tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post4219983008576617983..comments2024-03-29T21:11:37.724+10:00Comments on down to earth: Paying off debtUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-23677846765971133922014-10-08T01:03:49.346+10:002014-10-08T01:03:49.346+10:00This can keep us working jobs we hate just to pay ...This can keep us working jobs we hate just to pay the bills and keep our heads above water. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08474551845661031816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-70958151513528250682013-07-05T21:28:06.482+10:002013-07-05T21:28:06.482+10:00Great post, Rhonda and fellow readers.
Your comme...Great post, Rhonda and fellow readers. <br />Your comments have inspired me and I just rang up my bank tonight and increased our mortgage repayments to an extra $100 per week. I need to start paying for things with real money as I find it too easy to spend money frivolously when using cards. Tomorrow I will sit down and sort out an envelope system.<br /><br />xx Nadia Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-15138854990498827572013-07-02T17:45:10.007+10:002013-07-02T17:45:10.007+10:00Chin up Lil, it's absolutely possible. Your s...Chin up Lil, it's absolutely possible. Your situation mirrors ours - in only 5 years we bought a house, she got a big rock, we got married, travelled overseas on multiple occasions, including honeymooning in Europe for 6 weeks, paid off HECS, paid down 3/4 of our mortgage and now have a beautiful daughter. You can do it if you want to, just be sure that not one dollar is spent on something that doesn't tick off your goals, and be prepared to work hard for what you want. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-45666221213068898122013-07-02T12:31:14.698+10:002013-07-02T12:31:14.698+10:00Hi Rhonda,
My husband and I went without luxury it...Hi Rhonda,<br />My husband and I went without luxury items and the like to pay extra off our mortage to get it out of the way nice and early. Being second time marrieds and sorta starting again in my 30s his 40s, we had to really put our minds to it, especially with five children between us, university costs for them etc. However it was the best thing we ever did, because suddenly at 60 my husband was made redundant, so we were wholly dependant on my wage. If we had debt still, I hate to think where we would be at, emotionally and mentally more than anything. <br />And because of making an effort to simplfy our wants, we can still afford to go on holiday this year.<br />Kathy, TasAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-46789627769089033632013-07-02T12:27:33.335+10:002013-07-02T12:27:33.335+10:00Thank you Rhonda and also to anonymous for your re...Thank you Rhonda and also to anonymous for your replies!I appreciate the feedback.<br />I guess the point that I need to take from this is the priorities part and understanding that compromises need to be made and you have to balance everything out in order to make those compromises. <br />It just all seems quite overwhelming to me & sort of impossible to do it all with just the money that I/we make. I guess that is the point as well, every little bit helps. Makes me want to get a second job!<br />Thanks again for the responses :)<br />X Lil Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-69918441185683158532013-07-02T01:53:28.106+10:002013-07-02T01:53:28.106+10:00Getting out of debt has other advantages. My husba...Getting out of debt has other advantages. My husband and I discussed retiring early when we were still engaged. We both loved our respective careers, but had seen enough people in their 50s who either wanted out, or were shown the door, to know we didn't want to have that happen to us. Our first goal was enough savings so neither one of us had to stay at a job we didn't like just because we needed the money. The second advantage to having that money: I did stay one place longer than I wanted, but I chose it. Knowing I didn't have to stay made it so much easier.<br /><br />We did both retire in our early 50s, by choice. Setting that goal all those years ago made all the difference in staying the course through the years.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-26121012384020499832013-07-02T01:46:23.840+10:002013-07-02T01:46:23.840+10:00I agree that using cash for purchases really keeps...I agree that using cash for purchases really keeps you grounded as to what you are actually spending. Using credit cards is a lot like playing with the tokens that you buy at a casino---you lose track of the fact that they represent real money.