A debt free life is a relaxed and truly pleasurable life.
I've never been a big spender. Got my first job at 13, saved regularly. Essentially I have a history of being financially grounded. As a single mom raising a child by myself, I became uber-responsible in terms of fiscal matters.
I am lucky, very lucky to be in a high paying profession, but at the start of my career, I earned very little. Despite low earnings I was able to save a 20% down payment to build a nice home in an expensive city. After that purchase I still had a very comfortable financial cushion. This cushion included a comfortable savings account, a fully funded emergency fund, and fully funded "spending" accounts for car repairs, vacation, etc. How was I able to accomplish this on one income while simultaneously raising a child?
None of my measures were novel ideas, just uber-practical and executed with unbending mindset. In my mind those are key component, steps - plan - practicality - execution - mindset.
Focused and unbending mindset:
Not caring much at all what other people thought, and when I fell into caring, quickly bringing myself back to my goals. Believe me there were times that I looked at how my colleagues lived, and I questioned my own sanity. They drove BMWs, while I drove old Dodge Colts. It helped that my parents had, through example, demonstrated clearly that living below one's means is the very best way to go. It also helped that my sister was always a buddy in practical living.
Found a buddy - In my case it was my sister. We need at least one good friend/ relative who thinks we're brilliant for living how we are.
Patience - Rome was not built in a day, and quick schemes are - just that.
NEVER EVER bought -anything I was not prepared to pay in full at the end of the month. This included cars, vacations, furniture, outings, everything.
Lived in a tiny, old, cheap & unluxurious apartment - it had no heat, I used space heaters, 4th floor walkup, fairly ugly entryway, fairly ugly yard with a dumpster in the back, nice light because it was on 4th floor, a bit embarassing to entertain in, a nice old crab-apple tree, I made preserves. It cost $350/ month - unheard of cheap in our city.
Made my cheap apartment more enjoyable - good sound system, sanded the floors, painted top to bottom, kept it super tidy, pretended the old claw foot tub was in a spa. It worked, sometimes while soaking in bubbles, it felt like I was at a spa.
Drove cars worth less than $1,000 - usually $750 - Dodge Colt anyone. I swear by these ugly things as a tool to financial freedom.
Taught my son to appreciate life and not "stuff" - we went to museums, symphonies, traveled the world, explored nature almost daily, swam, bike rode, camped, made crafts, cooked. He did not have an abundance of toys or a perfectly decorated bedroom.
Kept mindfulness - each day that children need love and attention, not "stuff".
Kept my son's toys to a minimum - Leggos, wood blocks, logs, wooden train set, board games (lots), tent & camping stuff, garden tools, sand toys, bike, kites, books-books- books- books...
generally santa brought 1 - 2 toys - also socks, unddies, winter coat etc... we made the holidays pleasurable by making cookies and delivering them, hosting family etc.
Didn't allow guilts to take root - all around me parents were innundating their kids with "stuff", living elaborate life styles. I had to be unwilling to let the Jones' shift me. Hard at times.
Prioritized with percision - to enjoy some luxuries - a little travel - symphony - sushi - yearly beach vacation in a tiny cottage.
Cooked at home from scratch 98% of the time - we did a lot of it togehter, and he loves my cooking. I never got takeout, ever. As a treat we did picnics - lots of picnics...
Kept on track by tracking - monthly reviews and fine tuning of my progress toward saving for my house - fine tuning budget/ spending as needed.
Aligned my hobbies with my goals - most of my hobbies were in preparation for getting my home. I learned to garden, refinish furniture, reupholster, thrift shop, make preserves
Made health a top priority - daily exercise - mostly walking - eating well - getting plenty of sleep - taking care of my self.
Automatically deposited savings to brokerage from payroll -this was probably the simplest and most key tool for staying on track with my savings goals. Out of sight out of mind.
Contributed max to 401K - keeping the long term in shape was important too. And if something happened to me, it would serve as a nice nest egg for my son.
Raises & Bonuses - automatically to savings - I simply did not increase my cost of living when I got these
Conscious daily spending - at each expenditure point - I asked - do I want this more or my planned vacation to Peru?
