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My small success and tell me yours!

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small success
2K views 20 replies 17 participants last post by  Sassyclass 
#1 ·
It has been a while since I've visited this site and I have missed you guys! I had a small success this past Thursday because of living the same ideals each and every one of you live every day.

My husband makes pretty great money but works in a volatile profession. All of his coworkers make the same general amount and spend every last dime they have, living sometimes beyond their means with the attitude that the money will keep rolling in so there is no need to save. We are the odd couple out, living below our means, saving and preparing for the what ifs of the future.

Well Thursday was one of those infamous days in his profession where he was instructed to sit by the phone all day long to wait for a call saying whether or not he had a job. His coworkers called on and off all day, each and every one of them worked up in a panic because they had no idea what they were going to do if they were one of the ones who got laid off. They were all living paycheck to paycheck.

That is where our peace of mind fell... We were not worried at all. Yes we would have been bummed if he'd lost his job (by the grace of God he didn't) but we would have been perfectly fine for at least a year. That day to me was worth years of scratch cooking (which is healthier anyway), not buying the latest widget that's come out, driving an older car, not carrying a balance on a credit card, paying cash for vacations, not going on shopping sprees etc...

Now please tell me your small success stories no matter how small....
 
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#2 ·
shortstack, I'd call that a great big huge success!!!

My (small) success was probably paying off my credit cards last year and not going any further into debt since 1/27/2007. I still have a mountain of student debt, but that is the big accomplishment that keeps me moving forward.
 
#3 ·
Hey! Proud of you, Shortstack and Determined! Slow and steady: that's what it's all about.

Our small success is in remaining debt free for so many years. We've been debt free since 1985, and it lets me sleep well at night. It allows us to use our money as we wish, and not according to predator-creditors. It allows us to be generous with charities and church. It gives us freedom to make choices and take advantage of bargains at certain times. It gives us a strong sense of future. But the best part is just knowing peace of mind. This success was made up of the small successes along the way, and I applaud the previous posters for being on this path.
 
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#4 ·
Congrats and mahalo for sharing - to be that's a biggie!!

My small success is almost embarrasing, but true. I have finally taken my head out of the sand and am writing down all out bills and have a plan for paying them......and I unconciously just let go of a deep breath since I have not shared this elsewhere.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for this post--I've been battling the blues...I recently lost my job and worry about getting employed and it hasn't helped that I haven't felt well the past few days.

I find myself thinking "I could've done more" while I was working, but I have been trying to balance that by examining what I DID do. I managed to turn my 30 year mortgage into a 15 year (by paying extra--only four more years or less!), support my husband going back to school for his M.A. and Ph.d (no loans), no credit card debt, no car payment, pay cash for my new roof and two vacations (that we waited over 20 years to take). And I put money into my 401k and IRAs for my husband and saved money. I didn't make a tremendous amount of money at my job and my husband receives a stipend and teaches in summer. I know we don't have what we should in our retirement accounts at our age, so I sometimes worry about this.

It has taken a lot of discipline and work to get to this point and we are only part the way there, but today I feel like I have some measure of success. (Now I need to find a job and get back to working!)
 
#6 ·
Mine this month (and to continue this year) is that I have set aside $700 towards paying off my 1st CC! This means February's payment can be almost 7 times the minimum!

Also, through my money saving ways I had an extra $250 to pay off an unexpected oopsie tax bill from 08. Meaning I didn't have to dip into my savings account.

For the first time, I feel like I could really actually pay off all my debt this year!
 
#7 ·
Congratulations Lynn and Akolb!! You are coming from different perspectives, and yet you both are doing so many great things!! Celebrate what you and everyone is doing and work on the rest!!
 
#8 ·
Contests. Your stories are inspiring.
I just joined FV and this is my first month with a budget. My small success is that I found $1000 this month to put toward one of our credit cards. It isn't much compared to all you guys have managed and our journey is a long one but I aspire to sit in your shoes someday and have that piece of mind.
 
#9 ·
:yeah: I don't think finding a $1000 to put towards debt is a small success, that's awesome!!!
 
#10 ·
$1000 is a lot of money - congrats Nellonello - glad you joined us!!
 
