A year ago this month, I made a plan. A plan to wipe out all my debt starting August 2010 through August 2011. The reason for this plan was so that I could get out on my own with my boys and get a new car... WITH A/C!! I have never had that before :) And I got my own insurance, I was 25 and got a good rate and I was paying it all on my own, which before I was paying my Mom to be on her insurance.
In July 2010, I made my last payment on my old truck, Bessie, as my friend Kelly fondly named her. A 1999 Durango that was falling apart. I had just paid $600+ to get the a/c fixed for summer because I had a new baby and I couldn't stand the thought of my boys being in a hot car all summer long. But, my efforts failed and the a/c broke again after 3 weeks. So I paid Bessie off, and she was a good truck. She never broke down on me, never gave me any real trouble, and always got me from Point A to Point B with no problems... but the whole in my pocket from gas was slowly growing. I was paying $150+ a month in gas, but I had no payment, so I figured it was an even draw.
In August 2010, I started watching a little boy, Theo, so that I could stay home with Griffin and be able to watch him grow and change and I wouldn't have to be away from both my kids in order to work and have to pay for daycare. I was also breastfeeding at the time, and so I wanted to continue to be able to do that. Griffin was 6 months old, and changing so much already. So I took in Theo to watch during the day, and I was able to pay off my bills, stay home and be there when Riley got home from school, which is something I've never done before. For most of Riley's life, I had worked... A Lot. And I missed SO much. And being a single Mom, if I am missing stuff, there is no father to step in and be there for him. But my parents are AMAZING people and have always stepped up and been there for my kids, especially Riley, when I had to work.
So by December, I saw that I had been doing well in my bills, but since Theo's parents are teachers, I could'nt guarantee I'd find another job through the summer, so I took the cut from my free money and started paying more. I added $20-$50 per bill, which there are 4 main ones and 1 I was just trying to pay down for now, I wasn't sure if I could pay it off yet, but it's a small one. By February, I was doing really well, but still not good enough. And I had my inspection coming up on my car, and all you PA residents know that for an old truck, that inspection costs more than the car is worth most times. So I gathered my expenses and decided to go ahead and get a newish car WITH a/c... that was the key.. and good mpg, cause my gas was costing me.
I did some online research, wasn't really sure what to get, so I asked my Dad to go with me to a dealership and look around. Not Buy! But window shop to see what was available. Yea.. that didn't last long, I got there and found my Baby. A 2003 Toyota Corolla priced at a low $9,700. Perfect! So we got the paperwork together, got a low rate and we drove home my new car. The guy was so great and gave me a GENEROUS $2,000 for my truck. So now, what I was paying for in gas I am now paying for in a new car WITH a/c AND heat! My truck, although I loved her, didn't cool us off or keep us warm, so this was AWESOME.
And already it's March, and I've got 3 months left of work... the clock is ticking and I've still not paid anything off completely. So I do double payments April and now May.. And I've done it. I'm done! (well i've got the money put away for the last payments) But they are as good as paid off. And it feels great.
And now I'm off to the biggest change of all. A HOUSE. And we're house shopping. I've done some research online, and now we're going to a showing of a house today. It needs some work, it's not in the BEST part of town... but it'll do. It'll give us what I've been working towards. Independence. Structure. Routine. And a closeness will be good for me and my boys. I love that my kids get to be around my parents and have that relationship that most grandkids never get to have. But we need to get out on our own. We need to have our own home with our own dog and our own yard and where everything in the house is kid proof and nothing can be broken that really matters.
A lot of people have asked me how I've done it. How I've paid off $10,000 worth of bills in a year. Well, it's a lot of dedication. A lot of sacrifice. A every bit of determination to get where we want to be and I am done sitting on the side lines watching everybody else live the life I want. The life I want my kids to have.
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