The ‘living within your means’ lesson is one I’ve heard time and again on Gail’s show, and about a year ago, it really and truly hit home. I realized I’d begun paying for necessities with credit cards, and that I had no clue how much I actually owed. I totted everything up and was astounded to find I had nearly $24000 in consumer debt and absolutely nothing saved. With Gail’s lessons ringing in my head, I dedicated myself to a financial seismic shift…

Nearly a year has passed and my credit cards are nearly paid off, I have several thousand stashed away, and I have a post-debt plan for wealth-building! I never thought any of that was possible. My husband and I have learned to value experiences (time spent together) instead of the race to accumulate things. We find more joy in a picnic of homemade food in the park than the latest cellphone or digital music player. I no longer turn to stores when I feel blue… and to be honest, I don’t often feel blue anymore!

I made a decision to drive my own life and finances, instead of letting debt drive me. And I want to thank Gail and everyone on this blog for sharing their stories and inspiring me along the way!

this is what we’re doing:

i started by having 10 dollars a week transferred into our savings account. i set up 10 weeks of automatic transfers. when those 10 weeks were up i upped it to 12 dollars a week (don’t laugh, i know it sounds silly, but it’s increasing it!) for 10 weeks. now that has almost drawn to a close and i’ve upped it to 15 dollars a week for 10 weeks!

i’ve also started a part time job and half of my earnings are going to go into the emergency fund as well.

i truly learned the importance of an emergency fund this year as my husband lost his job and there was also a series of unexpected expenses. we had no savings (none, not even 20 bucks!) and it caused an inordinate amount of stress individually and to our relationship. how nice it would have been to have a cushion–any kind of cushion!

thanks again gail!

The lesson I learnt is that when we think we are living within our means but still broke, we need to reassess what our means are. Thanks for the great post Gail and for reminding us that credit is like burning money we don’t have and can’t afford.

My sis (who spends like there is no tomorrow) just threatened to put the digital cable on the chopping block because she doesn’t like the limitless violence and gore at her kids’ fingertips. Her husband put up a terrible stink about how he deserves that little luxury after working hard all day. BUT thanks to the deluxe cable and super-fast internet, that man barely sees his children after work (its even on during dinner) and sis is fed up with the brain-sucking entertainment that cost so very very much $ when their debt is spiralling out of control.

Short of just plain cutting it off and watching the fireworks come out of her husband’s ears, what choice does she have? He feels he is the-man-of-the-house and should be the ONE that says what stays and what goes…

I suggested she sit down with him and go over every single little expense and get HIM to draw up where to trim the fat since he doesn’t like her suggestions so much. I also recommended that they EACH have a mad-money allowance (fair is fair) and then she can’t complain if he chooses to buy smokes and fishing gear with it (or give up smoking to keep the cable?) and he can’t whine if she gets shoes and chocolate with hers.