Wishful Homesteader

up for jumping jacks?

From Cindy's Porch...

OK, everyone who has ever felt (or is currently feeling) frustrated
about your own financial situation, please stand up and do 15 jumping
jacks! (Jumping jacks are much better than beating yourself up LOL)

Puff puff puff – whew, I am out of breath! You are not alone.

Now, roll up your sleeves, there is work to be done! We're looking
for Financial Balance.

At Cindy's Porch, we believe that the money that comes in every month
has to take care of three "livings":

1) Living in the Past – this is our debts. BLECH! It is the
credit card debts, the buy now pay (much more) later plans, the $20
your borrowed from your friend, the extras you took out on your home
equity, etc. I don't consider your mortgage payment to be part of
living in the past – although, I like to pay this guy down as fast
as possible too – I simply don't like to be in debt. The more debt
you have, the more your monthly pay check goes towards living in the
past. Double Blech!

2) Living in the Present – the things we do and enjoy everyday.
This is a gift.

3) Living for the Future – this is our savings, our investments,
our Cash Christmas, our holiday funds, our educations funds, etc.
Unfortunately, a lot of our cash that could be used for living in the
future is too busy paying off our "living in the past" debts.

We're looking for financial balance.

If Living in the Past is taking up too much of your money to allow
you to enjoy living in the present (and save for Living in the
Future) then you are out of financial balance. And I am going to warn
you all right now – it is a SLOW process to turn that around. Debt is
really quick and easy to obtain. It is slow and difficult to get rid
of.

There is however, good news and more good news.

First good news: Your "BUYing lifestyle" is temporarily on hold.

Whoa, don't hang up the phone yet. This IS good news. You just don't
realize it yet. It is amazing how exciting "Living in the Present"
can be when the need to BUY is taken out of the equation. "Fun" is
not something that has to cost money.

Second good news: Your "DOing lifestyle" is getting kicked into high
gear! And if you have kids, they are going to LOVE this. The "there's
nothing to do" whine is going to change into "what are we going to DO
today?"

You are going to have to be stubborn about this. Put away ALL the
credit cards that are keeping you living in the past. File them
under "S" for "stubborn." Clean out your wallet – get it ready for
living in the present.

If your debit card(s) are also keeping you living in the past, then
put them away too. In our home, even our check book is filed away in
our office. We only drag it out when we are paying the monthly
utility bills. The only "buying" power that you will keep in your
wallet is the CASH you have CHOOSEN to spend that day (or week).

You get to choose. Remember, "stubborn."

Right now, a lot of your money is going towards "Living in the Past."
There isn't anything you can do about this EXCEPT keep chunking away
at this. EVERY extra dollar you can find each month goes into paying
ABOVE the minimum payment. When a card is paid off, celebrate! Then
use its old minimum payment as an extra chunk more on the next card
targeted to get paid off. SLOW and STEADY. (It took my husband and I
two years to chunk away at our credit cards – they are finally at
zero again).

We're looking for financial balance.

Now for the "Living in the Present" part. Yup, because of the debt,
there is less money for living in the present. But that is temporary.

For the next while you are watching what is spent on:
1) Food
2) Transportation
3) Utilities
4) Entertainment
5) Insurance
6) And anything you spend money on.

Everything is fair game. Can you save an extra $20 here and perhaps a
$30 there. These extra savings add up faster than you can earn them
Use these mini-bonuses to keep chunking away at the debt.

And now for the important part!
-----------------------------------------

HAVE FUN DOING THIS!

I know, it sounds corny to tell people to have fun while they are
suffering with debt. But why waste "Living in the Present"? Will
Rogers has a fantastic quote:

"Don't let yesterday use up too much of today."

Worrying about your debt accomplishes nothing. DOing something about
it does. You are going to be spending the next few YEARS getting out
of debt. You may as well enjoy living while doing this.

Spend a few minutes on your financial plan. How much debt is still
left (keep track of this month after month)? How much CASH are you
going to spend today (aim for none as much as possible)? What is ONE
thing you can do today to keep a few more dollars in your pocketbook?
Tackle ONE thing per day – magazine subscriptions, cell phone, cable,
meal planning, transportation fees, utilities, etc.

Now spend a few minutes on your "fun-ancial" plan. What are your
going to DO today that won't cost a dime? What can you DO instead of
BUY today? What is one thing you have been planning on doing that
hasn't been done in a long time?

Today is a gift. Yes, you are in a bit of an unbalanced financial
situation right now. But with a plan you will slowly see your
finances shift so more will be available for the present and more
will be available for the future.

Untitled Comment

01:30 PM, Tuesday, April 29, 2008 .. Posted by heatherdmc

What a great post. I am sure that all of these issues are on everyone's mind even if they don't want to admit it!