Money has been a topic of conversation around here a lot since we found out we are expecting. The fact that we are expecting double has also doubled our concerns about making it by as new parents. Last night we sat down and mapped out our budget and our debt re-payment. We both have student loans and a few smaller debts that need to be payed off pronto. If it were possible to pay them off by August you better believe we would!
We have been inspired by a lot of other bloggers around the web who are sharing their stories of becoming debt free and living frugally. We already live pretty frugally but there is always room for improvement and we are cutting a few things we do not need to have at the moment. As scary as it is, I think sharing this journey will help us keep on track, and hopefully inspire others to start a journey towards a debt free, frugal lifestyle. We are so excited just to get started, a weight of worry has already been lifted! It's like the first day of a new diet, or something. We are eager to get started and cannot wait to see what the future holds for us financially.
Here are our top financial goals:
1. Eliminate all debt.
- We want to be out of debt completely. We are working on our final date, still crunching a few numbers, but the plan shouldn't extend past a few years.
2. Buy a home.
- We would love to own a home and have a place to raise our boys, garden, make art, and live our life together.
3. Spend less time at jobs.
- This one will be tricky. We need to earn enough to cover all of our bases, but ultimately we do not want to miss out on a single thing in our boys little lives.
4. Have a college savings fund.
- We want to have multiple channels of savings, one big one being a chunk put away for college for out boys and our niece.
5. Not live pay check to pay check.
- Not having to worry if every single bill will be payed or if we can afford to go visit family or spend an evening with friends would be so wonderful. Also being able to spend fun money on our babies would be a huge blessing.
We know that these goals are going to take a lot of dedication on our part. We have already taken steps to lowering our monthly spending. We called and re-negotiated our internet/cable bill. We will no longer be eating out except for special occasions. We will be putting every dollar towards our debt in a snow-ball type fashion (meaning paying off the debt from smallest to largest). We are going to become a one car family for now by selling two vehicles that are a burden to us and eliminating paying monthly insurance on them.
As nerdy as it sounds, we are so excited! Having this debt gone will be the start of a fresh life of financial freedom with our boys. We want to be the best examples we can be for them, and also be able to give them the best life possible.
We will be sharing this journey often and celebrating milestones of paying off our debt. We hope you will continue to follow along and support us in this journey!
-Megan & Dan
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