Lunches from home - for a good bit our cafateria at work was subsidized, once it became full cost, I took my lunches daily
My little carefully crafted life certainly did not impress anyone, well, at least not positively. But during the 5 years we lived this way, I actually on more than one occasion lent money to some who had more impressive lifestyles, one who'd previously at times somewhat questioned my lifestyle, or at least my unfortunate choice of cars. At the end of the day it allowed us to have a lovely home without going into "house poor" mode.
I would not change a thing were I to have to live this phase over again. Well, maybe I'd be even more focused in my single mindedness, and even more sure of myself and my choice of cars...hee..ha...
None of my measures were novel ideas, just uber-practical and executed with unbending mindset. In my mind those are key component, steps - plan - practicality - execution - mindset.
Focused and unbending mindset:
Not caring much at all what other people thought, and when I fell into caring, quickly bringing myself back to my goals. Believe me there were times that I looked at how my colleagues lived, and I questioned my own sanity. They drove BMWs, while I drove old Dodge Colts. It helped that my parents had, through example, demonstrated clearly that living below one's means is the very best way to go. It also helped that my sister was always a buddy in practical living.
Found a buddy - In my case it was my sister. We need at least one good friend/ relative who thinks we're brilliant for living how we are.
Patience - Rome was not built in a day, and quick schemes are - just that.
NEVER EVER bought -anything I was not prepared to pay in full at the end of the month. This included cars, vacations, furniture, outings, everything.
Lived in a tiny, old, cheap & unluxurious apartment - it had no heat, I used space heaters, 4th floor walkup, fairly ugly entryway, fairly ugly yard with a dumpster in the back, nice light because it was on 4th floor, a bit embarassing to entertain in, a nice old crab-apple tree, I made preserves. It cost $350/ month - unheard of cheap in our city.
Made my cheap apartment more enjoyable - good sound system, sanded the floors, painted top to bottom, kept it super tidy, pretended the old claw foot tub was in a spa. It worked, sometimes while soaking in bubbles, it felt like I was at a spa.
Drove cars worth less than $1,000 - usually $750 - Dodge Colt anyone. I swear by these ugly things as a tool to financial freedom.
Taught my son to appreciate life and not "stuff" - we went to museums, symphonies, traveled the world, explored nature almost daily, swam, bike rode, camped, made crafts, cooked. He did not have an abundance of toys or a perfectly decorated bedroom.
Kept mindfulness - each day that children need love and attention, not "stuff".
Kept my son's toys to a minimum - Leggos, wood blocks, logs, wooden train set, board games (lots), tent & camping stuff, garden tools, sand toys, bike, kites, books-books- books- books...
generally santa brought 1 - 2 toys - also socks, unddies, winter coat etc... we made the holidays pleasurable by making cookies and delivering them, hosting family etc.
Didn't allow guilts to take root - all around me parents were innundating their kids with "stuff", living elaborate life styles. I had to be unwilling to let the Jones' shift me. Hard at times.
Prioritized with percision - to enjoy some luxuries - a little travel - symphony - sushi - yearly beach vacation in a tiny cottage.
Cooked at home from scratch 98% of the time - we did a lot of it togehter, and he loves my cooking. I never got takeout, ever. As a treat we did picnics - lots of picnics...
Kept on track by tracking - monthly reviews and fine tuning of my progress toward saving for my house - fine tuning budget/ spending as needed.
Aligned my hobbies with my goals - most of my hobbies were in preparation for getting my home. I learned to garden, refinish furniture, reupholster, thrift shop, make preserves
Made health a top priority - daily exercise - mostly walking - eating well - getting plenty of sleep - taking care of my self.
Automatically deposited savings to brokerage from payroll -this was probably the simplest and most key tool for staying on track with my savings goals. Out of sight out of mind.
Contributed max to 401K - keeping the long term in shape was important too. And if something happened to me, it would serve as a nice nest egg for my son.
Raises & Bonuses - automatically to savings - I simply did not increase my cost of living when I got these
Conscious daily spending - at each expenditure point - I asked - do I want this more or my planned vacation to Peru?
Lunches from home - for a good bit our cafateria at work was subsidized, once it became full cost, I took my lunches daily
I would not change a thing were I to have to live this phase over again. Well, maybe I'd be even more focused in my single mindedness, and even more sure of myself and my choice of cars...hee..ha...
