Are you serious about preparing? What things do you think you really would find helpful for your preparations? What are you willing to do to accomplish your goals?
It is too easy to simply say "we don't have enough money." Trust me, everyone who has paid off their credit cards, home or whatever a one point probably would have thought they didn't have enough money to accomplish that feat.
I challenge you to take that next step & we will cheer you on. Please don't say why you can't do it. Just silently take the chance to try...
Read how I got started: Financial Stability & Money then try, just try...
Chances are you CAN do it.
The reason I didn't share a lot of links over the holidays for items to buy, is that I didn't want you doing something I wouldn't do. I am serious about not being in debt. Have you figured that out yet? LOL.
The reason I didn't share a lot of links over the holidays for items to buy, is that I didn't want you doing something I wouldn't do. I am serious about not being in debt. Have you figured that out yet? LOL.
At the very least, if there is a bigger ticket item you want, start saving. See what you are able to accomplish. I promise you it will be worth every penny pinched. Right gang?
This is a great post and one that I firmly believe in myself. We do not have any debt: home and vehicles are paid for. We are in our mid-60s and living entirely on S/S. We live on less than $2,000 per month. When our S/S checks are deposited, we leave my small income in the checking to cover all the bills (electric, phones, cable, etc.). We pull my husband's money out. From that little check I immediately pull $500 and store it away for property taxes. Our property taxes have gone sky-high, so this year I'm switching the savings up a little differently. Like you, we feel if the electricity goes out, or we can't pay the bill and the power is turned off, we can survive just fine. We heat with our home with our wood stove, cutting our own firewood every year. Once the taxes are paid, I will continue to pull $500 out of husbands S/S check and break it up into sections: house insurance, car insurance, car tags and birthdays, Christmas, etc. I also pull a minimum of $100 per month, every month, in addition to the $500 for the taxes, and put that in the savings. It doesn't take long for that simple little $100 to add up. Some months it feels "tight" financially but we manage just fine. I continue to buy groceries and necessities on sale, we don't buy new clothes (other than jeans, shoes and under clothes). We grow and can our own vegetables and we buy smart -- 3 = 2; 2=1; 1=zero. We also have 5 dogs. I buy good quality dog food for our babies, save the UPC codes, turn them in and receive FREE dog food in return (also with free delivery).
ReplyDeleteWe also have one credit card. It is a Cabella's card. I like to use it because we get free points when we do. But the rule is: If I don't have the cash in my wallet, no purchase is made because as soon as I use the credit card, I automatically pull the cash from my wallet (at the store) and stick the cash in my back pocket. When we get home, that money goes directly into the safe and waits for the credit card bill. We never have a balance on our card. So far we have gotten free slippers for hubby and a new zip up flannel for me free with our points.
Our home is up for sale. We found an old, run-down farm sitting on 20-acres with a creek running on the property, with grandfathered water rights for irrigation. We've had lots of offers on our home but we won't budge any lower than what we need to pay cash for the farm. We've even had our Realtor try to convince us to take a lower offer because it would only cost us X-amount of dollars to finance the balance on the farm. No thank you -- I do NOT want payments of any kind - not even for the purchase of the farm that we have fallen in love with.
I write this to encourage others to try hard to get themselves out of debt. Living on a small income is not easy, but it can be done if one puts their mind to it. We lost over $800,000 when the market crashed in 2008, so this has been a hard journey for us but we continue to put one foot in front of the other and walk forward. I'm constantly learning new ways to save money and I'm now crocheting like a mad woman and will soon start selling my handmade items for a little extra income (which will go directly into our savings). Husband might be able to get a small, part-time job with a nursery in the area. That money will also be added to the savings. Any extra income made here goes directly into the savings -- it doesn't mean we spend it on other things. We save our pennies for everything we need or want and remain debt free.
Thanks for such an encouraging post and for sharing your journey with us. I look forward to all your posts, your knowledge and life experiences.
Good to hear from you Bobbie,
DeleteI hadn't hear from you and wondered if things were o.k.? Thank you for the sweet words. But, it is easy to preach to the choir. LOL! Keep up the good work. ~Perky~