I’m half way to having my $1,000 emergency fund and I’m so excited! My Journey to Debt Freedom has gone slower than I originally projected. After reading Dave Ramsey’s book Total Money Makeover I was eager for ALL my debt to be gone; and by now I’d wanted to be walking in total debt freedom. That hasn’t been the case.
I like to call this time frame my Foundation Building time because I’ve learned so much about me and my relationship with money that I’m now on a firm enough foundation where I can not only become debt free but stay debt free for life. Right now I’m still in debt but I can see that debt decreasing even though it’s taking its own sweet time to GO! I say that in fun but I know I didn’t build this mound of debt overnight. But once I fully embraced the concept of why I don’t have to allow debt to stay in my life, I wanted it out of my life.
I was willing to do whatever it took to make that happen: working overtime, applying for a part time job and sticking to my budget. Now that I’m at the half way point on Baby Step One, I’m thinking of even more creative ways to get the rest of the money for the emergency fund. A coworker and I even talked about having a garage sale. Plus I’m making sure to sow some things into the lives of others.
I’m mostly glad that I can see progress even though things are not moving at the accelerated speed I hoped for in the beginning. What this slower pace has allowed me to do is really think about and plan for my future by counting the costs associated with each money decision I have to make. Therefore, I’ve purposed to stay focused on my desire to complete Baby Step One by fully funding my emergency fund so that I can begin Baby Step Two: PAYING OFF DEBT!
