What We Sacrificed to Get Out of Credit Card Debt
Posted on June 28, 2007 by Her and tagged debt
Getting out of debt requires sacrificing the lifestyle you have become accustomed to. It's not easy, and some people find that they are their own worst enemy when it comes to making sacrifices. It's that lifestyle that got you into debt in the first place, after all. Having just paid off ALL our credit card debt, now we can look back on what we had to sacrifice over the last 3 years to get here.
- No using credit cards at all.
- Using our hard-earned savings to pay off credit card debt.
- Extended our engagement in order to have more time to save up.
- Living with family for a while to cut expenses.
- No new clothes except basic necessities.
- No new TV to replace our 20-year-old model.
- No vacations except to visit close family in the US.
- Taking public transit to work instead of driving.
- Expensive entertainment tickets limited to one summer concert per year.
- No classes for our hobbies (such as cooking or art classes).
- No home purchase when all our friends were doing it.
- Selling one car and not replacing it.
- Reducing contributions to our retirement accounts.
- Selling items of value on eBay and at a yard sale.
We are still going to sacrifice much of these expenses until after we're married, so that we can pay cash for the wedding. After that we are looking forward to saving up for a home and being able to afford more fun vacations. There is light at the end of the tunnel!
Comments/Trackbacks
Trackback URL: http://www.makelovenotdebt.com/MT/mlnd-trackbacks.cgi/1124
Oh my gosh, there is hope? I am so far sunk in debt right now, and just started seeing a counselor to change my spending habits. I enjoy your blog, perhaps I should start reading it a bit more seriously. :) Changing habits is so hard to do. I quit smoking, why can't I stop spending?!
MVP | Jun 28, 2007
Congrats on paying off your cc debt. But I was under the impression you guys were still using your cards. Your top bullet says you stopped using them completely. Am I wrong?
MVP,
We stopped using credit cards completely for three years while we paid them off. Now that they are paid off, we charge only what we can afford on a rewards card to earn miles toward our honeymoon, then pay the bill in full each month.
MVP | Jun 29, 2007
Cool, thanks for the reply. It definitely pays to sacrifice, as you know. I've definitely found that saving, working hard and sacrificing for the things we really want are MUCH more meaningful and give us so much pride (far more than when I just whipped out the cc and crossed my fingers). Just imagine the day you walk down the aisle, knowing how much patience and effort it took you to prepare for it...
Sarah | Jun 29, 2007
It seems so overwhelming at the beginning, but time goes by so fast. We're almost 2 years into our massive debt reduction plan, and it really hasn't been that bad. You really don't need that much money to have fun! It really helps to read your blog and is also a motivator to me, if you guys can do it, so can I!
JV | Jun 29, 2007
A good retrospective. I've been 'holding off' on a $1000 bathroom remodel in my house for 2 years now until I had enough money to pay cash for everything. It would be so easy to do a Home Equity loan or just charge it to a CC but knowing that it's all paid for is so reassuring. I had some emergencies come up over the last year that I needed the savings for (like a falling tree the yard that required an expensive arborist) so I held off on the project. I started remodeling it this week and it is so more enjoyable working on the project knowing that it's paid for!
Ariella | Jun 29, 2007
I don't mean to belittle your commitment to paying off your cards and your debt at all, but it doesn't seem like you have really sacrificed that much. It's probably just because this is online, and thus there's no context or "tone," but the things you've listed up at the top seem like things that most people trying to live within their means do.
My husband and I got married a year and a half ago and still haven't taken a honeymoon. Our wedding incurred no debt. We purchased a house instead of taking a honeymoon.
Also, we got married in New Jersey, which is much more expensive than Chicago. The point I'm trying to make by saying all of this is that I'm glad you paid off your debt and you're right to be proud, but it really doesn't seem like you're scrimping and saving to a huge extent by the things you write on this blog.
"the things you've listed up at the top seem like things that most people trying to live within their means do"
...and that makes all the difference. We got into a lot of debt because we didn't do those things at the top of the list and therefore didn't live within our means. We had a hell of a lot of fun NOT living within our means, so yes, we're "sacrificing" a more hedonistic lifestyle for one with a little more responsibility.
As for a house vs. a honeymoon, that's your decision. Personally, I know of a few couples who postpone their honeymoon but have not taken one yet.
