Ordinarily I'd wait for Small Success Thursdays to mention a success of ours, yet, I thought, nope, this is just too big of a success to wait on. A few days ago, we made our last van payment. One more debt out the door. It was a glorious feeling, and I kind of felt like we should have celebrated in some small way, however, I suppose that great feeling was reward enough, as we mark another day down in the family history book. One more debt bites the dust....and it was a big one.
Doing our due diligence to save our pennies, we had accumulated enough to make this last payment and be finished with it. The key now, push the money we were using for van payments, to now make payments on our credit card.
It feels never-ending. If it isn't one thing to pay off, it's another. For years now, we have been paying off purchases just to upkeep the house.....a new roof, a new fence.....staining the deck, new washer and dryer and probably a few others I am forgetting.....
We finally came up with a plan. We stopped upgrading the house, until we were caught up with paying off these other improvements. HH really wants to finish that basement, and has been waiting so patiently while we got our act together, paid off the van,.....and made saving a real focus.
On to the credit card. I have sold a few things on ebay, as well as sold through our massive garage sale this last summer, and have accumulated a bit of a savings. But it's just sitting there....doing nothing. This month when that credit card comes, I, yes, me the non-paycheck collecting mother who stays at home with her children, will get to plop down a significant payment on that credit card....and I'm thrilled. Absolutely thrilled.
It won't be enough mind you, however, there is something real and important about a Stay at Home Mom that can contribute in some fashion. Perhaps you don't collect a paycheck, me neither. But I do find ways to contribute to the savings.....and that adds up. It really does. Then that savings needs to be plopped down on some debt.
I was going to put a list here, of money saving things to try, and then it occurred to me, this list is everywhere, and let's face it, we know how to save money if we want to. What can be lacking is the will to do it. My biggest motivation is that it won't be forever. If I buckle down, and stash a little to the side for a year or so, then I won't have to do it next year.
It comes down to personal responsibility. If we expect our government to do it, we must also do it ourselves. A SAHM has personal responsibility for what she buys, how much she spends and how frugal she can truly be. It's never assuming someone else will bail us out.
Any debt that I have created, I never, once thought that anyone else would pay it off for me. It was up to me, to be aware of what I was doing, what I was charging, what I was buying. It was me that made decisions too, and I am responsible for those decisions.
Sometimes I wonder where personal responsibility has gone in today's world. So many people are getting bailed out by someone else, that it creates such dependence. And then, when those bailed out individuals are to go out into the world, they are shaken, truly shaken, that they have trouble even creating a budget to live by, or how to go about supporting a family, showing restraint or have a little self control. It's mind boggling.
It's no wonder we have an economic crisis right now in our country. People wanted more than they could afford and banks were ready to hand over the loans. At times, I find myself feeling truly grateful to be in my own little world of that 50's housewife, who simply says "Yes, dear" and moves with the grace and fluidity as Mrs. June Cleaver, seemingly unaware of life outside her home. We don't have that luxury. We must be aware of our spending, our saving, and make conscious efforts to contribute......even without making a paycheck.
Be creative. There are countless ways to save.
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