Planning, questioning, taking a leap

It's the middle of January, and we're saving and planning. Here's the current rundown of what we've nailed down (in short, not much), what we're still trying to decide, and what our hopes are:

*We'd like to purchase a used RV by the end of the summer and head south for the winter. Ideally we'll find an RV that is clean and comfortable, one that has separate bunk space for an independent boy who probably won't want to be around his parents all the time. I don't need or want an RV that is brand new; they depreciate in value too quickly and we don't have the money for that anyway.

Plus, these months of living in our tiny, old, clean, basic rental has shown me that I feel more relaxed when my surroundings have a little wear to them.

*We're going to homeschool our son. I need to look into homeschooling more - and some of the specifics will depend on the state in which we establish residency - but I'm confident we can make it work. He loves to read, loves to explore, and loves to have adventures. Road learning will be good for him.

*We're looking for freelancing work. My husband contracts with a publishing company, and I recently snagged an editing gig. Plus, I have a Beachbody business that is starting to gain some traction. Online teaching is also an option, though right now those jobs seem a bit hard to come by. We're also discussing the possibility of seasonal work; for instance, I think I'd love to work as a park guide in a national park during the summer months.

That's one thing that may be difficult to acclimate to: living without a fixed salary. But I'd rather freelance than be stuck in one spot.

*We need to embrace minimalism and sell our stuff! Our house is rather diminutive and by many standards we don't own all that much, but the thought of moving into an even smaller space makes us realize that we need to offload a whole bunch of home goods: our couch and armchair, a couple of beds, a kitchen table, a water cooler, a desk, a television stand... Ideally we'll be able to sell some of it and make a little extra cash.

*I need to start cleaning out my office. Ugh.

*We're in the process of paying off several credit cards and other debts. More about this in the future, but in order to pay them off, we cashed out a few retirement accounts (and took the tax hit). We need to reduce our monthly expenses as much as possible before we hit the road. Lack of credit card debt will make a huge difference both financially and emotionally.

That said, we're not going to be debt free. We'll have a car loan and our (somewhat crushing) school loans. I suppose most financial advisors would recommend that we pay those off before making our move, but... no. We'll keep paying our monthly bills on time, and eventually they'll be gone, but in the meanwhile I'm not going to let these stupid student loans get in the way of living.

*We've canceled cable as well as several monthly services and subscriptions. That's another ~$100 a month that we've freed up.

*We need to figure out what to do about our phones. My husband and I both have smartphones that we use all the time, but they're expensive. We've toyed with the idea of getting cheap flip phones, but I'm not sure either of us is willing to actually make that change. It really depends on our freelancing jobs: for gigs requiring quick turnaround, I think having at least one smartphone is worth it.

*Luckily, we currently rent our house and can move out with one month's notice. After the stress of selling our home in Nashville, the ability to pick up and leave so quickly and easily feels like a real luxury.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a million little things and of course all of these plans are evolving, but I needed to take a few minutes to move these random thoughts from my brain to paper.

Three months later, I'm back

Obviously, I haven't posted here for several months. The main reason is that we've had an insane number of big-ticket expenses lately, and I just wasn't up for talking about them. They drained our savings account and prompted us to re-evaluate our sailing goals.

Basically, we've decided that as much as we love sailing and as confident as we are in our belief that we'd love the liveaboard lifestyle, sailing will have to wait. I don't know how long, but for the next five or 10 years, it's not going to be a pressing goal. What we've learned is that sailing is extremely expensive, and the boat is just one part of that. Boats need places to live. Boats need parts and repairs. Boats have to meet certain government standards and requirements. We started to understand the oft-repeated assertion that boats are essentially drains in the ocean.

We've also learned that we aren't willing to give up everything to save for this dream. We like to travel; we like to explore new places. Are we going to stop doing that for five or 10 years in the hope that we might be able to do it by boat? Apparently, the answer to that question is no. For New Year's, we're going to New Orleans with some of our friends, and next June, all three of us are going to celebrate Trent and my 10th anniversary with a trip to western Montana (a special place to us, as that is where our son was born). I am excited about these excursions, and I don't feel guilty about spending money on them. I grew up taking yearly roadtrips with my parents; those are among my happiest childhood memories. Those adventures were learning opportunities. I want the same for my son. (We've been careful to pay for these trips with money we actually have.)

