I love the start of a new year. It feels so good to have a fresh start. I spent a portion of yesterday deep cleaning the apartment. I still have the living room and bedroom to clean and I’m hoping to get to that this weekend. The bedroom includes purging clothing, which I try to do about four times per year, so that’s a little more time-consuming. Either way, it feels good to have an organized, cleaned out home to kick off the year.
If you recall, last year I didn’t set any resolutions. Instead I focused on improving all the areas in my life that I wanted to, and I have to say that I’m quite pleased. We worked hard this past year, traveled lots, learned how to relax more, explored our city. We had loads of fun together. 2013 was a really great year for us and we are more than thrilled to welcome 2014.
For 2014 there won’t be any resolutions, but we have a pretty hefty goal we’re moving full force ahead at. We’ve vowed to each other to try to make this the last year that our debt owns us. The debt we currently have is a car loan and student loans (we swore off credit card debt three years ago and will never have credit card debt again). We have a hefty amount left on our student loans and we’re ready to break free from them so that’s where our focus will be.
We’re ready to take our lives and our income back and we’re fully prepared to be extreme to meet that goal. We’ve agreed to cut way back on dining out, extras, shopping when unnecessary, etc. It’s going to be tough and we know that. But we also know that we’d rather have one tough year than spend thousands and thousands on debt for the next 8. And in the long run, we’ll save by not paying so much interest. So in a twisted way we’re saving money?!
We want to buy a house and we want to do that debt free. So like I said, we know it’ll be tough, but knowing there’s financial freedom on the other side is entirely motivating to us. We’re working together to keep each other on board and motivate each other when it becomes tough.
So that’s our 2014 plan. And as we approach it and learn along the way I will certainly share with you guys. I also welcome and encourage any advice, input, questions, comments, etc.
What about you guys? Any twenty fourteen goals or resolutions? Maybe something less heavy than this?! Welcome to a new year, make it a great one!
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