As many of you know, we have been holding Debt Free Webinars each Wendesday at 8p.m. EST. PLUS, we have a Facebook Group dedicated to becoming DEBT FREE in 2012!!! Through these webinars, many of the attendees have heard our story, about how we did create debt through our foreign adoption, and how was also paid off all of that expense by focusing on becoming debt free and our FIVE BIG IDEAS! (Attend the webinar to find out more about these ideas!). So, over the last three years, we have paid off over $20,000 in debt, and $14,000 of that came from couponing! Since 2012 has already been “rung in,” I feel it’s time to set my Debt Free goals for 2012! However, I’ve noticed that many times, people set unrealistic goals about becoming debt-free.
This has been a journey for my family as we have worked to pay down our debt, and many times I have been unrealistic, which has caused some unnecessary commotion along the way. When we first started paying down debt, I lived, ate, and breathed by my debt pay-down sheet. Every day I would sit and obsess about the amount we had to pay back, and I would create all the possible scenarios of how additional payments could even beat those goals! Unfortunately, my hyper-focus on becoming debt free caused me to miss the joys of the journey!
Many times when we’re working towards a goal, we’re too focused on the goal and not the journey of reaching that goal. The daily walk of life is to be enjoyed, and while it brings joy to my heart to think of being debt-free, it can’t be the only thing that makes you happy. I quickly realized that once I achieved my goal of being debt free, I would definitely set another goal. However, if I wasn’t enjoying each day that led to that goal, it was a waste of time to set the goal in the first place! I think we often think that becoming debt free will mean riches and the absence of problems. While a debt-free lifestyle might create less stress in terms of finances, it will not produce happiness in and of iteself. That kind of happiness needs to come from within, and once we set our sails, we need to take the time to sit back and enjoy the wind, water, and waves on the way to our destination!
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