Like I said, we've had a lot of unexpected expenses in the last few months: dental work to the tune of $3000, a water-damaged wall, a broken sink, a broken toilet, an ER visit for a deep gash to the forehead, visits to the doctor, increased health insurance premiums, etc. etc. etc. It's been discouraging, but I think we're back on track.

That said, despite the obstacles, we're still on the right track. I am happy to report that while we've used our credit cards, we've paid them off in full every month. We still have a cushion in our emergency fund. We're now documenting each and every expense. Our credit scores have increased. Our school loans have decreased (albeit by only a small amount). We've been contributing ~15% of our income to our 401Ks. Trent found a new contract gig and a side gig, too.  

I like writing about money and finances, so I'm going to start writing here again. Some of our goals might have changed, but what hasn't changed is that we're still dedicated to pursuing financial freedom.

We work hard for the money, do-do do-dooo...

I've slacked off on posting lately not for a lack of things to say, but because I don't have enough time to say it. This August has consisted of work, work, and more work. I think we're somewhat overcommitted right now, job-wise, and yet I don't think we can afford to cut back in any area; one of Trent's highest-paying contracts ended for good a couple of months ago, and now we're playing catch-up. 

We've put our son in daycare 20 hours a week (which he absolutely loves, by the way - that in itself makes it worthwhile) so we have time to tackle our work and do it well. Ideally, we'll be able to make more money even with the daycare expenses than we would if one or both of us let some of our other contracts run out. We'll try this until December and then re-evaluate.

I truly enjoy my job but I do wish it paid more. I've stopped calculating my hourly wage. It's too depressing. Every now and then, I scrounge around for some possible alternatives on the job boards, but I don't see anything that appeals to me or for which I am qualified.

New blog

I've been on a hiatus from this blog because, well, I don't really know what to say. Financially, the exciting, making-big-progress part of our plan is over, and we're in the boring make money-save a little money-make money-save a little money phase. As for sailing, aside from our intermittent involvement with the local yacht club, we're in a holding pattern there, too. Sometimes I wish we lived close to the coast and had our own house so that we could buy a cheap little boat, park it in our driveway, and sail it on the weekends.

However, I have started a new blog about the day-to-day aspects of being a working mom. It's called WAHMyhood. I love writing and want to be able to blog on a daily basis; I'll have plenty of fodder for frequent entries about motherhood, working, and juggling multiple responsibilities. 

I'll still be writing here, too. We're still very much invested in our sailing dream and want to have a record of our progress. The posts will be more sporadic, that's all. 

One year of debt reduction: A summary

Here's the promised post summarizing our credit card debt reduction progress of the last year (since June of 2008). I've also included some of the key tactics we have successfully used in this process.

Following is a graph showing our debt reduction. As you can see, we started out last June with upwards of $22,000 in credit card debt. Currently, we have about $2900 to pay off:

Here are the techniques and tactics that have most helped us up to this point:

1. Having a goal we care about. By far, this made the biggest difference. Before we solidified our sailing goals, we had little incentive to pay off our debt. We were meeting our monthly payments, and (at the time) weren't in danger of defaulting. When given the choice between using our money to pay off debt or using it to do something fun, we'd inevitably choose the latter. Our sailing dreams changed that.

2. Taking on extra work. Whatever contract offers we received in our line of work, we took them. This allowed us to designate our "extra" earnings for debt reduction.

3. Staying in touch with our credit card companies. When Trent's credit card company suddenly ramped up his interest rate, he took some time to develop an argument as to why this was unnecessary. He called customer service, explained the situation, and let them know why it would be beneficial to them to lower his rate. He was ready to transfer the balance to another card if need be. The approach worked, and they dropped the interest rate.

