Sunday, May 04, 2008
Lessons I've Learned
| By Lynn Forgy I have been on my journey to debt freedom, fully committed, for almost 8 months. In that time, I have paid off my credit card (Home Depot - $3500), paid up front to have the basement bathroom finished and stairs added to the deck, paid $2,000 to the dentist for a root canal and crown and a couple of fillings, and almost have my car paid off. It has been far from easy - I'm tired most of the time from working 3 jobs (1 full time and 2 part time), I'm grumpy, and sometimes I can hardly stand wearing the same clothes that I have had in my closet for over a year. I have learned a lot, though, about what I can do once I fix a goal for myself. I've learned a few lessons along the way as well. Lesson #1 - Homemade Deodorant - A couple of months ago, I thought it would be a great way to save money if I made my own deodorant. Big mistake!! I developed a rash, which hurt - A LOT! Needless to say, I have discontinued this method of saving money and will spend the $1 or $2 for the factory made deodorant. Lesson #2 - Menus - Planning meals for a month at a time saves not only time, but money as well. If I spend an hour planning the meals for one month and an hour at the grocery, I'm saving about 2-3 hours per month (going to the grocery once per week) AND I don't spend as much money. Lesson #3 - Workaholic-ism - I'm not sure if that's a word, but if not it should be. I have found that the more I think about paying off my debt, the more I work. Not only that, but when I assign mystery shops to myself I sometimes take on more than I should. For example, yesterday I completed 9 shops - for a total of 8 hours. I was exhausted when I got home, plus I had a headache. Then I had to complete all the online reports for the shops, which took another couple of hours. Lesson #4 - Prayer and God - I have been working a lot lately, and not going to church as much as I should or as much as I need to, nor am I praying as much as I used to. I focus too much on the money and not enough on God. There's a verse in the Bible that I sometimes find "by accident", on a frequent basis. The verse says something like 'You spend all your time and effort on building your own house rather than My [God's] house'. I haven't been able to reach that balance yet; with me it's always all or nothing. Maybe that's the next lesson I need to learn... |
posted by Krista at 7:22 PM
