We sure did!
I have to apologize beforehand, this post might seem a bit disjointed or all over the place.
There's alot to talk about, but im not sure this is the place to talk about those things yet. So.ya.lol
As i sit here and type this blog post Klaire is playing near my feet with her new toys that Santa and her mom/dad gave her. And she is singing along to the songs that Kreg put on her new MP3 player for her. She makes my heart happy. Her hair is all over the place, she chose to wear a summer outfit, but shes having fun just being.
Its a nice beautiful wintry day outside, blue sky, the sun is shining, but snow blankets everything. Other than having it be a raging winter blizzard outside this is about as perfect as winter weather can be for me. I LOVE IT! I dont know what i would do without my snow.lol
Aside from my migraine yesterday (different post for another day......) this winter break/Christmas has been utterly delightful for us. Its been so nice to do things the way we wanted to do them, so freeing, so relaxing.
Last year about this time Kreg and i sat down and made plans for the upcoming 2010 year.
One of those plans included the 3 of us taking a smallish type vacation.
The last few vacations we have taken haven't been very restful/happy/delightful for us. Family has dictated ALOT of what we did, where we went, where we stayed, when we went, and so on.
So. We decided to take a vacation on our terms, that was within our means, to make time for ourselves/each other, and have the fun we were missing out on in trips past.
After some talking Kreg decided he really wanted to take Klaire and i down to a nice hotel in SLC. He also wanted to treat me to one of my favorite restaurants and take Klaire there for her first time. Klaire and i had never been to this hotel, so of course we were up for it. Klaire and i are also always up for a fancy meal with Kreg as well.
Plus, it was the perfect kind of getaway that we needed, affordable, close to home, but out of the ordinary for us. Simple, yet satisfying.
The reservations for the hotel were made before January 2010 was even over.lol And on our anniversary our diner reservations were made at our favorite restaurant. The excitement almost killed us, we talked about the trip as often as we could with each other, about what we wanted to do, preparing Klaire to have a Christmas away from home, where we wanted to go, how to fit in as much as we could in the time that we had, and so on.
In taking the trip we had alot of preparing to do financially.
Last year at this time i was dealing with 2 of my discs causing immense pain, and 1 of them ultimately needing surgery. So the cost from that alone was a good $20K, after insurance.....
And there was some debt that had kept rolling over to the new year from years past, credit card and medical debt mostly. We just couldn't get on top of it and still be able to keep up with the current months costs.
So. We made the hotel reservation for Christmas 2010 and i set my mind, heart, and will towards being totally debt free within the year.
I didn't want to go into this trip with debt and come home to debt created from the trip, and i wanted to pay for everything in cash.
Paycheck by paycheck we knocked out one balance (or at least half) at a time. I think our debt going into the new year was around the $35K-$40K mark. That was credit cards, trips we had taken (but couldn't afford) in the previous 7 years, medical debt, dental debt, the cost of getting our second car running/fixed/registered, and i think that's it.lol There was ALOT.
I haven't tallied the numbers yet, but i think we lived on about $7k this year for:
Groceries
Gas
School tuition
School supplies for Kreg and Klaire
Klaire school clothes
Medical care
Dental care
Prescriptions
Holiday gifts
Birthday gifts
Klaire's Baptism celebration
School pictures
Haircuts
Home repairs
Klaire's glasses
My contacts
And i think you get the idea..........
So, its been a kind of meager year for us, we've literally put nearly Kreg's entire paychecks into paying off this debt we stupidly accrued. Looking back i see the blessings that have been bestowed upon us this last year. I couldn't have done it without such an amazing/wise bishop, or without Kreg's support and help. Our marriage has been fortified and blessed, for sure!
Kreg and i used this as a learning opportunity.
I usually just take control of all the money because when i do that our bills get paid on time and in full, we dont have debt, but Kreg doesn't have a clue as to whats going on so he spends like he is a millionaire.
So, i had to give up alot of that control and make a serious effort to include him more in where his money goes and what our financial demands are each month. Since doing that he has become less dependent on his debit card, less dependant on his credit card, and is paying for things in cash (and liking it!!! lol). He has also become more aware of the difference between needs and wants. Another change ive seen is in him is that when i *ASK* him to help, he does it. I dont have to boss him around or nag him. Just asking him, and maybe showing him how to do it the first time is enough for him to step in and do what he needs to do to be involved.
