Monday, January 12, 2009

The difference between then and now

Hubby in college. Love the mullet.
Then is 1997. We are a newly married couple living in a rental home run by a slum lord company and saddled with about 30 grand worth of student loans and credit card debt. We had very little to our names but some cheap clothes, cheap furniture and one old car.
In a heartbeat I would have given everything (maybe even my custom designed engagement ring)to be free of debt.
And that debt was a small 30 grand that we paid off in three years.
The frugal family at the zoo. Summer 2008
Today is 2009. We own two nice paid for vehicles, have a few nice pieces of furniture and twelve years worth of accumulated treasures. Our credit card bill is paid in full every month and we live comfortably within our means. But, we owe 96 grand on our mortgage. 96 grand that makes me itchy when I think about it. Would I trade all of our material possessions to be rid of that debt? The truth is, I don't know. When I think about having to car shop again or look for second hand treasures to use as furniture I get stressed out. We could (and can) live with much less than we have. But, it takes a lot of time and effort to shop for cars, furniture, and even nice second hand clothing. Starting from scratch has it's appeal. Being debt free will be exhilarating I'm sure. But, if someone knocked on my door and offered to pay my mortgage for all our possessions I would probably say no. I want to be able to say that Hubby and I paid our mortgage by ourselves. It's a chore I look forward to completing- a mountain I want to scale.

Could you give away everything to be debt free?

1 comment:

Georgi said...

I dont care who pays my mortgage, as long as it is paid. But I do know that I would much rather be paying on a mortgage than rent every month.

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