4. Doing some research and making cuts where we were willing to make cuts. With a little research, we found we could cut back to basic cable (which gives us access to many of the programs we like to watch) and save about $90 a month. We also researched our cell phone plan; after discovering we could get a special discount through one of our employers, we ended up saving about $16 a month there. We also cut back on going out to eat and expensive vacations (though we did decide to spend some money on a short summer getaway). We were not willing to do away with television entirely, nor were we (and by "we," I mean "I") willing to forego an occasional trip to the coffee shop. 

5. Being a little obsessive. We checked our accounts on a regular basis and tracked our progress. I know many people would say it's unhealthy to obsess about money, but obsessing about debt worked well for us. 

Just $2900 to go! I'm proud of how far we've come, but trust me, I'm not bragging. We have a long way to go; our student loan debt far surpasses our credit card debt. So... we've almost reached base camp, but we have quite a trek ahead of us before we get to the top of Everest. 

Frugality bites

Yeah. I said it. Frugality bites.

At least I'm honest.

So let me get this straight. We find it necessary to pay upwards of $500 to fix the car, and hundreds of bucks for dental work, and about $400 a month for the most threadbare of health insurance policies, and another couple hundred bucks to figure out why the toilet won't stop leaking... but we don't get to go anywhere fun this summer because we've convinced ourselves that whatever money Murphy (of Murphy's Law) deigns to let us keep, we should save.

Boo. Boo, I say.

Last night, I was thisclose to spending $400 on a four-day trip to Destin, FL (who am I kidding... I can talk about staycations 'til the cows come home, but I'd much rather go on a "real" vacation). Luckily, I live with a responsible adult - aka Trent, my husband - who quickly said, "I'd love to go to Destin, but are you sure you don't just want to put that money into the savings account? You know, toward the boat we're going to buy one day?"

*sigh*

I'm still not sure the Destin trip won't happen, but at least I now know how to put the brakes on my Expedia addiction. 

I just want to see the ocean and feel the sand beneath my toes. Is that asking too much? 

My grandfather grew up during the Great Depression, and he never spent anything. Never traveled much, never bought himself new clothes, never updated his car. I respect the frugal way in which he lived. I even benefited from it: when he passed away, the money he left funded my undergraduate education. 

But it seemed like he never had any fun, and I wish he had. I wish he'd done something for himself. I wish he'd enjoyed himself more. I don't want to be like that.

On the other hand, I don't want to be like I used to be, either: a shortsighted spendthrift.

The sailing dream, a year later

I write a lot about debt reduction and frugal living, but don't be fooled. This blog is really about our dream: sailing.

A year ago, when we decided we wanted to reduce debt and save so that we could buy a boat one day, here's what I wrote in my journal:

Trent and I both love the water. He grew up swimming, fishing, and boating. I grew up decidedly on land, but when I spent a month on a tall ship back in 2004, sailing got into my blood. To this day, I get shivers when I think of sitting up on deck in the middle of the night and looking up to see the masts reaching up for the stars. I also liked a lot of the things that other people dislike about boats: the constant cleaning and maintenance, the lurching around in bad weather, the challenge of making dinner while your food is sloshing over the edge of the pan...

It would be so cool to do something so different, something that would allow us to travel as much as I want us to travel. And why not?

Although our devotion to this dream occasionally waxed and waned in the months following, we now find we're even more excited about sailing than we were 12 months ago. This is not normal for us. We usually move from idea to idea at breakneck pace. We usually live in the moment. We usually live for now, not for the future. But the sailing goal has such a strong hold on us that we're willing to give up a lot of the instant gratification we're so used to. Since June of 2008, we've paid off almost $19,000 in debt and surpassed our savings goal by 150%. We ramped up savings and frugal living in January. We've cut back on vacations (no vacay for us this summer), going out to eat, cable, home decorations, and book purchases. We've taken almost every job contract offer we've received. Though it's sometimes a major drag, we've basically changed how we live because we want so badly to achieve the sailing goal. That's how much we want it. 

Oh, and we learned how to sail, and we loved it.

