Two weeks ago my
husband, Nick, and I met with our financial planner. We explained our future
goals and current financial situation. We both work full-time and we have a
minimum amount of credit card debt, but ALOT of student loan debt. Welcome to
being in your late 20's making what you believe to be GOOD money, and then
realizing you have a weight chained to your leg called student loan debt for
the next 20 years.
It seems that making “good” money doesn't make a difference
in financial freedom until you can eliminate your debt. Thinking about getting
a house, having kids, taking a few vacations all seems impossible when you struggle
to save money and half your income is going towards credit cards and student
loans. Our financial planner challenged us to start living on one income and
use the second income to pay down our debt as quickly as possible, starting
with credit cards, private loans, and then our federal loans.
I spoke to two friends
who freed themselves of debt over the course of five years, and now have their
first kid and are starting to save money to put a down payment on a house. They
worked so hard to gain financial independents and they inspire me to emulate
their success. So, I thought that I might start this blog as a way to document Nick
and my ups and downs to financial independence.
I have always been
frugal. I saved all the way through high school and college. We were able to pay
for our wedding in mostly cash. I feel like I understand the tricks of the
trade when it comes to saving money or at least making the most out of the
money that you have. When I read articles on ways to save money I keep waiting
for someone to tell me something I don't know. Every article tells you to stop
buying coffee and make your own: check, pack your lunch for work: check, grocery
shop once a week and plan your meals: check and check. It becomes so
frustrating to read that you are already implementing these cost-saving steps,
but yet you are still unable to save and get ahead.
It has been a few
years since we've consistently been able to put money into savings. For a saver,
not being able to put money into your savings account feels like a financial
failure. We have been living life on our credit cards and paying back our
purchases after the fact for a few years now. We end up paying more interest in
the long run for our life splurges, and now feel like we are spinning in a
wheel of debt.
So over the next TBD
month’s/years, I want to use this blog as a way to hold ourselves accountable
to paying off our debt, document the fun and new things we can do to save money
on a month to month basis, encourage anyone who is trying to get out of debt,
and have an opportunity to celebrate our milestones as they are
accomplished.
