Business insider rated some of the top New Year’s resolutions. I bet you can guess what they are:

1. Eat Healthier
2. Pick up a new skill or hobby
3. Exercise more
4. Read more books
5. Save more money

 

I’ll argue we all have each of these five items circling around in our heads all the time, not just at the start of a new year. But, achieving them is so hard. Becoming content in all of these facets is difficult, especially if we’re trying to do all of them at the same time. I encourage you to just pick one.

What’s mine you ask? Well, it’s obvious by the title of this post: Money.

Why is money always difficult to talk about? I think it’s because we humans attach so many feelings and emotions to money. Having a lot of it makes us feel good and secure, having too little of it makes us feel desperate and nervous.

We let money control our emotions.

Some time in my later years of college, Hannah gave me Dave Ramsey’s book, Total Money Makeover. I was in a stage of life where I was about to be on my own for the first time, and I knew next to nothing about money habits. This book was a game changer for me.

I naively thought that every human was going to be in some sort of debt at all times during life. I never knew that some people chose to live their lives differently- with zero debt. Here I was, living with my parents, with no student loan debt. Practically living debt free. It was so freeing. I could save my whole paycheck if I wanted or I could choose to go shopping and spend the cash I had in my account. As I read more Dave Ramsey, and researched other people who lived this way, it became a goal of mine to stay as debt free as possible throughout my lifetime.

I wanted to control my money instead of letting it control me.

I wanted to be proactive instead of reactive.

I quickly started to adapt little habits that I knew would help me save money and ward off debt in the future…

My first goal was to save money for a down payment on a house. I wanted to skip the days of renting an apartment so I could invest my money into a property instead of paying someone else rent. To do that, I lived with my parents rent free for a year and a half. I paid my savings account as if I was paying a mortgage already then used that money as a downpayment on my current house.

Much to Dave Ramsey’s dismay, I also bought a new car (Probably a mistake. Lesson learned, Dave). My old car was falling apart, and while I should have bought an older car with the cash I already had, I decided to splurge and get what I wanted– a Mini Cooper.

A mini Dave was on my shoulder as I sat at the little desk in the dealership. While Dave would have told me to get up and run out the door, I at least chose the shortest pay period. While my payment was really big, I  was going to pay it off as fast as I could to save myself on interest. I’m currently paying the highest amount possible plus some so I can pay it off in the next year and a half. In Dave Ramsey’s terms that is the debt snowball. After my car is paid off, my only debt left will be my house!

Another thing I decided against was credit cards. Although many people claim that it’s in your best interest to have one for emergencies and airline points, I did not want the temptation so I’ve cut up each credit card offer that has come in the mail.

One of my biggest tips on money saving is to know where your money is going each month. The best way I keep up with that is through the EveryDollar App. It was created by Dave Ramsey’s team, and it’s a life saver. You put in what you bring home each month, then breakdown all of your bills one by one. It allows you to figure out exactly how much money is left over after you pay out everything necessary each month so you can decide what to do with the excess… pay off more debt or slide it into a savings account. It’s a game changer! Try it!!

Going debt free is not easy. But, I know it will be worth it. It’s so empowering knowing exactly where your income is going. I can now see money as a transactional thing rather than a symbol of my social status or a weight around my neck.

Keep working hard, y’all!

-Chelsea