Change
The Food Puppy
Today I am referring to the difficulties I have had with eating out as my “Food Puppy”. It’s been like a puppy because it’s a small issue, yet it’s taking up a good amount of energy (money). Unfortunately, food isn’t as cute as a puppy, but I do find myself staring at pictures of steak.
As I have mentioned recently, eating out is down to less than 3 times a week. It’s weird to say it, but it’s become normal for me. I am starting to prefer food at home over dining out. At one point in my life, I was spending about $700 a month on restaurants and fast food. I knew that I would get this under control and I am so happy it did.
Since I began eating at home more, I’ve noticed more money in the bank, a better relationship with my girlfriend, a cleaner apartment, and a happier me. In the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the Character Ethic, Steven Covey talks about how the path to self-esteem starts with making and keeping commitments to yourself. He makes it seem so simple.
Now that I have gotten a handle on eating out, I can honestly say that most of my expenses are under control. My mentor suggested trying to look to save money in every category of my life and I will continue to do so. He told me to make a game of it and that’s what I plan on doing.
Making a game of cutting expenses has been a blast so far. I feel a profound sense of pride about my financial situation in a way that I have never ever felt. For me, frugality is about getting the most out of life and I can honestly say that life has been great. 2010 has been off to a great start.
The Debt Dinosaur
I recently went to the Museum of Natural History in New York City. It was a wonderful experience overall, but the most exciting part was the dinosaurs. Dinosaurs were HUGE! I started to imagine what life would be like if they still existed. Zoos would really have to be modified to contain those creatures.
Like many people, I feel like my debt is huge. My debit is my dinosaur. It’s time for me to get on the path to making my dinosaur extinct!
I have decided to do Dave Ramsey’s Debt Snowaball Plan. According to Dave Ramsey, it’s important to knock out small debts first. Psychologically, this good because you start small. As you start seeing more debt getting paid off, you become even more driven to get rid of your debt.
I know I can do it.
I want to do it. It’s time.
It’s uncomfortable.
It’s necessary.
It’s what I need to do if I want to become a millionaire.
How do you tackle your debt?
Gratitude: I am grateful for a wonderful performance last night in New York City. I love playing music for a living and am so glad that I chose this as my career path.
I like that. Seeing your total debt next to the bills is a good way to keep yourself focused. I really like that idea.
I’ve been doing one thing differently this year. I calculate my total debt every month and list it at the bottom of my bill paying calendar. I now see that it is indeed shrinking every month and I’m even more focused on getting rid of it. Seeing it often keeps me motivated.
By the way, I still write checks and have no automatic bill payments. I’m too worried a mistake will be made. Sometimes there is $800.00 in the checking account and sometimes there is $3.00 in there.
You haven’t raised your standard of living?
Good for you! I’m proud of you.
Actually, I had been working two jobs when I started on DR’s plan, so the income from the part-time job went toward my debts. I quit the part-time job about a year in because the workload from my primary job (I’m a trial attorney) was getting so I couldn’t function in both effectively. And then I got a raise that more than offset losing the income, which is still going all toward debt. Haven’t raised my standard of living since I got the raise, because I’m on a mission!
Thank you and thanks again for the excel spreadsheet you emailed me.
I have been using the dave ramsey snowball for 32 months. During this time I have paid $60K on $105K of debt. I have paid my share of interest.
If I had to do it again I would do it the same way. I would not have wanted to put the energy in to constantly recalculating the best order to pay the debts off.
When deciding what you think about Dave’s recommendations, I high encourage you to keep in mind that he is creating a sense of urgency in people to get them going. So, a part-time job would be good if you want to be more agressive.
I really want to be done by Feb 2011 (43 months), so I need to increase my inflow when I can. I have worked a couple of extra jobs and I am going to try to get on with the census. I am doing it because I am ready to done, not because I can’t afford to live.
Congrats on the food puppy! This is also good for your health and future healthcare cost.
Thank you Ronnie. I appreciate you letting me know that you enjoy reading my blog. 2011 is gonna be a fun year for you. I have a feeling that I am going to need to adjust my priorities accordingly in this plan, like you did.
Did you also get a part-time job like Dave suggested?
Thanks Peter. The point you made about the cost of this is one of my concerns. My plan is to start doing it this way and build some momentum.
Good luck on your journey! About 2 years ago I severely curtailed my spending and it brought me such a sense of relief! I didn’t do this for financial reasons, but rather because ‘the chase’ was becoming stressful. There are so many ways to cut costs, and it can be a lot of fun!
I disagree with Ramsey’s strategy of paying off the smallest debts first. If you need to do this to get motivated, that’s one thing. But if you pay off all your debt in this manner, it will potentially cost you major $$ as the higher interest debts continue to accumulate higher balances.
Have fun with your journey, and the best to you!!
First of all, good for you regarding your eating out. I know this was something you’ve been working on for a few months, and it looks like you’ve gotten much more comfortable with it. Congratulations!!!
Second, I started on Dave Ramsey’s plan, but moved away when my card with the lowest interest rate (7.8%) became the card with the highest (21.99%), which was 8% higher than my next card. I was so FURIOUS with them that I vowed to pay them off first, and I did. After that I went back on the DR plan and paid off some smaller loans, and I’ve consolidated my remaining debt onto the card with the smallest interest rate (no balance transfer fee!),so I’m down to just paying off this one card. Can I express the joy I feel?
I’m also paying off my car note this year, hopefully, by taking the remaining funds once the CC is paid off and putting it toward my car note. The one thing I won’t do is put my student loans in the Baby Step 2 category. I owe over 6 figures in loan debt (first number used to be a 2, now it’s down to a 1), and even putting all that extra money toward them, I’d still be paying for another 7-8 years. The other debts fall nicely into DR’s 18-24 month payoff range, and it’ll be REALLY nice to have no car note or credit card payments in 2011.
Best of luck to you; I really enjoy reading your blog, even if I don’t comment much
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