Financial Fridays: Looking Back

You know how we have social media flashbacks reminding us of where we have been and what we were thinking in years past? This lovely photo below popped up on my social media feed as a flashback that I thought I would share to encourage those who wonder if they’ll ever make it.

Hard to believe its been 6 years since this photo! So much has changed since then in a positive way. Those credit cards stayed in ice for a long time. I think I finally got them out and shredded them when we moved in 2016. We paid off a vehicle, a small debt to a family member, all of our credit card debt (about $6-7k) and my student loans (about $18k) since then. We also sold a house and are now building a new one. Sold a vehicle and are making payments on another (four years to go on this one!). Earned a Master’s degree and by taking one class at a time, I paid for my education each semester instead of creating more student loan debt. We’re currently doing payments on a small medical debt but hope to pay that off early. But that’s it. We have not had credit card debt (as in carrying a balance from one month to the next and thus getting charged interest) in years.

I say all this not as an attention seeking brag but as an encouragement to those who think getting out of debt is hopeless. It isn’t. It is just a process that is going to take time because you have to change your mindset in your spending habits and be intentional about the ultimate goal. It is a heck of a lot easier to get into debt than it is to get out but there is sweet freedom of becoming debt free. We aren’t 100% there but by golly, we are a heck of a lot closer than where we use to be.

Now is the time of year when people start getting large sums of money back in the form of tax returns. This is a great chance to get a jumpstart to your own debt free journey! I understand the siren call of taking a nice vacation or splurging on some new fun stuff like treating the kids to the newest gaming system or some new clothes or household items. It’s seductive, that desire to go buy, spend, blow that money because you earned it and want to treat yourself and your loved ones.

But…

How much better would your mental health be if you didn’t feel you were living quite so paycheck-to-paycheck? To have your finances in a position where you had breathing room and a savings account so that an unexpected emergency room bill didn’t drain away what little you’d managed to save? No more using the credit card to pay the light bill, no more trepidation that there’s yet another phone call from a payday loan company? Wouldn’t that have a longer lasting impact on your life than the next PlayStation system or trip to Great Wolf Lodge?

I hope this doesn’t come across as judging. It’s not. It’s just me saying that finances can get better. I was working in an office making $26-27k/year and J had been at a manufacturing company for a few years, can’t remember what he made. We had one kiddo in daycare. A broken water heater ($400) the day before thanksgiving in 2013 was what put the fire under our butts to make changes. It sucked at the time but man, it has definitely gotten better. Looking back to where you were can help you appreciate how far you have come, which in turn motivates you to continue to strive to where you want to be.

Make 2020 a year of vision, a vision for becoming fiscally green followed by achievement! Go green, my fellow Texans!