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Mid July Update

July 18th, 2008 at 06:01 pm

Well, I have been comparing my journey to get out of debt to the Boston marathon.

I first phase is to find a good pace. You don’t want to come out too fast or you’ll just run out of stem and quit. You don’t want to come out too slow because you’ll never finish. For each of us the journey is different. Some of us will finish in 2 hours and some of us will take 8 hours. And much like the Boston marathon people will be cheering us on regardless. “Come on!! You’re almost there!! You can do this!!!”

The second phase is when we find that pace. Ah, life is good, things are turning around. I CAN do this. We are cruising along and we can see the road ahead of us. The crowds are cheering and we feel good.

The third phase are the Newton hills. It’s really a stretch of 5 miles of four hills. The last hill is .4 miles long and rises 88 feet. This is where I am and am about to crest the hill. That’s right. This weekend I will be putting the last money towards my wife’s $4,400 medical expense that we just got billed on from last year.

The last phase of the marathon is 5 miles of little nasty hills, where your body is broken down and it just your mind pushing you on. I can see some of this course coming up. I have to allocate some money for a vacation in September because if I don’t work then I don’t get paid, by wife’s birthday party in Boston in August (I should be able to cash flow it), and my wants.

Yes I said it – My wants. I want a riding lawn mower for my acre of yard, I want a shed, I want a sprinkler system, my wife wants new furniture, my wife wants new clothes …. We know what we must do, but we still feel the pull and it’s getting greater the closer we get to the end of this phase.

Getting out of debt may not be rocket science, but it sure ain’t easy.

Time for team Merch to have a pep talk and keep the focus.

“Truckin, like the do-dah man. once told me you’ve got to play your hand
Sometimes your cards aint worth a dime, if you dont layem down,

Sometimes the lights all shinin on me;
Other times I can barely see.
Lately it occurs to me what a long, strange trip its been.”

Posted in Goals | 4 Comments »

4 Responses to “Mid July Update”

  1. ceejay74 Says:
    July 18th, 2008 at 06:40 pm 1216402825
    1216402825

    Once again we're eerily connected. I was explaining to AS that we might not make our Big-Picture timeline but that it was OK because it was for reasons like school, our rental property and saving baby money. Then I was speculating that we could use NT's bonus at Xmas to cover both gifts and most of our next vacation. She looked at me and asked (bless her heart, she's come a long way) if we should even be thinking about a vacation with all the news I'd just told her. I had to explain that if we rewarded ourselves occasionally, we'd be more likely to stick to this. I feel guilty that I'm still planning for my wants, but at the same time, I still want to live for today as well as tomorrow. I may not have the balance quite right, but I think I'm getting there. And these kinds of discussions before making spending decisions will help us get there as a family unit. You and your wife should discuss which wants you can afford now, even if it slows you down a bit. Paying cash (not credit) for a luxury is such a rush!

  2. Broken Arrow Says:
    July 18th, 2008 at 07:42 pm 1216406524
    1216406524

    So long as we all finish right? Smile

    I'm still very much in the race. Quite itching to move along in fact.

  3. merch Says:
    July 18th, 2008 at 08:17 pm 1216408663
    1216408663

    Yes we are ceejay, yes we are.

    Your also right about the some rewards.

    BA, miss your blog.

  4. boomeyers Says:
    July 19th, 2008 at 05:17 am 1216441031
    1216441031

    Great analogy!! Keep at them hills buddy!

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