I find that when we are making financial decisions together he is more invested in the conversations, he shares his opinion more, and he doesn't rush into rash purchases.
Also, for him, he took this as an opportunity to learn about his money, how to manage it, and what it takes to support a family each month, each year.
Looking back on the things we have gone through over the last 8/9 years i honestly dont feel that Kreg was ever given the right tools to manage his money. I dont think it was ever really explained to him in a way he understood or cared. Because if he *was* given those things then he wouldn't have made some of the choices he has. He knows these things now, and its shocking to see the change in how he behaves with his money.
When Kreg managed our money for a short time he was shocked to see how fast or money went in 2 weeks if there was no budget or plan. He has now seen how far our money stretches when there's a plan for it and we follow that plan strictly. At first he balked at a budget, but now he LOVES having one, he has a plan to follow and he does a better job at times than i do.lol
He has been shown how he can make the most out of the income he has. He has always been told "You need to find a better job!", or "You dont make enough money!". Well, that has never been the issue. The issue has been that he didn't know how to manage what he did make. He was given this illusion that it was perfectly fine to have credit card debt on a $15K a year income!!!
{insert shocked look here}
He has noticed that as long as he has a high debt to income ratio no amount of money will take away his debt, the debt will just keep building.
It was a sobering minute for me when he looked at me and point blank said "Kalley, the only way we are going to get on top of this is to pay it all back, never use a credit card again, and pay for it all in cash."
{insert second shocked look here}
By damn, i think he's finally got it.
So with that we worked our asses off this year, paycheck by paycheck. And the week before Christmas we were officially debt free.
All credit cards, all medical, all dental, and any other debt we owed was paid off in full.
We owe on our house, and we have about a year left on our Jeep.
If we paid off our Jeep this year we would still be left paying for the last year of interest. So, we are just going to ride out the loan terms since its not long at all. Once the Jeep is paid off we will be diverting that payment into savings on top of what we plan to be putting into savings on a monthly basis. We have about 3 years left of use on the Focus, once that bites the dust one last time we will use that 3 years (hopefully) of truck payments that we put into savings to buy another vehicle in cash. We wont do any financing.
With our house we are deciding what to do with it. I want to pay it off, fix it up, and keep it as a rental or something. But Kreg just wants to get the hell outta here ASAP.lol So we are still undecided as to what to do. If we pay it off now that less money we put into savings, which we really need to build right now. But, im thinking the best thing to do would be to pay it off, and since we owe so little on it i can have it paid off in just under 5 years. How nice would that be to own our home outright?!!!! Pretty freakin' sweet!
We are almost in a state of shock over being debt free. We have been debt free once before early in our marriage but it didn't last long. So Kreg and i are dedicated to staying debt free, managing our money together, making a plan for the future, taking more trips together but paying in cash and only when we have that cash available, and to building a better financial future for ourselves and Klaire!
We went on our trip with cash in our pockets and even came home with money left over!lol
Kreg had 3 days off from work over Christmas weekend this year, which, was *SO* nice that he got to spend that time with us. It was divine to have that time with him, but the poor guy had a bit of a cold. He was so incredibly sweet to take Klaire swimming while at the hotel.
Klaire did something that was incredibly *SELFLESS* this Christmas season. Im very proud of her bravery and maturity in which she handled a situation that was presented to her. She got a taste of what its like to feel the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of Santa, and the Spirit of Christmas. She's such an amazing kid. I'm so proud to call her my daughter, and to have shared in the last 8 years of her life. She deserves to have only the kindest, genuine, and uplifting people in her life. Which i believe she has right now.
As for me. Well. I'm good.lol I had one of the best holidays with my family that ive had in years. It was definitely one of the best. I loved riding TRAX with Kreg and Klaire. I LOVED seeing the delight and joy on Klaire's face Christmas day. I enjoyed spending time with Kreg and being sneaky so we could make Klaire's Christmas memorable and fun. We are already planning next Christmas and making sure we will have the money saved to go.lol
I hope all of my family and friends had a wonderful Christmas!
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