What This Site (and I) Will Not Be

I was re-reading through parts of Dave Ramsey’s “Total Money Makeover” before I returned it to the library, and a testimonial caught my eye that had irritated me at first, and irritated me a lot more the second time around. It was about a young couple who scrimped and saved and lived an impoverished life for a long time until they were able to save enough money for a 100% down-payment on a home. I think that planning on paying a 100% down on a home is admirable, but I don’t think that a young and just-married couple should cut out everything but the bare necessities and deprive themselves of almost every bit of sensory pleasure in order to buy a house all-out sooner. Can a lovely honeymoon enjoyed in the first flushes of conjugal love be completely recaptured by a vacation one takes after several years of what appeared to me to be a majorly financial partnership? I think not. It apparently worked for the young couple in question, but I am sure it will not work for me.

And so, I think it is time that I decided what I will and will not do in my journey towards financial freedom. I will definitely be frugal – as frugal as I comfortably can be. I don’t think I believe in never treating myself to anything nice, eating all my meals at home, buying only low-quality clothes, food etc. I will be young only once, and I plan on enjoying myself as much as I can. I know I have wasted a big chunk of my youth incurring debts that I will take a few years to pay off. But I will not deprive myself of the rest of it. I’ll take a few cuts, sure… but I’ll do so without turning into a miser. My answer to the $40 wines I used to buy shall not be drinking water for seven years, but rather shall me the $10 bottle of wine which has been marked down to $8. I shall not replace my hitherto expensive vacations with a no-travel policy, but shall rather plan for shorter vacations, and save the cash for them before I do any of the spending.

And my blog will reflect the same – I shall talk not just about how I make and save, but also about how I spend my money – in frugal albeit fun ways. This is not going to be a blog that talks about how to cut out all expense and live on a shoestring budget, how to manage not eating out in four months, and so on. If you choose to live so, please do. I can afford not to because I know that in a few years time, I will be earning many times more than I am now. I also am able to completely forgo things that have been unnecessary frills in order to splurge on my own special indulgences. I also know that it is essential that I enjoy my financial awareness for it to last any length of time.

What do you think? Should I be cutting out all expense in order to get out of debt? Or is my more lenient approach okay too?

Dog-Sitting Cash

Yay! I landed my first job in the Baby/Pet/House Sitting/Walking job. When I applied for the baby-sitting job that paid too little, I asked a friend whose children I occasionally baby-sit (for free, since I love the kids) for a reference. I think she was a little taken aback by my looking for side-jobs, but obliged by giving me reference. Now, a week and a half later, she asked if I would like to dog-sit for her while she and her family go camping with friends this weekend. I wanted to do it for free for her, but she insisted that she would pay me. She said she'd pay me $8/day which is just under what the kennel charges apparently, and I agreed. Aren't people supportive and sweet? Everyone's always trying to help out - I've found so many people so receptive to this money saving/making journey I am on. So, the little doggie (she's only a few months old, and a real sweetheart) got dropped off at my place last night. And I'll have $24/- more to put towards my monthly challenge come next week. :-)

I watched the news today about the skyrocketing oil prices - shooting up once again. Oil is at $134.67 nearing an all-time high of $135.09. Gas prices are bound to follow suit. My sister has borrowed my car for a month, so I'm commuting by bus and walking a great deal more and I really don't miss having to pour huge amounts of money into my gas tank. Maybe once I get the car back next month, I'll continue doing what I am doing now. I'd sell my car to help reduce payments and debt, but I use it so often to travel that I sure hanging on to it is a better idea than hiring rental cars each time. Oh well... it's progress that is my goal, not perfection.

P.S. I sold some DVD's on Amazon and added the money towards my May-June monthly challenge which is now at $185.79, which is way above my goal amount. I have fully-funded my first monthly challenge with one week still to go. I didn't think I could do it, but have - and the feeling is delicious! In another week, all that money goes to pay half of my Chase Visa debt.