I am not a blogger. This is mainly a place that I can organize my thoughts for myself. A place of reflection and a way for me to stay on track. I have read the entire blog andthenwesaved.com from when it started and have been wanting to do something similar. I thought it was reasonable to apply some of the advice and do a modified "Spending Diet" but lets be honest here I can't do that. I need to go all or nothing here. The only question is when to start? Should I wait until January 1st or should I start sooner? Hmmm.... in the meantime I wanted to write down motivation for myself to stick with this. Reasons I need to get out of debt and start saving:
1) Peace of mind
2) Mobility
3) Now that I am a mother I need to be more fiscally responsible in case of emergencies
4) We need a replacement vehicle soon and I don't want to finance it again
5) I would like to become homeowners one day
6) I need to start a savings for our daughter
7) I need to start saving for retirement
8) I would like to be more financially stable before we have another baby
For the most part, we have been good about not creating more debt. I say for the most part because about annually I will justify maxing out one of my smaller ($200 or $300) credit cards once and paying it back. This sounds much more irresponsible now that I see it in black and white than it has in my mind.
I have realized that even though I really would like to have another baby right now, we should be more financially stable before we should start trying. I mean seriously, we haven't even paid off the midwife yet from the first baby and she is 1 year old. If anything I would like to have her $3,000 in cash to give her for the next baby instead of having to pay in installments like this again.
Also, I feel like if I forced myself to not purchase anything I would free up some of my precious time. I know around convention time I will be all consumed figuring out the perfect outfits which are WAY out of my budget. Consumed is the appropriate term. I will spend every extra hour I have to spare looking online at every store. Eventually I end up talking myself into buying something like $200 boots or a $80 sweater. Once I get the outfits all purchased (usually with money I should be using for other things or with the above mentioned credit cards) I don't get near as much joy from them as I should have for so many hours spent picking them out. Then I feel guilt. I vow I will not do it again. Then a month or two later there is another event on the horizon and it starts all over again. It's just one big cycle.
Here are some rules I have thought of for my Spending Fast:
1. Avoid Etsy and Target like they are the plague.
2. Only purchase coffee if I am with friends. Bring coffee from home instead.
3. Only for assemblies will I allow myself to buy clothing and it must be USED. No casual clothing will be purchased. No shoes will be purchased.
4. Noemi's clothes will also be USED only. I will only purchase her outfits for assemblies (used) and at the beginning of a new season I will purchase her new "wardrobe" on a sale day at Thrift Town and/or at the JBF consignment sale. No new clothing or shoes. I allow myself to purchase 1 new hair accesory per assembly.
5. We are allowed one family vacation in the whole year. It will be similar to our Santa Cruz trip where we make our own food most of the time and do mostly free activities. It will be a destination that is nearby and doesn't cost much to drive to. I will not purchase new clothing for this trip.
That is all for now.
