how we do it.

I seem to be on a money theme lately.  It always has me dumbfounded that people have no control over their money.  I watch shows on television where people talk about how they can’t budget, etc.  I don’t understand why simple 4th grade math is a problem for a grown adult?  I suppose being responsible is the main culprit.  I listen to people on finance radio shows calling in complaining about how they can’t get rid of their $20K-30K debt when they are making $50K-75K/yr.  What is wrong with this picture?  GIVE ME A BREAK PEOPLE.

Debt is overwhelming.  It isn’t going to go anywhere any time soon if you continue to live the way you are living.  I suppose the first step is to decide whether or not you mind being in debt.  For me, I find it suffocating.  Not a day goes by that I am not cursing my *at the moment* useless design degree, and the worrisome debt it has brought.  Once we decided we just can’t live with the debt, we came up with a goal and a plan to make that goal happen.  In order to be successful, it’s a good idea to set a realistic goal, and alter that goal along the way if needed.

Our goal was to be debt free in 4 years.  Our plan was to put one income towards the loan, and live off the other.  We would live like poor college kids until it was paid off.  This plan worked perfectly for us.  We weren’t millionaires.  When we started, Mat made about $32-34K/yr. and I made $34K.

We sacrificed – because you HAVE to.  We downsized our apartment.  We didn’t go out/eat out/or spend money on recreation.  We stayed home and played the XBox and board games we already had.  We didn’t have any “extras”.  We made sure not to create bills.  However, we still lived a pretty good life in our eyes.

When we lived in Australia, Mat made about $48K/yr., and I made $42K.  Our bills in Australia added up to similar to what we were spending in America, with a few exceptions like car registration.  We were able to pay a lot on the loan and our savings account.  We took advantage of all the free stuff to do, and continued our same lifestyle from the States.

We still have about $47K left on the student loan…but now we have a baby.  Tanami doesn’t really cost us much.  Cloth diapers save us a ton.  I haven’t even used 1/4 of the detergent we bought when we first got here.  She doesn’t drink formula.  We buy good quality 2nd hand clothes and toys.  She eats what we eat.  So the cost for her is very minimal.  The main difference is that our priorities have changed.

Debt is debt.  It doesn’t need it’s Momma.  It doesn’t need someone to teach it about life, or touch it’s Momma’s face while it’s being rocked to sleep for a nap.  There’s no fear that someone will murder it if it’s left at a baby-sitter (not an irrational fear since this has already happened before in my family).  No one cares if they miss out on debt’s milestones.  Debt doesn’t need me — but Tanami does.  So for the time being, the loan is on the back burner.  We have no altered the way we live…we still live healthy and frugal.  We are laying the ground work for a brighter future.

Mat has had to start all over without a student base.  It takes a long time to start making money in this profession.  This weekend we spent the Super Bowl at his boss’s house…or should I say mansion?  This place was a palace.  And to think…he had gone bankrupt and lost everything at 40…now he’s doing incredibly well for himself.  He’s helping to groom Mat for owning a studio.  He actually told me one of the reasons he hired Mat was because of our accomplishment of paying so much on the loan as he doesn’t typically “hire from the outside”.  Whoohoo, something positive from our debt!  Anyway, it gave us motivation to see what could be if we do things the right way….and we’ll get there.  There are no unrealistic goals, only unrealistic time frames.

So for now, it’s important for me to be home with Tanami.  I’m still working to build my business, and doing some call-marketing for the studio from home.  I’m enjoying every moment I get with the girl.  Every day I apply for interior design jobs all over the country.  Every day I hear nothing back other than I am not qualified or they are not hiring.  Whatever.  We do what we have to.

At the moment, we still have our down payment for a house in savings.  We are still trying to move forward with the duplex because it would save us the cost of rent and even cover some of our utilities.  We still have some savings on top of that…but I don’t know how long we will have that as we are not putting anything towards it at the moment.  So what’s our budget look like at the moment?  Well…pretty cruddy.

2006.00 – Mat’s bring home  (Base pay – this will increase as he gets students and becomes commission only)

585 – rent

85 – electric

35 – water

28 – car insurance

315 – gas

63 – Home Internet/phone/cable     *We had to get the cable to get internet, it was the cheapest option for home internet in my area*

27 – Work cell phone

550 – minimum student loan payment

300 – grocery (realistically, we just can’t meet the $250 goal)

And that leaves $18 unaccounted for, we ends up going to Mat’s cigarettes.  Along with about $45 more dollars a month.  Whatever money I make from J.Hilburn gets thrown in as well…but I’ve only made about $485 since starting…so it’s not very much.  And even less since most of that commission was because someone had given me those sales.

As you can see…there is absolutely nothing left over.  Even if Mat’s job did offer Health insurance, we couldn’t afford it at the moment.  I have just went to turn in the paperwork to allow us to get Tanami on gov’t health insurance.  I don’t know whether we will get approved or not because we have so much in savings for the down payment on the house.  I will try again after we purchase the house if we get denied though.  So at the moment, we are obviously struggling.  This is one reason why it is so difficult to give up my Australian life.  Even though we would still be making less there with me not working, we didn’t have healthcare to worry about and you would be getting a family allowance from the gov’t as well.

There is absolutely no interior design work here.  It’s pointless for me to go get a $8-9/hr paying job so that I can basically just be paying to drive to/from work and put Tanami in daycare.  For us, it’s more important for me to just be home with her until I find a job worth making a career out of.  It’s another sacrifice we are willing to make.

The thing is…whether we have $0 left at the end of the month, or $500 left…we are still equally as happy.  Sometimes it is rough and we both get down in the dumps thinking about what we don’t have…but what we don’t have is nothing compared to what we do.  I have an amazing husband that comes home to me every night.  We talk, we laugh, and we appreciate each other.  I have a beautiful, smart, amazing little girl that has learned to give the tightest little bear hugs.  I have a car that gets me there, a roof over my head (and a place we are really happy in).  I have clothes, food, and a smokin’ hot body even after having a baby  We’ve come to expect life’s curve balls…it’s the straight ones we have to be worried about.

“So don’t you worry your pretty little mind, people throw rocks at things that shine, and life makes love look hard.  The stakes are high.  The water’s rough. But this love is ours.”