<br /><br />Even debit cards (which seem to be used by most everyone) seem to me to be something to avoid. Even though it is coming straight out of your bank account, unless you check the balance often, your bank statement at the end of the month may contain a nasty surprise. <br /><br />All those little purchases add up in the end. If your cash supply is dwindling you can see it coming and do something about it before it's too late.<br /><br />Victoria in Indianavichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18428581552807859803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-14910156409330516212013-07-02T01:26:07.046+10:002013-07-02T01:26:07.046+10:00Rhonda, what a wonderful series about living debt-...Rhonda, what a wonderful series about living debt-free - especially for those young and just starting out. I'm now retired and, thankfully debt-free, since living on a "fixed income" would be quite difficult if I weren't. I do need to work on finding a grocery store here that isn't so expensive. I went with "convenience" when I first moved into this condo/apartment and didn't know the area; but food here in the capitol of Iowa is expensive! I think that's one area I could save and need to work on that.<br /><br />I really enjoy your blog even though I rarely comment. <br /><br />Blessings, <br />DianneDianne @ Sweet Journey Homehttp://www.sweetjourneyhome.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-80851302564188129972013-07-01T23:06:04.429+10:002013-07-01T23:06:04.429+10:00Love this post. I made some unwise financial decis...Love this post. I made some unwise financial decisions when returning to college after a long period away. I felt smothered by debt and looked at pay day as the transfer of the paper day (1 pay check in, dozens of checks out). After finding this blog a little over a year ago I sat down and made a spreadsheet of all my bills (school loans, bills, etc.). It wasn't easy to see it in black and white and it made me feel more smothered than ever BUT it was what it was. I read your book and took the advice in it. In one year time I have completely paid of several large bills and made a significant dent in the student loan debt. It isn't always easy or fun, but seeing those numbers go down each month gives me the boost I need to get through another month. Slowly the smothered feeling is lifting and I am looking forward to being debt free. One step at a time.<br /><br />JlynnAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-12720088651876466072013-07-01T22:21:00.744+10:002013-07-01T22:21:00.744+10:00I long to be debt free. In 2004 I had to take out ...I long to be debt free. In 2004 I had to take out a loan for a specialized school that saved my granddaughter's life. It's a hefty amount to pay each month and I still have several years until it is paid off. I also have some credit card debt that mounted up due to job lay offs and life in general. <br /><br />Sometimes, life gets in the way of good intentions and all we can do is keep up with the payments, live simply to make those monthly payments and feel pride that we can pay off that debt within our lifetime.Jingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07357961722537445285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-23332063878958884172013-07-01T20:40:56.592+10:002013-07-01T20:40:56.592+10:00Yes downtowndownshift, the "Good Life" c...Yes downtowndownshift, the "Good Life" comes at a cost doesn't it? People become exhausted chasing the dollar, and don't have the opportunity to enjoy it!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-74892855404249892002013-07-01T20:36:11.990+10:002013-07-01T20:36:11.990+10:00Good on you Marijke. My goal at the moment is to t...Good on you Marijke. My goal at the moment is to teach my 8 year old that money does not fall from the sky! He has a chart on the fridge with jobs that need to be done. When these are completed, he receives a tick,which equates to a certain amount of money.He continues to complete jobs and save for his goals. Then he can enjoy the moment when he can go to the toy shop to spend his hard earned cash. This is an important lesson that we can teach and impart to our children. robtrevnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-90347349557216787682013-07-01T20:13:48.965+10:002013-07-01T20:13:48.965+10:00I whole heartedly agree!!I whole heartedly agree!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-25424301081338424902013-07-01T19:57:26.895+10:002013-07-01T19:57:26.895+10:00Dear Lil,