We know we'll never have the money to buy a new, 70-foot yacht and sail off to Tahiti for the rest of our lives. However, we do think we'll be able to buy a used 32- to 40-foot sailboat in 4-5 years, live on it, and cruise down the ICW to the Florida Keys and maybe the Bahamas. We're hoping we can continue working online; this would allow us to basically dock for several weeks at a time, make some cash, and then move on. I'd love to try the live-aboard lifestyle. I think it would offer us the challenge we're looking for. We'd have to work together, all three of us, to overcome problems and obstacles and to live successfully. We'd have to be self-sufficient. Based on what I've learned so far about who our son is (high energy, can't sit still, loves being outside), I think this would really benefit his growth and development, too.

I know this will seem weird to some people, but it's just a different way of life, and we want to try it. It might be cramped, it might not always be comfortable, and it might not be as secure as a house on land. But neither Trent nor I feel especially comfortable in our current situation, either. We feel like outsiders in suburbia. Our house is little but cozy... There are a lot of things to do... People are friendly and helpful... yet we feel like we're not exactly in the right place. We want to get off the beaten path, if only for a couple of years.

So we're planning and preparing. It's going to be a long process. I'm learning a lot about myself and my family right now, though. I'm surprising myself, for one thing, by being able to work for a future goal instead of going for whatever I can get right now. I'm learning that the simpler life gets, the better it seems to get... Yes, I'd love a vacation, but I've also been enjoying those nondescript evenings at home with my husband and son, playing with cars or watching a movie. I've been enjoying baking my own bread and pizza. I've started reading more... I'd definitely slacked off on that, but now it's something I do when I have time to fill. I'm learning that buying stuff won't make me feel better. I'm learning to wait to make decisions, especially decisions involving our money.

So that's where I'm at with sailing. Basically, this is the thing that gets me up in the morning, and this is the thing that makes me want to sacrifice most of the "extras" I've always assumed I needed. I'm so excited about how far we've come, and I can't wait to see what we'll be able to accomplish toward this goal in the next year.

Charged twice!

I'm frustrated right now because we were charged twice for a major purchase we made not too long ago. Unfortunately, it's going to take a couple of weeks to sort it out, leaving our bank account a bit parched and an unwanted balance on our credit card.

Here's what happened: We decided to renew our contract with our pest control company. Pests are a major issue here in the South, and I don't want to worry about critters crawling around/eating our house, so part of our budget includes regular pest control service. Last year, we paid one fee to cover 12 months. This year, when we renewed, we asked if we could get a discount by renewing for 24 months. The company agreed and charged our credit card the agreed-upon amount. We paid it off. All set, no problem.

Two weeks later, they randomly charged our card again for the same amount! Being sleep-deprived parents who simply want to keep on top of their credit card expenses, we paid it...before realizing a short time later what had happened.

Long story short, the pest control company can't just undo the extra charge (because we already paid it), and it's going to take them two weeks to get us a check to reimburse us. I am not happy. We should have taken better care to identify the double charge in the first place, and we shouldn't have paid it - but it bothers me that these people were so lax in their accounting that they made the mistake (a financially big one, too - two years of pest control isn't inexpensive, at least not to us). 

Plus, we're paying for the car repair we needed last week.

When it rains, it pours. Again, this is why we have the emergency fund, but it bothers me to dip into it for something so unnecessary.

Hi, I broke. Fix me. - Love, Your Car

Our nine-year-old Saturn surprised us last night, first by losing power to the A/C and radio, then by refusing to restart after we'd shut it off. We had to call in a tow truck this morning and have the car carted over to the dealership for repairs. It turns out the area where you insert the key (clearly, I have no knowledge of correct automotive terms) was all jumbled up and needed to be rebuilt.

The damage: $583, plus towing fees. Our insurance company will reimburse us for the towing. Good times. Why spend money on a summer vacation when you can shovel it all into your aging sedan? :-D

As we usually do for large expenses, we charged it to our point-earning credit card and will pay it off as soon as it shows up in our online statement. We may need to dip into the emergency fund, but hey, that's partly why it's there. At times like this, I'm reminded what a relief it is to have even just a little cash socked away into savings. Rebuilding the account is a lot less painful than paying interest to the interest-loving credit card companies.

