of leaks. Both big and small. As I slowly got myself together I really began to miss the money. I had begun to miss the money because I had begun tracking my money every month. I was becoming intentional with my money. As each month went by I got even angrier. With myself. How did I let this happen?
On Black Friday instead of shopping I was taking care of loose ends. I got my stuff out of storage. I found a LivingSocial deal that was $85 and had a promotional value of $175. The pick up and drop off of items should only take 3 hours at the most. I might have to pay another $150 bucks but it was worth it.
I had been asking myself how was I supposed to move forward when I so many things holding me back? The extra $160 will go towards debt repayment and I am so happy about freeing up almost $200 dollars to go towards debt repayment. This makes a huge difference. Huge.
For some people that wasted money could be cable, telephone service, or too many dinners out. If you’re having a hard time freeing money in your account take some time to look, really look at your budget. What are you wasting money on?
If faced with a similar situation I would just sell my sh$t and ship the rest to my Grandma’s house. She has lived there for 40 years and the house is paid off. She’s not moving anytime soon.
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We had to get a storage unit recently but it was either that or deal with all my bf’s clutter in the apartment. It kind of bothers me as well to spend the money but it just has to happen for now. Hopefully not for much longer
I cannot express how much I had begun to hate that storage unit. Loathing, abject, loathing. I was so happy to get rid of it. I can’t even explain the depths of my happiness.
So where did you move the stuff? Are you going to sell some stuff to make some extra money? That savings per month is really going to add up!
I sent an email. It’s a long story!
So glad that you are done with this! You will free up so much cash. I’d be scared to know how much I’ve spent on food and booze for 10 years. I am working on it every month. (Un)fortunately, I have some stuff at my parent’s and my bf’s parents house. I don’t even know what at this point, but I should really just get rid of it or bring it home. When I left for grad school, I just really didn’t know where I’d end up.
I cannot explain how happy I am to never pay this bill again. There were special circumstances that affected my decision. But, if I find myself in a similar situation I’ll sell stuff and put it in my Grandma’s place. There are so many storage units that there are now shows about people who stopped paying and then got their stuff auctioned off.
Wow, I didn’t realize storage cost that much! I am very non-sentimental about my items. If I’m not using it, it gets sold, donated, or tossed.
I guess people would say I waste money on eating out, but I’m okay with it. And that’s all that matters 🙂
Erin, if you ever travel or move don’t even think about getting a storage unit. It’s not worth it. As for eating out-that’s also something I really enjoy!! No judgement.
We had a storage unit that at the beginning of our debt busting got rid of. It was in another state, so my husband went down with a tacit agreement from me to pitch anything that belonged to me because we couldn’t afford to plane tickets. It couldn’t remember what was in there so I figured I didn’t need it. Thankfully he saved a few photo albums I had from college & high school, but I think my high school year book might have bitten the dust. 🙁 Small price to pay to get out of self storage hell. Great piece. I had to share it on the Debt Free Divas FB page!!!! Really gets the juices flowing.
Thanks Toni for your kind words! I LOATHED that unit towards the end. As I worked harder and harder on paying off my debt the more I felt that money was being wasted and by not being able to use that money to pay off my debt I felt like I wasn’t staying true to my mission. I want to be debt free as soon as possible. The fewer outgoing expenditures I have the faster I’ll get there. Can I just say that was A LOT of trust to let your husband take care of everything. Out of sight out of mind though. Not paying for the storage is the most freeing feeling every. I didn’t realize how burdened I felt until it was gone.
Out of sight out of mind is right! My BF’s family has had a storage unit for years now and I’m positive they’ve forgotten about it!
Truth! Out of sight, out of mind. I wonder how much your boyfriend’s family paid for their storage?
Glad that you get out early!!. Some people even forget about they have a storage unit! that’s why DO NOT use autopay as payment option when you rent a mini storage.
We used it for a few months last year. Most of the stuff are just junk that we don’t use anymore!
It was a disaster and you’re right to say that auto pay is not the way to go!
Yikes, is that what you were paying? The cost was why we decided against storage units and just used our parents’ garages (luckily we didn’t have a lot of stuff). Downside: it’s not as clean and dry, but that was okay – just meant we had to scrub all our kitchen stuff extra hard, and I’ll be washing all of my wardrobe over the Christmas break.
I was paying $160 which over time became a hell of a lot of money. It’s amazing how easy things can be put on auto-pilot and then are out of sight, out of mind. Sadly, my money habits were a hot mess so I don’t think that $160 would have made a difference. I would have blown the money because I was so disorganized.