i would be in for that thread. i think for for far too many people who achieve debt freedom be it in it's entirety (home, auto, credit cards, student loans...) or in part (one or more categories) there's a slippery slope back into the pit of debt. i've seen it far too many times with people wanting to celebrate with a big vacation or purchase but rather than waiting to cash flow it by saving up they end up right back in debt and complaining about the monthly payments. i will admit it's tempting when you pay off your mortgage and have that nice big chunk of monthly change all to yourself but learning to change spending and saving habits can lead to re-experiencing that amazing feeling you have at payoff via going on that dream vacation but not paying for it after the fact, buying those home furnishings and only spending the cost on the invoice vs. that cost and the accrued interest, being able to do home improvements and renovations that you are enjoying for years vs. paying on.
let us know if you start that thread.
I think part of this struggle depends on how one "pays off" their debt. The first time we really sat down and added it all up, we realized how much we were paying each month on interest vs. principal.
We calculated how long it would take to pay off and it was overwhelming. So, we refinanced our mortgage and took out a lot of equity to pay down the credit cards.
It took a huge weight off us in our minds but we were too lazy/didn't bother to attack our mortgage with the freed up money we had at the time. We learned
nothing by this mistake. We never adjusted our spending habits. To do so would have required us to examine a big mental/emotional aspect that we didn't want to face, and it creeped right back up again. This time, we knew we couldn't just turn to tapping the equity in our home. We had no choice but to change our ways, drastically cut unnecessary spending, and really take the time to pay attention of where every dollar goes. Most importantly to learn how to say "No, we can't afford it." We eventually learned how to say that to others, each other, and ourselves.
This is why I equate it to losing weight. The quick fix, such as diet pills or liposuction, doesn't really require one to change the habits that created the problem, so it will return eventually. Losing weight the slower way, changing diet and exercise habits, will work better in the long term. Once you've changed your habits for so long, as in years and years, it becomes ingrained and it's not such a hardship to follow. It becomes a way of life. So too with financial habits of wanting more and more and learning to live within your means.
After a while, it's not such a challenge, just simply a matter of following our path and hoping Murphy stays away, but knowing that he won't. When things break or need replacing, we redirect our snowball toward replenishing the savings that we used to cover the emergency, and then return to our snowball goal. In late summer/early fall, we redirect our snowball to saving for Christmas, then quickly return to our snowball goal.
Not having any debt to slow us down in achieving each goal is still very motivating for me. I treat each financial goal as if it's still part of Baby Step 2 (debt pay down) even though it's simply earmarked savings.
For us what worked in our favor is that we already had the big trip planned and the timing was good in that it gave us several months after the mortgage was done to save up for the trip before it happened so we never had to worry about not being able to pay off any charges we made related to the trip. Even if the timing didn't work out as it did, I would have delayed paying extra on the mortgage several months more in advance, so that I could save for the cruise. IIRC, we also had the option to use a Discover card 0% BT check which would have cost us a couple hundred in fees but could easily be paid off in the 12 month promo period.
The snowball method still works for me because I still maintain each week, that list of bills that our paycheck would have gone to that week if we still had the debt. It constantly reminds me of how far we've come, exactly how our snowball grew so large. It wasn't a big raise that did it; it was all of those other debts, requiring part of our paychecks, to be eliminated.
We go out to eat on birthdays, our anniversary, on vacation, and occasionally when he works a lot of OT and wants a break.