How to save money at the coffee shop

Of course, the best way to save money at a coffee shop is to not go out for coffee in the first place. I just want to make sure you know I know that. :-)

Although there are a lot of fine, frugal folks with the fortitude to overcome a Starbucks craving, I will admit I'm not one of them. I've cut back significantly, yes, but I still go out for a caffeine-laden treat once a week or so. I enjoy coffee, I enjoy getting out of my house, I enjoy the free wi-fi at our coffee joint down the street, and I enjoy the atmosphere. I enjoy coffee shops so much that I even worked at one for several months. I can't see myself eschewing the experience entirely. 

When I do go, however, I try to choose the drink with the best value. Here's how you can keep the expense of your guilty pleasure at a minimum:

1. If you want plain coffee, make it at home. Why spend $1.50 or $2 for something that may have been burning away in the coffee carafe for an hour or more when you can make your own fresh brew at the strength you prefer it? 

2. Avoid the fancy drinks. Peppermint mochas, double tall vanilla lattes, salted caramel hot chocolates, Frappuccinos with espresso poured on top... These are expensive because of the syrup and extras that go into making them. Coffee shops do tally how much money each pump of syrup and each shot of espresso is. The more syrup and espresso in the drink, the more expensive it's going to be (and, in the case of the syrups, the more calories you'll end up consuming).

3. Stick with the simple drinks - they often taste better anyway. Small, plain lattes and cappuccinos and real macchiatos (shots of espresso with a dollop of foam on top) are probably your best bet, value wise. Because they don't contain the extras mentioned above, they cost less. They usually taste better, too. When I was a barista, there was nothing I liked more than to hear someone order a cappuccino. It put the spring back into my step as I worked the bar. Pulling the shot and foaming and freepouring the milk require some skill. A lot of baristas enjoy the chance to show off a little, and they'll put extra work into crafting your order.

If you want some flavor, help yourself to a couple (free) packets of sugar at the condiment bar.

4. Order small. Do you really need a medium or large? You'll save money by going with the smallest size. (Tip: It's not always advertised, but at Starbucks, you can usually order a short. It's 4 oz. smaller than the tall.)

5. Go local and save some dough. I used to be a Starbucks junkie, but then I discovered the independent coffee shop down the street. They charge 20 cents less on average per drink - it helps them compete with the chain stores - and brew a great Italian espresso. The quality of their product is better, too. Perhaps that's the case at your own local coffee shop. If you're going to spend, why not support a small business?

6. Bring your own mug. Most places will give you a 5- or 10-cent discount for doing so, and it's better for the environment than using a paper cup, plastic lid, and cardboard sleeve.

7. Make it a special treat. As a barista, I loved my regulars - the people who showed up once a day or even more. I couldn't help but wonder, however, how much money they were spending per year on their caffeine habit and whether they were even enjoying what they purchased. To me, it would get old. Instead of gorging on regular coffee outings, treat yourself once in a while and savor the experience.

Replacing paper towels with... diapers?

In our household, we've been getting a little too paper towel happy - burning through 12-packs of even the most absorbent paper towels at lightning speed (it's easy to do when you have a toddler who tracks dirt/apple juice/milk through the house). Not only was this habit expensive, it was also extremely wasteful. 

So we've decided to change our environmentally unfriendly ways and replace the disposable stuff with 3-ply prefold diapers, the kind you can find in multi-packs in the baby product aisles at most department stores. When our son was born, we received what seemed like a truckload of these things as gifts. We used some of them as diapers, some of them as burp clothes, and some of them to clean the house. For that last purpose, they work especially well.

Some benefits of using prefolds as cleaning implements:

-They're extremely absorbent, much more so than most paper towels or regular kitchen towels.

-They're great for wiping streaks off mirrors, spills off countertops, and fingerprints off the dishwasher/refrigerator/oven door. I also use them to clean the sink area in the bathroom; they do a nice job of polishing up the faucets.

-You can just toss them in the wash whenever you do a load of laundry. 

-You can use them over and over again. Their effectiveness actually increases the longer you have them (they work best after they've been washed a few times).

Because we'd been purchasing some of the pricier paper towel brands, switching to this cloth cleaning option should save us a significant amount of money in the long run (and maybe save a few trees, too).

