Sat down today just to write some things down for future blogs & took a few pics to post in the future. I am really looking forward to sharing these ideas with you, hoping you will benefit much from it, as you get some ideas to put to use in your own home, or continue to use.Some of you are friends that I've known for some time, & others I will get to know through this blog. But, a little bit of history, traveling through 'memory lane' if you will, one of my first tries of Frugal Living occurred back in 2004. I learned how to make my own baby food for my fourth son. We had overspent our bounds a little at a time & had no wiggle room in our budget. I was very scared but determined to get us out of the mess somehow, someway.
I prayed a lot for God to get us out of the mess. I hoped to find money in the mailbox every time I checked it; nope, no money to be found. But, I realized that I needed to "just do it" & start taking action to become debt free. I truly believe that Dave Ramsey was an answered prayer. I started listening to his radio show online about how to handle money for free. The calls into the show on Fridays were my favorites, as people called in to scream, "WE'RE DEBT FREE!!!" We worked the plan from June 2006 & finished paying off $106k in 49 months w/ many setbacks along the way. July 2010, we celebrated our victory!
During the months up to now, little by little, I stepped out & tried something new to become frugal. Now that we are debt free, I believe I am more frugal than before, finding more ways to save money (which seems strange to me). Earlier this year, I learned how to be very disciplined & budget $10/day for food in my envelope for groceries. It was very tight & was a personal challenge. I did this for 3 months.
So, whether you are being frugal because you have no choice in your budget or you enjoy it, you are not alone. The days will get better, if you don't give up hope for a better tomorrow. Thanks for listening.
Angela
Angela,
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming over to my website and leaving a comment at Spendwisemoms. Wow, that is great that you have your mortgage paid off! I am curious how you were able to pay off so much money in about 4 years. What other things did you do besides saving on groceries?
Marianne-I wish our mortgage was paid off, still working on that. The $106k was on consumer debt...mostly eating out - a little at a time...lol :O (We were "normal" w/ spending more than we made & not having anything in savings. We've been working the Dave Ramsey plan since '06 & love it! I worked nights waiting tables during that time, writing everything down-giving every dollar a name, and got MAD @ all my money going to the bank to fund new furniture, computers, etc @ BOA, CITI, DISCOVER, etc. Listening to the Live calls to the Dave Ramsey Show, helped motivate me, especially callers screaming, "WE'RE DEBT FREE!"~ (Thanks for the comment.)
ReplyDeleteI bet you feel so much better now, not having all that debt by changing ways. Good for you! At least now you will get something for all you work instead of paying for past purchases. Paying down your mortgage will be nothing compared to all that you have done. I bet you feel a greater peace in your life now.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I don't think I could've done it w/ out God's help & the support from the My Total Money Makeover Forums. Now my husband & I are on the same page...it's great. :)
ReplyDelete