"Home, Debt-Free, Home" Chapter 1: CHALLENGE

"What is it you really want, when do you want it 

and what are you willing to do to attain it?"

Through out this story I am going to give you challenges. It's up to your to determine if you will accept them. Though I will challenge you that ff you choose not to do something with the challenges, then I will proffer my personal opinion that you really aren't ready to start working towards what you want.

1) Get out a piece of paper and write down your ultimate goal. Post it somewhere, your fridge or maybe as your screen saver on your computer. You have to be able to define what you want and when you want it.
I looked around and found our original goal “We hope to sell our home in three years (this was written in 2013), and purchase another home with only the equity. Completely debt free. This will be more of a self sustainable homestead.”

When we first wrote this down, we weren't even convinced we wanted to move. Our plan changed in respect to how we decided to accomplish our goal. But ultimately, deep down we wanted to get out of the city, we wanted to be debt free and wanted to be as self sustaining a possible on our new property.

2) Now the biggie, what are you willing to do to attain what you want? You may say anything, but are you really to evaluate your spending patterns? This will show you what is really important to you at this moment in your life.

At this point I embarked on a personal challenge where I could only spend $250 for one month. I invite you to do the same.

Exceptions: the mortgage payment, bills that need to be paid. But I wrote down those bills in detail. This will help you face the reality of your debt.

Each week: Everything else came from that $250. I wrote down how much I spent and what I spent it on. At the same time I was determined to pay attention to what I was really doing.

It really was a tough challenge & I learned a lot about my spending habits, which honestly were pretty good. After the challenge I was able to see I normal bought to many things I didn't really need and I ate out to often. I actually found I could live on about 20% less if I curtailed these habits. I started paying cash for everything, when I ran out of money, I had to stop spending. When you think about it, this is what our great-grandparents did. They didn't have credit cards, they paid cash, when they ran out of money, they stopped spending.

I would really like to hear from you. If you are out of debt (completely or except for something like your mortgage) would you share that with us on the Perky Gramma Teaches  community facebook page? What worked for you? My challenge to you is are you willing to do these two items this month? Again, let me know. I would love to hear your weekly updates.

I know it may seem insurmountable, but you are ABLE do it. It is simply one of those things you decide to do it or not. I know some are without jobs, some are getting assistance, some are on social security here. Don't tell me what you can't do, tell me what you CAN do!

One last thing. I am not going to ask you to spend money. That would defeat the purpose. There will be just few exceptions for a book or two. The first exception is I have known so many people that have successfully gotten their finances under control with Dave Ramsey's methods & books. I highly recommend you purchase these two books linked below, to start getting your finances in order. I don't agree with everything he suggests, but you will see that later.

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In case you missed the other posts:

"Home, Debt, Free, Home"
Chapter 1: You Must Be Rich

CHALLENGE: What is it you really want and what are you willing to do to attain it?.
LESSON: A Beanie Baby is Not A Need
Chapter 2: Soul Crushing Debt
Chapter 3: 4 Keys to Find Cash and Make Your Money Work for You.

“If you think you can do a thing

or think you can't do a thing, you're right.”

(attributed to Henry Ford) 

Feel free to join our community at Perky Gramma Teaches on Facebook. We have a nice little group of people and we share various vintage skills & tips. It's all about the journey of farming/homesteading.

                                                                 

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