The Ultimate Staycation

After numerous brainstorming sessions and several hours of searching for cheap travel, we've decided to just stay home this summer. As boring as this seems to me - because I love seeing new places and experiencing new things - it makes sense. We'll be able to save some money, and we'll be able to finally pay off the last credit card. Besides, we're working over the summer anyway; bringing my laptop to the beach doesn't sound like a good time.

Instead, we plan to save up some cash for a work-free holiday trip in December. We know where we want to go and how much we want to spend, and we're confident we'll be able to afford it. It's something we can all look forward to.

A couple of weeks ago, Trent's dad visited. He really loved where we live, and he opened my eyes to the number of opportunities and activities we have available around here. We have parks, museums, decent restaurants, swimming pools, community events - much as one would find in any vacation destination in another part of the world. Granted, we don't have the beach, and granted, the temperature can be pretty miserable in August, but no place is perfect. 

If we keep our eyes open, we'll find things to do. We just have to put some effort into it.  

More money... but more worries

One thing that has definitely changed for me in the last two years is how I view and use money. Two years ago, I never thought about it. We'd get a paycheck, pay the bills, inevitably run out of cash, put some of it on our credit cards, make some more money, pay the bills, pay part of the credit card, run out of money, etc. etc. etc. In the back of my mind, I knew it wasn't an ideal way of handling things, but oddly enough, I didn't worry about it. I assumed it would all work out eventually.

Now, we're in a better financial position. We can pay our bills. We've established a bit of an emergency fund. We are a few months away from being done with credit cards forever ("just" $4000 to go...). We know what's in our bank account every day. We've started putting 15% of our earnings into retirement. All good things... but instead of relaxing into the knowledge that we've given ourselves a little financial breathing room, I worry WAY more about $$$ than I used to. I'm glad I'm more aware of how I spend/use/save money, but I don't think it's a good idea to obsess about it. Ever. Maybe I do it because 1) we have a child to provide for now; 2) what with the crappy economy, it wouldn't take much to plunge into financial ruin; and 3) I no longer have any illusions that anyone will ever step in and help us if we need it. I mean, maybe they would, but I don't count on that the way I naively used to.

It's amazing how much time an adult person can spend thinking about how he/she is going to provide for his/her family. What boggles my mind is that Trent and I do okay, and we STILL scrape by sometimes. How do people do it? My suspicion is that a lot of us don't have real financial freedom - that is, the freedom to not worry about how we're going to meet our financial obligations. 

Sometimes, I lie in bed and think about where we will be 30 years from now. Will we have affordable health insurance? Will we be eligible for social security? Will anyone our age be getting social security benefits?  Will we be able to help our son with his college education? 

Even if we save and scrimp and never purchase anything expensive ever again, will we be able to afford the future? 

It's scary. I worry.

Take the drink from my hand

The "latte factor"* is a big thing with frugality fanatics these days. The idea is that many people can save a significant amount of money if they cut out small, but regular, unnecessary expenses (those daily tall double shot nonfat extra foam extra hot vanilla lattes, for example). Some argue that this can make a major difference to the budget.

I've started to realize that while I am frugal in many respects (I rarely purchase new clothes, we have only one car and no car payment, we go out to eat once a week or less, etc. etc.), I am not at all frugal when it comes to beverages. I'm a pretty literal example of someone who lives the latte factor - or in my case, drink factor. Yes, I like Starbucks. I buy drinks there much, much less often than I used to, but on average, I'd say I get one tasty coffee treat per week. I'm slightly addicted to Diet Dr. Pepper, which I'd never bought until I received two coupons for free bottles of it and discovered that it really does taste like the non-diet version. I have a special affinity for Cherry Lime-Aids from Sonic, that most Southern of all fast-food drive-ins. And - don't judge now - I do enjoy a glass of cheap merlot most nights of the week.

At various times, I've tried to drink more water and edge out these other things, but I'm not a big fan of plain H2O. The tap water here is terrible; I don't care how safe it is, it tastes like a watering hose. I've purchased filters, but I always forget to change them out, and generally it all ends up adding to the kitchen clutter. So if I do drink water, it's bottled water, and then I feel bad for contributing to an environmental problem.

Excuses, excuses.

