Starting From Scratch

I want to explore the globe, meet more people, and be more useful to the planet and its inhabitants.

I'm in a great situation for this- I'm self employed, I make decent money at what I do (I'm a professional organizer by trade), and I'm single and childfree by choice. I live in Shawnee, Kansas, where the cost of living is very low. Prioritizing travel and adventures can be easy for me.

But I'm not an irresponsible ninny- I've got some debt to pay off first, and I want to feel so at ease when I'm on the road or backpacking in another country, and I don't want this debt looming over my head.

My total debt is exactly $12,600. I owe $900 on my credit card, $5,700 on my car loan and $6,000 on a medical bill. I like round numbers.

While this isn't the worst amount of debt that anybody has ever had, I'm not comfortable with it. It doesn't serve me well for any of my fun, traveley ambitions.

I should mention that I started a Spending Diet (named trademarked by Anna Newell Jones over at andthenwesaved.com) last fall, and it went gloriously well for 4 months, and then I fell off the wagon in January. I paid off my LASIK surgery from the previous fall, and paid off about 10 grand on my car loan. I can't promise that I won't mess up again, but I will do my best.

Last Wednesday, June 21st, I started a Spending Freeze, and I'm on Day 9. A Spending Freeze is when you spend ZERO money on wants- just on needs. A Spending Diet is when you can give yourself a small monthly budget for wants. My Diet budget last fall was $150/month. It's crazy how quickly that can run out.

Here's my Needs list:
  • Rent & utilities
  • Cell phone bill
  • Food: groceries
  • Gas
  • Insurance: Health, auto, business (WC and general liability), legal.
  • Petri (my dog) expenses: Food, treats, daycare, vet.
  • All medical and auto expenses- this includes the big surgery bill and car loan that I'm paying off.
  • All mandatory business expenses (including Pandora Pro, which I play all the time with my organizing clients- ads would add to their stress, and mine). Also includes hiring my awesome virtual assistant Angela, who handles calls and emails for the biz. Could not do it without her.
  • Business travel
  • Expenses for my Jamaica trip in the fall (my high school pal is getting married and I wouldn't miss it for the world).
  • Monthly Roth IRA payment
  • Mandatory toiletries: Shampoo, soap, dental care, deodorant, sun block.
  • Household: Toilet paper, water filters.
...And my Wants list:
  • Food: Dining out, take out, delivery, fast food, coffee shops
  • Alcohol
  • Going out/dates (too many creative ways to have free dates).
  • Entertainment: Movie tickets, concerts, iTunes rentals, audio books, ebooks, books, puzzles
  • Non-business travel
  • Clothing
  • Makeup, other toiletries
  • Personal care services (I may change this one, especially if my hair gets ridiculous and needs to be styled & cut, but I will go to an inexpensive place if this happens. But I have to look professional-ish for work).
And I will try to cut down the cost of my Needs as much as possible. For example,
  • Bartering for fresh veggies
  • Bartering for Petri walks instead of day care
  • Still eating organic/grain-free, but going to Trader Joe's or Sprouts instead of say... Whole Foods.
The rules
  • If there is a Want that I really, really, really feel that I must have, I have to pay for it with money from a side hustle (ie, babysitting or dog sitting or dog walking) instead of with money from my main organizing job.
  • I'm sure I'll think of more rules, and I'll add 'em here.
This is not going to be easy. But I'm so tired of having a medical bill and a car loan looming over my head. I'm donezo. I want to pay 'em off and spend the extra income every month on travel. Or letting myself have a slow work month without feeling the pressure to network a lot, or post a lot of businessy stuff on social media. Onward!

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