Also, that's quite a generalization saying that all of New Jersey is more expensive than Chicago. Yes, things are more expensive on the east coast, but by how much? 10%? 20%?
Our blog was never meant to be a how-to on scrimping and saving and being ultra frugal. It is simply just our story of how we're doing it.
Lenny Tumbarello | Jun 29, 2007
The reply to this post stating that using plastic only for the things you can pay off when the bill comes due - - - according to a study by the American Bankers Association and an earlier study by the National Restaurant Association about six years ago indicate we spend thirty-four to fifty-six per cant more when we use the plastic.
Sorry to burst everyones bubble, but if your using plastic with a revolving charge attached to it --- you'll begin debt-ing again sooner or later.
Great post about what it really means to be in mountains of debt. Big congratulations, though, on getting out from under it.
I look forward to looking back at my debt and laughing about it. I sacrificed a year of my life to get out of debt. I'm spending it in Iraq to earn extra cash.
I think you are doing a great job moving forward and decreasing your debt. It's important to maintain balance and do what works for you. So, you definitely have cause to be proud.
But then you already knew that. ;)
happy | Jul 7, 2007
I also don't understand how no using credit cards is a sacrifice at all. They are the ones that got you in trouble in the first place so it was logical to stop using them to reduce your debt. "Giving up" a lifestyle you couldn't afford is not a sacrifice it's YOUR REALITY.
Also, as you move on with your goals, house buying etc, it seems that these sacrifices will be more lifestyle changes than anything else because your future goals will continue to require more from your financial capabilities.
We are all in different stages. I think that Happy is right in that Him and Her's choices are Him and Her's reality. And their reality is that their choices ARE sacrifices! LOL!
You spend like crazy. Then ANY cutbacks you make feel like sacrifices. Then you get used to those cutbacks till they don't feel like sacrifices any more and you feel that anyone who made the same cutbacks you did isn't "sacrificing," they're just normal and doing what everyone else is doing. You feel their cutbacks need to be a little more hardcore in order for the cutbacks to be considered "sacrifices." And that's not really fair to the people in an earlier stage of "sacrificing."
For example, I "sacrificed" by not eating beef a long time ago. Now I "sacrifice" by having one beans and rice night and one soup and salad night. So in my "reality" anyone who still eats expensive steaks is not "sacrificing". But I have to remember that that's MY reality because I'm in a more advanced stage of "sacrificing," for wont of a better term.
When the Joneses decide to sacrifice by staying at home to eat steak instead of eating steak in a restaurant, I can't belittle their efforts. They are simply in an earlier stage is all.
Steve Herman | Jul 20, 2007
Great blog! my wife and I learned about a strategy 5 years ago that helped us pay-off 2 credit cards and 1 auto loan in 30 days! If you would like more info, please visit my website.
Thanks,
Steve Herman
Neal | Jul 23, 2007
Simply making a list of the sacrifices is a great starting point; it at least means that you have owned up to the fact that debt is an issue that you have now recognized as a threat to your security and future.
I need to make a list of simple things I can do on a daily basis to lose weight. I'm eating less than ever and I'm not gaining weight, but I haven't lost any for ten years either. At age 42 and 270lbs. it isn't going to get any easier going forward.
Making a list is a plan of action. The thought that goes into the list is an admission of the need for action. The only way one can fail from here is not taking action or not remaining consistent in the actions taken. It has to become a lifestyle to work.
Most people can start a diet or an exercise plan or a debt reduction plan. Very few will stay with the plan until they reach all of their goals. In the case of debt elimination this is where the services of a qualified professional are of great value. Unfortunately there has been little help here until one reaches the point of credit counseling or bankruptcy. That's the wrong time to seek management; at that point it's just about getting a bail out that will have long term negative effects.
I'd love to chat more about the subject if anyone has input.
Val | Sep 26, 2007
I'm paying off debt too and that doesn't mean I am going to make myself miserable to pay it off several months sooner. What is living, if you don't enjoy it? You are learning to live a more responsible life and you shouldn't be criticized for not being frugal, or sacrificing enough.
DebtKid | Jun 28, 2007
One thing I'm learning from my whole 300K debt fiasco, is that once you get past keeping up with the Jones', its actually very liberating to live small, and under budget.
Reply to this comment