The Simple Dollar had an interesting post recently about quality of life and whether it relates in any way to consumerism. In theory, I don't believe our quality of life should depend on the stuff we buy. But when it comes to beverages...well, after a long day of staring at my computer, a glass of wine feels awfully good. After a night punctuated by half a dozen wake-up calls from our teething son, a latte does make the next day seem just a bit brighter, a bit more do-able. And in the middle of the day, when I have so many miles to go before I can shut the lid of my laptop, an occasional soda feels like a good pick-me-up (I know - neither frugal NOR healthy! But at least I am honest.)

I'm a lot more observant about my spending habits than I used to be. Sometimes, my observations inspire me to make changes. Other times, I find myself taking no action, either because it doesn't seem necessary or I just don't want to. This drink thing might be an example of the latter. I'm proud of how far we've come with reducing debt and adding to our savings; I'm pleased to see that we're still making good progress, despite my beverage addictions. Therefore, I'm not sure I'm ready to make more cuts. It's something I'll have to consider further.

*I think this was coined by David Bach, of "Smart People Finish Rich" fame.

The rant of a traveler stuck at home

We read several blogs about saving, debt reduction, and frugality, and the basic message of most of them seems to be, "Save more! Spend less! Don't buy stuff you don't need!"

In theory, I agree.

In reality, all I want to do is go to Expedia and purchase a two-week trip to Costa Rica.

See, everyone has his or her vice(s), and my vice is traveling. I'm not sure it would truly qualify as a vice except that international travel - which is what interests me - is extremely expensive (I don't care what people are saying about travel bargains - I don't see the concept reflected in international airfares). Trent and I both traveled a lot when we were younger, and I, especially, became addicted to it. I love it: I love meeting new people, trying new foods and activities, and immersing myself in a different culture. For some warped reason, I also like being out of my element, a fish out of water. It scares and thrills me. I thrive on these experiences.

Staying at home? It makes me feel all wilted inside. To me, a "staycation" is about as exciting as a plateful of Brussels sprouts.

This is supposed to be the year we put ourselves on a short leash, the year we save and reduce debt and work and work and work. So far, so good. Our efforts are paying off. I can SEE our debt decreasing and I can SEE an increase in our savings, but this just makes the impulsive part of my brain shout, "HEY LOOK! You have some money! Don't you think you deserve a reward? A reward like a trip to Australia...or New Zealand...or Japan...or or or" and on and on, listing possibilities that we can't even remotely afford, even if we swim to these places and sleep in roach motels.

I really do understand what people are saying about making sacrifices now in order to ensure a comfortable future. I get it. On the flip side, I don't think the "You're only young once" argument is totally moot, either. When you're young, you're more likely to be healthy, and when you're healthy, travel is more enjoyable. When you're young, you might be more flexible about the quality of your accommodations. When you're young, perhaps you're a little less fearful (because to be honest, I, personally, have become a little more wary about my travel destinations with every passing year, especially now that I am a parent).

I can tell you that a lot of our credit card debt - the debt we're still paying off - accumulated as a result of some pretty fun vacations and adventures. Do I hate the debt? Yes. Do I regret any of my travel experiences? Absolutely not. To tell you the truth - and I know this may not be a very popular thing to say - they were worth every penny...and the interest, too.

That said, I have no desire to relapse into deep debt, so at this point, I am holding back. We have come a very long way in the last year, and I'm not going to deplete our savings or turn to my credit cards to fund a little getaway. Not right now. I need to look at this from a more long-term perspective. However, I also need to be realistic. There is absolutely. no. way. that we're not going to do some fun stuff, even as we are saving to sail. So my plan is this: once we pay off the credit card, we will save up for some sort of vacation - maybe not a jet-setting tour of Europe or Australia, but maybe we can find a good deal on something a little closer to home (in reality, Costa Rica isn't that far away, and it's supposed to be fairly inexpensive). Not only is that an incentive to keep paying down debt, but just the thought of such a possibility on the horizon may be enough to keep me out of the loony bin.

Frugality isn't easy

At least, it isn't easy for us.

In the last few days, we've enjoyed the following:

-Lunch at a local restaurant.