#12 ·
Thanks. I think this is a great thread as we should all remember to celebrate our successes (and sorry contests should have read congrats -darn autocorrect). Looking forward to hearing more small successes.
 
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#13 ·
Mine is very small. Usually when there was a car issue I would either trade in the car or put the repair on my credit card.

BF heard a slight ticking and he decided it must be fixed now and that it was major. He estimated no more than $300 in parts. (secretly I thought $500). So far we have spent a little over 4 with $250.00 left that must be spent and all has been paid in cash.

It is only a small win because if I had to put it in a shop it would have been a $3000-$4000 repair with labor on top of parts.
 
#14 ·
Within the last year, I began to take frugality very seriously.
I paid off 14, 000 in cars ( two car loans), Paid off a 10,000 cc balance, a 11,000 2nd mortgage, and paid for a cruise vacation in cash. It does feel good to have accomplished that much last year by being diligent, and still have a student loan, LOC and mortgage to tackle this year.
It does feel good after I pay my bills to know that I am making progress.
 
#15 ·
:lol3:I consider it a huge success when I can keep my husband on track!

MM, you have inspired me to keep writing everything down and not give up.

We have a small personal loan and a mortgage but like so many other Americans have very little savings. We would not last but a month or two if my husband lost his job.

I'm going to chip at the personal loan. Thanks for the inspiration, everyone!
 
#16 ·
I have never carried a balance on my credit cards...one major and 1 store. Each month I pay the balance. The major I only use for emergencies or let my son and daughter use it for college books or things like that (which they pay me back for). The store card I use because of the discounts I get on my purchases. This month there are no charges on either.
 
#17 ·
Thank you for sharing your story, Shortstack. It's very inspiring to read accounts from those who are ahead in the game. I hope to be where you are in a couple of years.


My success story is this: I finally got my husband on board with the Total Money Makeover! The first time I attempted it, I was working against the tide of his disinterest and reluctance to change his spending habits. I'll admit, I lost interest myself and gave up on the whole thing.

However, this year he finally got sick and tired of living paycheck to paycheck, in debt, and in a panic because he might not get enough work days in a pay period. He is fully on board and willing to keep his personal spending to a set limit each month, follow a budget and talk with me about setting goals and how to reach them.

I am completely amazed at how much energy and joy I have now that we are partners in our finances, rather than having to be the money nazi! I really think that if we really work at it and make sacrifices, we can be debt free other than the house within 1 year to 18 months!

Great thread!
 
#19 ·
To me it has made all the difference in the world having my husband on board with the plan. It took me years and years for this to happen. So if you are reading this and your spouse isn't on board keep trying and if that doesn't work try again :)
We paid cash for a dining room table about six months ago and he admitted to me then that in his twenties he would have felt "poor" and like we "had bad credit" to pay cash but once he saw the bargaining power of cash in hand he was a very happy camper. We could say to the salesman "Since you won't have to take fees for running a credit card can you throw in Xyz for free?" We ended up with free delivery AND a free matching bench that way on an already great deal of a table;)
 
#20 ·
Other than my mortgage, I only have a couple of small debts, totaling less than $2000.
I retired early just over 4 years ago. I don't have to scrimp too much, but I have to be careful with my money.
Suddenly last week, my old boss at a company I worked for 12 years ago, called and offered me a part-time job making really good money.
I start tomorrow.
I will have those debts paid off within about 6 weeks and will be able to build up my savings pretty quickly.
I was a little concerned about giving up my free time in the spring and summer when I want to be gardening.
Then I realized that I will be able to pay someone to mow the yard and still be way ahead of the game financially. Mowing was the boring, time-consuming part. Now I'll be able to concentrate on the planting, tending, harvesting, etc.
I never minded the work I did before I retired - I just hated having to do it EVERY day!
 
#21 ·
I think my small success would be having peace of mind. Yes we have debt but we are paying it off religiously every month and making headway. We have money saved in the bank, not a lot but enough to pay the deductible for my upcoming surgery and still have a little left over. I've been laid off since Nov and even without my paycheck we are paying our bills. This time of the year is the worst because of the high heating bills but we are still managing just fine. To me having peace of mind is worth any struggle we may have to endure. If we can manage to pay down our debt on one paycheck I have no doubt we will succeed in making our goals once I'm back to work.

Cat
 
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