I have been blogging about money for the past three years. It has been an extremely transformative and humbling process. When I began my hope was to be done with my debt repayment process by now and moving forward as a debt free person.
That’s not what happened.
Life is funny in that it never works out the way that you want it to. I hinted at a certain level of fatigue last week in my post My Wild, Eat, Pray, Love Moment. But now I just feel a certain level of resolve. Because I’ve spent the past 3 years working on a better foundation for debt freedom success, I now feel that I actually have the tools to manage this process and finally succeed in slaying the Debt Dragon.
In the past three years I’ve made the following changes:
- My hair-I stopped going to a stylist and started actively doing my own hair and yes, this one was a process. I am very happy to say that I’ve reclaimed my time (and money) by reclaiming this task. It might not be perfect but I feel pretty good about the job that I’m doing.
- Cut My Clothing Shopping Drastically-When I first started this process I was mindlessly spending around $4300 a year on clothing. Really. I made ok money, but not the kind of money that I could spend $4300 on clothes. I did a year No Spending Challenge and have spent less and less each year-while still getting the compliments that I love to get when I rock a great outfit. So far this year I’ve spent less than $375 on clothes-which is huge given that most of my shopping happened in Australia. And, 75% of the clothing I purchased was purchased at thrift stores. As I go into Spring and Summer I won’t be shopping because I already have great clothes for warm weather!
- Managed My Food Spending-This one is a challenge as I love food. But, I have kept my food spending at a steady $250 a month or less by actively using what’s already in my home and meal planning around what I already have.
- Managed My Entertainment Spending-I still have fun, but I try to always find a way to hustle the cost.
- Embraced the Free-If it’s free, it’s for me!! Love free things.
- Practiced Gratitude-I think that it’s not enough to say “I’m grateful…” I have to embrace gratitude like I do yoga-it’s a daily practice.
- Stopped Giving A Sh$t-I just really don’t care what other people think about what I’m doing anymore. In fact, I’ve actively cultivated a circle of friends and supporters who don’t do anything other than support me in what I want to do. I also support them in their dreams and goals. It’s a win, win situation. Now that I don’t care about what the Jone’s are up to (and am kind of skeptical of their situation) I don’t feel like there is something that I have to prove.
- Stopped Going to The Mall When Bored-I used to shop a lot when bored. I’ve worked hard to manage boredom shopping and have focused on identifying when I’m about to fall in the boredom shopping vortex.
- Learned to Identify My Shopping Triggers-I didn’t realize how depressed I’d been for the past 4 or so years. I would have a particularly bad day and then go shopping. Or, eat chocolate..or both! I am actively working on managing my mental health and am feeling the best that I have in years. It is a process though, so I have to work on this daily.
Now that I’ve cleaned up all of the distractions I am now solely focused on the following:
- My well-being (and health)-It’s all about exercising, getting plenty of rest, yoga, and journaling to keep all the stress managed.
- Connections with People-Making a point to SEE.MY.PEEPS. This one is challenging. But, it’s a priority.
- Making $$$$-No need to explain this.
- Debt Repayment-Let’s get ‘er done.
This is a lot simpler than:
- Depression and not managing this issue.
- Becoming overweight (gained at least 35 pounds) and dealing with how the weight made me feel physically and emotionally.
- Feeling the need to stay at a job that I had started to hate. The job, not the people.
- Dealing with a profound level of STUCK (which sucks!)
- Clutter-It’s basically almost all gone. And things are pretty organized.
- The Commute-I really, really hated the commute. Wow. I can’t state this enough. Mr. Money Mustache is totally right about this. Don’t commute if at all possible.
- No process for my money-I now have several levels of money management that I’m working. Basically, every time I have to spend money I try to work a deal. Depending on what i’m spending on. Groupons/LivingSocial Deals, Grocery Deal Fliers, and “timing” my purchases.
Ultimately, I’ve spent the past 3 years creating a foundation for success. So, I roll up my sleeves again and get back to it. I don’t feel badly about it anymore. I’m just working hard to move forward and finish this process. Taking a fresh look at my debt has helped me appreciate how far I’ve come and I trust in my process because it’s right for me. If you’re not where you thought you would be in this process be kind with yourself. There is always a lesson to be learned. Look at your process see what’s working and then get back to it. Good luck!
Are You Where You Thought You Would Be With Your Debt Repayment Process?
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Oh, I can say that I spent a lot of money when it comes to my hair. Last month, I spent $100 for having a hair rebond. I want to stop wasting too much money for my hair and I should embrace my natural curl from now on.