Saving is not the obsession here - the ...Dear Lil,<br /><br />Saving is not the obsession here - the obsession or focus is to meet your financial goals, which differ for all of us. However we need hard earned cash to meet these goals and enjoy them.At the same time, we need to live somewhere. Either rented, or to pay off our own home.It is a balancing act. In the lucky country we can have it all if we aspire to work hard - we can play hard. However it will take some time to repay your HECS debt AND pay for a wedding, AND travel and start a family. How are you going to achieve all that without prioritizing your goals? If you want children, will you continue to work and pay for child care, or do you plan to stay home?If you stay home and live on one income, how will you meet your commitments? If you rent, you are ultimately paying off someone else's rental property. If you want your own home, we need a deposit, then there are rates and all the overheads.It is a matter of perspective. What we want comes at a cost. This is the reality of life - you may choose to consider it depressing, but these are the facts of life.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-86178932539087749932013-07-01T16:11:07.980+10:002013-07-01T16:11:07.980+10:00We are in our 50's, are debt free, hubby still...We are in our 50's, are debt free, hubby still has a well paying job and I am lucky enough to be able to stay at home. I have been reading about your budgeting Rhonda, and the other day I tried using cash instead of the credit card for a small purchase at the supermarket (smoked salmon and some cream for a special recipe). We aren't big spenders and we're very fortunate that we can afford to pay off our credit card each month, so I would normally just flash the card and not even register the cost. Having to hand over the $13 cash, Really made me register how much I was spending! <br /><br />I will now definitely look deeper into your system, as one day hubby might not be employed or we will be retired and just not have the same level of income. May as well start learning to live like that now. So thank you for a timely subject.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Judithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09861626923107637218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-5878378768691887392013-07-01T15:58:12.990+10:002013-07-01T15:58:12.990+10:00My parents did the same for us. My mother was a sc...My parents did the same for us. My mother was a school teacher, father was an accountant, and my grandmother a bookkeeper. We were 9 years old when we had to start buying our extra clothes, toys, and birthday/x-mas gifts. Mind you they did supply us with yearly basics like jeans, t-shirts, underwear, socks, and shoes(1 pair each). Plus school supplies. Everything else we had to earn money for. We also each had bank accounts that we had to keep in order at the end of each month (Mum always checked our math for us.)We would have sheets of paper with jobs on the fridge. It would say how much it was worth and what was expected to be done. We could pick a job, do it, then write our name on the paper and put it in a jar. At the end of the week we were paid by my father. We also worked for our extended family doing odd jobs. My mother would ask us how much we wanted to save in our accounts. The amount was up to us, but she would always suggest $10 and we usually did. I had several thousand saved by the time I turned 18. I used this method on my own children who are 20yrs,17yrs and both have excellent saving and spending skills. They even had to buy their own groceries for a week so as to understand how much it cost to feed them. They had to raise their own money for that too. Boy my son ate a lot of ramen that week. My daughter ate very well though. She had raise $81 and he only $45.Jessikah of Oregonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-18717679107493367222013-07-01T15:56:35.822+10:002013-07-01T15:56:35.822+10:00Hi Lil, you're not missing the point love, you...Hi Lil, you're not missing the point love, you're making it. Life is lived in stages and at each stage we decide what our priorities are. Yours now are to pay off your hex debt, get married and travel. Many of us are older folk, we've already done all that. I had hex fees, I lived in Europe for two years and married there. Everything you dream of is possible but I hope you don't go into a lot of debt to achieve your dreams. I thought I'd illustrated in my post that our kids didn't miss out because we still took them away, we cut out the frivolous things to do the important travel (with them). It's a balancing act but it can be done. And you're right, the trick is to enjoy life while we live it.rhonda jeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08962112306968959985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-68116227303952263312013-07-01T15:40:06.091+10:002013-07-01T15:40:06.091+10:00Hi Rhonda, Hi All!
