Ramin and I have had some long talks lately about what the future holds for us. Now that I'm done with school we can really start focusing on what we want to do. Obviously we'd like to get married, but we feel that we should get much of our debt paid off before we do that. I've got the bulk of the debt thanks to years of credit card use and school expenses not funded via student loans (those are a whole other ball of wax). So, in order to accomplish this goal I've decided that I need to start getting serious and be strict with myself. We're going to consolidate all of my debt onto one of Ramin's cards that has no interest until August 2010. So that will give me about 14 months to pay off all of my debt. I won't give the exact sum, but let me just tell everyone right now that I won't be doing anything extraneous during this time. When I hang out with friends I need to curb the shopping and eating out to lunch. Instead we need to do free things like going hiking or walking or riding bikes (this is also good for the fitness goals). Now that we've laid out a pretty clear path to be debt free, it will be easy for me to stick to I think. I just have to be focused. I need everyone's support in this and it will be great. I still will have money to buy necessary groceries and such, but the fun stuff is out. I've decided I don't need anything more for the house (at this time) - it's decorated enough and we have all necessary supplies. All of our big purchases have been made for now. We are quite comfortable in the current state so I don't really forsee this as a problem, instead I look at it as a challenge. I've heard of these people who have challenged themselves not to buy anything other than necessary food for an entire year. Many of them said how liberating it was to be out of the "rat race". I think this is how I'm going to look at it. No more clothes, shoes, jewelry, hobby stuff (already have enough supplies to last a while), movies, etc.
This will be a challenge but I hope come next year we'll be in a better position for everything!
1 comment:
EXCELLENT IDEA ... PAY ALL DEBT!!!
You can remain commited (FOCUS Jack), as you set and achieve your milestone goals. This pertains to ALL that you desire ... weight, exercise, academics, eBay, house, and marriage. Ramin is a GOOD MAN and I know he shares your vision. Your Generation Y has been jaded with my Baby Boom Generation failures. History is NOT doomed to repeat past patterns, if you are WISE to recognize the pitfalls. Therefore, pay debt down, maximize $$$ in the bank, SCRATCH BLING, lose weight and conserve energy. GEN Y has a tough road to go given GEN X apathy and Baby Boom excess. GEN Z (still evolving) will wake up in 2050 to a Surreal Reality. Of course, ALL may END on 12/21/12 but, that is NO excuse to QUIT now. Next time I visit you can all challenge me again on my vast Trivial Pursuit knowledge ... LOL! LOVE, DAD
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