Living the Unplugged Life!

Recently, a dear friend of mine posted this link to my Facebook page:
10 Ways You Waste Your Money

After reading through the list, I was quite pleased with myself. Yes, yes, pride goeth before a fall and a haughty spirit before destruction, but listen, we have been working hard over here and I was pumped to know that by the world's standards, I was doing okay. But, I can always do better. The two areas that we were wasting money in were: 1) having gym memberships (which we don't see as a waste of money because we use them and reap the benefits of them) and 2) keeping all appliances plugged in. Not a big deal, right? WRONG!

Did you know that there is such a thing as "vampire electronics"?? There are things in your house that even when turned off are still sucking the life out of your electric bill! After doing a little research, I found that we have electronics plugged in that are costing us an additional $100 a year just to have plugged in...not even on! This website has a great list of things that we can easily unplug to save money- 25 Ways to Save on Your Electric Bill.

The morning after deciding to make this change in our lifestyle, I awoke to find the washer and dryer, toaster, coffee maker, coffee grinder, microwave, lamps, hairdryer, computer and fan all unplugged! Though it has taken a little getting used to, it is kind of fun to know that in this simple change in lifestyle we are making big change in our pockets!

Now, I know $100/year sounds like nothing. But it is SOMETHING! That's about $8.50 a month... a date to Starbucks with my husband, lunch out at Chick-Fil-A, or an extra $100/year in my savings account!

Then, this got me thinking. This whole "living the unplugged life" thing. How often am I so "plugged" into my electronic life- Facebook, email, movies, texting- that I begin to have the content life sucked out of me? When I see a friend with a new car on Facebook and I think, "Oh, I wish I had one of those! Why am I working to get out of debt anyway?!" or the friend that is taking a trip to the beach, or buying new clothes, or...you get the idea. And maybe it is not even the stuff but the time. Time reading and responding to emails, time texting back and forth with friends, time sitting in front of a computer or television. Time I COULD be spending with the ones I love, being outside, or doing something fun and creative. Maybe it is time to put down the phone, close the laptop, turn off the TV, and "unplug" from life for a little bit to become content and thankful for what we have right here. right now.

Take some time this weekend to "unplug" from life...and while you're at it, don't forget to unplug those electronics and save on your next electric bill!!

Joy in the Journey

 

 

 

If I were to say that this getting-out-of-debt journey has been easy, I'd be lying.

 

If I were to say that living frugally was fun all the time, I would be fibbing you.

 

If I were to tell you that I regretted taking this debt free journey, I would be telling a falsehood.

 

Though the journey has not always been easy and some weeks felt like all we were eating were leftovers and clean-out-the-fridge soup, it has been one I do not regret taking. For those of you that have been following our journey to becoming debt free, thank you for staying the course with us. For those of you that are just joining us, welcome!! We are on the road to be being totally free of debt and the journey is finally starting to wind down. Though we aren't there yet, we are just beginning to see the destination.

 

Back in October of 2013, my husband and I made a choice. A choice to live within our means. A choice to put off instant gratification and save for future satisfaction. A choice to get rid of debt and learn the models necessary to try our best to stay out of debt.

 

In August of 2014, I hit a roadblock. I was done wearing Goodwill clothes, eating leftovers, and saying no to fun activities all in the name of getting out of debt. So, I came up with a visual model in order for me and my husband to daily, weekly, monthly see the progress towards our goal. Here is where we were when we began keeping track in August of last year:

 

 

We had been doing so well and I was so excited to see from a visual standpoint just how far we had come! I was also excited to have a goal to work toward- a trip to Australia- a place both Dave and I have wanted to go for a long time!

 

Through hard work and God's unending grace and blessings, I was shocked when I compared our chart in February of this year from just 6 months prior! Here is where we are today:

 

 

 

So, as you can see, we have made incredible progress! There are still mountains to climb, terrain to traverse, and obstacles to overcome, but we can do it! And so can you! Keep clipping those coupons, counting the pennies, and cutting up the credit cards! It will all pay off in the end!