-Dinner at Panera.

-A 12-pack of beer.

-A couple of bottles of wine.

-Lattes at Starbucks.

That's in addition to the money we spent earlier this month. Our February "fun budget" was blown by Valentine's Day.

Honestly, I wish I could say that this doesn't bother me in the least, but it does, a little. Money-wise, we're like yo-yo dieters: we manage to stick to the plan for weeks, then go on a binge. And once we start spending, it's hard to stop.

We could make some valid excuses. We didn't spend that much. We don't go out all that often, compared to other people. We're a lot more frugal than we were even six months ago. We enjoyed everything we consumed.

These statements are all true. However, what I'd like us to do is gain some consistency in our spending. Perhaps our current expectations aren't realistic. For instance, instead of planning to go out twice a month, maybe it's more realistic for us to have a casual restaurant meal once a week. Maybe we should plan on treating ourselves to coffee every Thursday or Friday afternoon, and get a little tradition going in that respect.

We read a lot of blogs about saving, frugality, and simple living, and while I've learned a lot from them, I don't think we can just do what works for those people. We're learning that we aren't ready to make consistent cuts to every small luxury, but we can't indulge in those small luxuries every other day. We need to figure out what works for us so that we can consistently save over the long term.

The pros and cons of working from home

Trent and I have been working exclusively from home for the past three years or so. This is nothing we ever planned: both of us went to college and grad school figuring we'd eventually find ourselves in an office. The contract work we do fell into our laps, though, and now I think we'd suffer a bit of a culture shock if we found ourselves in a more traditional nine-to-five environment.

Working from home has several benefits:

1. You get to be at home...near your warm, comfy bed...and your nicely stocked refrigerator.

2. You can write very important-sounding letters while dressed in your purple rocket ship pajamas.

3. There's a perception of autonomy. We have supervisors, but we rarely see them. They're kind of the real-life versions of Charlie from Charlie's Angels: every now and then one of them will contact us (either as a voice on the phone or as words in an e-mail), issue a directive, and then vanish back into the ether. It's fun to pretend we're independent operators, at any rate, with no set protocol or requirements to follow. 

4. We spend a lot of time together as a family, and we have the flexibility to do family stuff during the day. Oftentimes we take an hour or two off in the mornings and go to the park or playground with our son. Sometimes we drive to a nearby city for lunch (less often now than in the past, of course, given our more frugal lifestyle). We've even gone on road trips to see our families, stopping late in the afternoon so that we have time to check our e-mail before the end of the workday.

5. It's environmentally friendly and frugal in that we don't use our car very much. On some days, we never leave the house. When we do, most of our destinations are here in town and less than two miles away.

But working from home isn't always a bowl of cherries, a vase of roses, or a highway of rainbows. Some of the cons include the following:

1. It's hard to work when your bed is so comfortable that you find yourself lying in it in the middle of the day for extended periods of time.

2. I won't lie. Our clothing is pitiful. Because no-one will ever see most of the things I wear, I don't feel bad about keeping items that are holey, small, or faded (or altogether falling apart).

3. Working from home requires a lot of sometimes-nonexistent self-motivation. Trent and I are both pretty self-motivated on most days, but every now and then, the fact that we don't have people breathing down our necks, telling us what to do and when, leads us to slack off and waste time.

4. We're with each other pretty much 24/7. Three people in a 1400-square foot condo... Sometimes, the place feels claustrophobic, especially when one of us is grumpy (me) or has a particularly stinky set of dirty diapers (that would be our son).

5. It can be difficult to meet people. Most folks go somewhere else to work, somewhere where there are other people and the opportunity for socializing (or at least some good old social drama). I miss seeing other human beings. Occasionally, I even miss the drama. That might explain why I practically wag my tail with excitement when I get an opportunity to talk to someone else in person.

Regardless, I think we're lucky to have this arrangement - not just because it's convenient, independent, and economical, but because it's a land-based version of what we hope our lives will be like in a few years. Ultimately, our goal is to sail on a budget and on a 35- to 40-foot boat, and most of the time, we'll be fending for ourselves. Our current experience will, I hope, help us develop skills that make our future endeavors more successful.