Tag / Debt

Are You On A Hamster Wheel?

There are mornings like today in which I feel like I’m on a hamster wheel.

I listen to Dave Ramsey and I keep hearing that if someone is truly interested they will go through something with you.  Do you feel like you’re the only one that is seriously trying to change life for the better?  With Dave Ramsey there are many people that call and talk about how much they want to get out of debt, but their spouse is resistent.  Sometimes Dave says that the person could buy the course or book but the other person won’t bother to read it.  What do you do? You are just continually on this hamster wheel and never getting very far to making an actual difference.    This goes for more than just money – think fitness and other things that are lifestyle based.

How do you get off the hamster wheel?

This is something I’m trying to figure out.  I know that all of these lifestyle issues are connected.  You save money as you eat better, stop going out or ordering in, and spending time exercising. The money you save will pay bills, pay off debt, and build wealth.

So why is it that cookies are continually baked, pizza is brought home, massive laziness overtakes and food is ordered? Why is it that the gym is put off?

I wouldn’t mind the hamster wheel if it was only a metaphor for getting in better shape. Unfortunately, it means that I’m spinning my wheels and getting no where with a number of lifestyle issues.

Are we simply lazy or is it that I’m not leading my family properly?

I am happy to say that I am making slow and steady progress in changing my behaviours when it comes to buying stuff.  I killed off the desire and pseudo-need of getting an iPhone 4S.  I know that that I should appear like I’m sleeping in a bed of money (like all photographers right), but I’m a weird photographer trying to have zero debt.  I got fired up and said that I would rather have the feeling off shoulders and a cleaned up past than to strut around with an iPhone 4S right now.  How else am I going to make any movement towards the 1% right?

Anyways, this post is because I’m getting more and more angry with this rusty and squeaky hamster wheel.

It’s time to win.

 

 

I Care About Being Debt Free

Can you live a life without debt?
How many people actually ask this question, I wonder?

I have cared about being debt free for a long time and I didn’t really know it.  I do know that I was meant to learn a big lesson in this lifetime – a lesson about money. I planned to pay off debt and envisioned it disappearing.  I envisioned it gone and how great it would be to be without it.    The interesting thing was that I didn’t have a plan for how I would make it disappear. I just envisioned it going away.

I’m not going to get into everything right now, but I’ll tell you that I see the light at the end of the tunnel now.  We have a plan that ensures we’re debt free (except for our house) in less than 5 years.  This didn’t happen on purpose; however I do believe this happend because of my massive desire to want debt gone.  With such a desire, the universe or God – whatever you want to call it – put things into order. The order of which may not look as expected but the outcome is oddly the same.

5 years and we will only have a mortgage debt payment.  No car payment, no line of credit payment, no visa credit card payment, no sears card payment, no camera equipment loan or credit at a store to pay, ect. The income we earn will be used to build wealth.   However, there is something that makes me even more excited than being debt free (except the house) in 5 years.  But what?

What is More Exciting?

What makes me more excited is to be debt free (except for the house I still point out) in less than 1 year. 

I’m not going to sit around and wait for 5 years to pass before I can achieve this massive milestone for our family.  That’s why the post about a globe and waiting for stuff like that is super important.  The point of talking about admiring and not aquiring was to say I am handling my money in a much smarter way now.  I’m not defined by that stuff that I own.  The things that I do purchase must be planned out and/or serve an important purpose.   These types of things are to help with my work, business, and creativity.  Everything must be weighed heavily on a system that says I can be debt free in less than a year.

I care about being debt free more than I care about trying to impress you.

This isn’t about living a frugal life and being ridiculous for the rest of my lifetime. I’m just willing to not care about impressing you.  I know that I need to shoes and I’ll get some soon. I promise.  I know that globe would look nice on the shelf in a photography studio or creative office. I’ll get one someday. Right now though,  I imagine the pace at which wealth and giving can happen when I have control over where my money goes.

My Own Empowerment

Imagine all the debt payments you make right now and imagine you suddenly didn’t have them anymore.  When you get paid, you get to keep that hard earned income.  Suddenly you’re empowered. I care about my own empowerment.  I care about being able to focus energy on helping the economy in new positive ways instead of feeding the economy with more debt.

Can I be stretched even further? Can we be debt before the 1 year?  Can I work so hard to hit the mark in 10 months? or maybe 9 months? or maybe 6 months? What would I have to do so that I could achieve this goal within 6 months? That’s a question to ask because it forces me to think differently.

I care about being debt free.

It was never really about globes.