My hair is a lot of work, but I save a lot of time and money learning to manage it. And, I like that I don’t have to depend on someone one else to manage it.
I completely agree about commuting. Mine is shorter than yours, I think, but between the drive and dropping off kiddos, we plan for the trip to take an hour (it’s usually 45 minutes). It’s a huge hit on quality of life. Time is money, people!!
Happily I’m not commuting anymore 🙂 If I were commuting after rush hour, the time would have dropped to about and hour. But, I was commuting during the peak times and so it could potentially take up to 2 hours one way. Also, we were stuck on the highway one year for 8 hours and another year for 4 hours. #CommutingIsAwful
Glad you found some new perspective and can now get back to tackling debt! I see a re-org in my future as well! 🙂
I just had to let my expectations go and move on. I feel a lot better life now.
You built the foundation — now you are ready to soar! I thought I’d be further along but I would say my debt repayment is “steady”
Thanks Melanie!! We are going to have a very powerful and transformative next two years.
I SO love this! I’m going natural with my hair. So I’ve made a HUGE change with mine and my styling! Thanks for sharing!
It’s a big deal! I have some hair health issues that I’m learning to manage. But, the key is I’M learning to manage my own hair which is pretty awesome.
Hair… I gave up on my hair years ago. I have ‘crazy cat lady’ hair and it’s getting coarser and curlier as I get older. My trick is to wind it up in a bun and never let it out. 🙂
My debt situation (mortgage) is not where I hoped it would be at this point. There have been a series of hiccups over the last year that have set me back considerably. It’s well and truly time for me to revisit everything to see what works and what doesn’t. It’s worth sitting back and taking stock regularly anyway. So, today is as good a time as any!
It sounds like you’ve learned and grown during the last few years and that’s a huge investment in yourself. So kudos to you Michelle.
I just laughed when I read your hair description! Buns are a classic and elegant style-despite what your hair is trying to do LOL! Initially I was super frustrated. Then I just thought, there was a lot of value and growth that came from working on all of the habits and mindsets that got me to this place. Now that the habits and mindsets have changed so profoundly I can manage the debt with focus, determination, clarity, and grace. I am just in a different headspace so it’s time to Rock and Roll!
I have $7,200 left of my student loan debt. Started out with $25,302 in 2011 and I am happy to say I’ll be debt free by October! It’s been a long, hard road, as I still haven’t found full time employment and I’m hustling my a$$ off with five part time jobs. But if I can do it, you can do it!
I am so excited for you!!! Thank you for sharing your story, I am cheering you on and I know that you’re in my corner 🙂
We’re not in debt, but we will be by the end of the year. (Thanks, impending huge medical bills!) So I’m taking a new look at our budget to see how much we can sock away each month. And whether there are any small changes we can make. We’ve tried the big ones in the past, and they’re not viable. Maybe if I set my sights a little lower, I can have more success.
I can’t believe how much I was able to change my habits-but it took forever!!! Small changes are the best way to go. I am just crossing my fingers that all goes well with your hubbie’s teeth (I’ve been following those posts).
Ha ha! Nope, not where I had hoped to be in my debt repayment process but onto a way better start than before. It takes a few failures before you step up and say hey, I’m not doing that again. I’ve learned several ways to fail at a debt repayment process, let’s get this done once and for all. I still have my moments as we all do, but I’ve noticed a steady decrease in the silly behaviour I once had. You’re on the right track, keep going!
It’s hard too because I put a lot of pressure on myself to succeed and I was so hopeful when I began this journey that I would be done by now. I’m not and I just have to regroup and move forward. Also, I had a lot of work that needed to be done on myself. That’s hard to admit, but if I didn’t work on myself and I had paid off my debt-I would have been back in debt 3 or 4 years later. I’m working on a complete life change which is intense.
I absolutely love this post! Thanks for the recap on your journey so far and how things have changed since you first started out to become debt free.
Thanks Kayla! Now, the real work begins.
Ever since I started getting serious about repaying my debt, my plan has been in a state of constant evolution. I’m always learning and shifting accordingly. Things are moving more slowly than I had initially hoped, but they’re moving as quickly as they can be given where my life is right now. And I’m okay with that 🙂
I love that you point out that your plan is shifting and evolving. I think that sometimes we forget that with any process we have to manage how we deal with change. I also love that you’ve made your peace with that and are going with the flow.
I would be lying if I said I was where I wanted to be. I’m not. Last year was a learning experience for me. This year things are going great. If they continue to go how they are going now, I may actually get ahead .
Sending good vibes your way! I’m sure that things will go well. Just continue working hard (trite, but true).