My mum got me onto your blog lo...Hi Rhonda, Hi All!<br />My mum got me onto your blog long ago & I also have a copy of your wonderful book!<br />I can appreciate everybody's sentiments about saving and spending less etc but it does leave me feeling somewhat depressed!!<br />As a 25 year old engaged full time worker of only 2 years, I still have my degree which was Hexed to pay off (approx $28,000) as well as a wedding to save for & traveling to look forward to. As well as these things, we feel ready to start a family after being together for 5 years. What depresses me is all the talk of holidays missed and opportunities squandered because of the obsession of saving. I absolutely appreciate the importance of saving money so you have a nest egg or so in the future you can work less etc but what is saving if not to enjoy your hard work once in a while by experiencing other cultures, learning new things from different places & people or creating a memory that will last a lifetime & is priceless.<br />If money is not the basis of living then why do so many comments sound like they are coming from people who have let their money status determine their opportunities?<br />I hope to save & feel good about my contributions to the future but I also hope to enjoy & feel guilt free about spending some of my hard earned cash on doing things and going places I dream about! <br />I hope I am not missing the point but I think finding a balance is really important and some comments don't quite sound in proportion to me!<br />Happy saving &/or spending everyone :)<br /><br />x LilAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-87015428869168742832013-07-01T14:42:56.331+10:002013-07-01T14:42:56.331+10:00Hi Rhonda, imagine my surprise when I opened your ...Hi Rhonda, imagine my surprise when I opened your blog this afternoon! Thank you!<br /><br />Being mortgage free is achievable if you set your heart & mind to it. Hubby & I are so conscious of being debt free all the time. We have no loans at all and when we use our credit card for an online purchase we first have to have the funds to be able to pay it off immediately. So there is never anything owing.<br /><br />We holidayed regularly when our children were little. But not an overseas trip or to a fancy resort. We had a big family tent and we camped everywhere. It was cheap and we had so much fun and the kids experienced a lot of freedom.<br /><br />Just all depends on what you want out of life the most!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18441066589358320857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-77349699767079493462013-07-01T12:37:14.957+10:002013-07-01T12:37:14.957+10:00oh this is such an excellent time to pay off your ...oh this is such an excellent time to pay off your mortgage as well, since interest rates are so low. I think it is important to pay whatever your budget will allow - not think about what the minimum payment should be. Unfortunately the banks tell young kids what they are qualified for and never explain what will happen when the rates go up. africanaussiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16660727599623626163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-68632534552668567122013-07-01T12:10:43.759+10:002013-07-01T12:10:43.759+10:00It's freedom and it's wonderful. xxIt's freedom and it's wonderful. xxrhonda jeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08962112306968959985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-49951513287383108622013-07-01T12:10:10.644+10:002013-07-01T12:10:10.644+10:00haha! that's excellent, Karyn. Ripples are goi...haha! that's excellent, Karyn. Ripples are going out everywhere. Keep up the good work.rhonda jeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08962112306968959985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-43515801314145976432013-07-01T11:48:59.465+10:002013-07-01T11:48:59.465+10:00Marijke, at what age were you able to buy your own...Marijke, at what age were you able to buy your own clothes? My oldest child is 13, and keen to try this but I'm not sure if that's too young to try it.<br /><br />Thanks, MadeleineAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-78137102895453600672013-07-01T11:45:27.408+10:002013-07-01T11:45:27.408+10:00Hi Rhonda.
Great post as always. I agree complet...Hi Rhonda.<br /><br />Great post as always. I agree completely with the comments about a huge weight being lifted off your shoulders when your mortgage is paid off. My husband and I paid our mortgage off one week before our second child was born...that truly was a great feeling! The benefits that followed on from that, however, were even better for us. For us, it meant my husband could become self employed (a goal he had always had) in a small business with not too many pressures. For me, I was able to work part-time in a lesser paying but more meaningful job and could walk away from the better paying but life sapping job I had in the financial industry. And for our children, it means lots of time spent together as a family with Mum and Dad able to be there for lots of the little but "big" things in their lives.<br /><br />Although we paid off our mortgage a few years ago, we only discovered "simply living" around two years ago through this amazing blog! Rhonda, I have to say one of the most powerful budgeting tools I have ever used is cash! I read your posts about the envelope system and began using this 18 months ago. Wow...I really couldn't believe how much we saved when we were paying for things using cash. It makes you think twice about every purchase you make. The best moment though, was when our accountant asked how we managed to do so well on such relatively small incomes! I'm sure you can imagine how proud I was, telling her about the envelope system and watching her furiously take notes because she wanted to start using this herself!<br /><br />Cheers!<br />Karyn from Brisbane<br /><br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-5091715592908542832013-07-01T11:05:27.041+10:002013-07-01T11:05:27.041+10:00Another great post and lots of interesting replies...Another great post and lots of interesting replies. I just wish that people who really need budgeting help would find and read your blog Rhonda but I do wonder if they might be too busy reading all the shopping websites!Carolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15473078047917731097noreply@blogger.com