Ana from DebtFREE-Revolution tagged me with her new meme, “If I were debt free…” I had to think about this one for a while. Whatever would I do if I had no debts to pay?
First, I would fully fund my emergency fund. I would want to have 6 months of expenses saved. This last year has shown me how important an emergency fund is. I never want to be here again. Our emergency fund is currently down to about one month’s worth of expenses. That’s not a great place to be when you have no income. :) My husband is very resourceful, though, so I have no doubt that we’ll have some form of income soon.
After my emergency fund was funded, I’d throw extra money at our retirement savings. Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of money there either. I’d also begin saving for a down payment on a house.
If we still had time left after we bought a house and funded our retirement, I’d put some money toward our children’s college educations.
Beyond that, I don’t think our lifestyle would change too much. I’d be committed to staying out of debt, living frugally, and helping others when I can. Being debt-free would just make it that much easier.
What would you do if you were debt-free? I’m going to tag Paidtwice, Erin, and Heather. Have fun dreaming a little, ladies!
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Thanks for the tag! I shall have to ponder :)
Being debt-free is a nice thing to ponder, isn’t it? :)
Strangely enough, pondering being debt free is part of what helped me see the potential joy of being a stay at home mom. I’m working on a post about that for tonight/tomorrow. :-)
As it is, we won’t be debt free when the kids come (I’m guessing) but the idea helped me to see that that was ok too. It was a good meme!
great post! I often dream about what we’d do if we were debt free…things would definitely be less stressful around here…
Thanks for the tag! :) This is going to be fund,fund, fund! errrrr, I mean Fun! lol. I’ll write my post later this evening as I have to go back to work for our schools daycare.
I am a writer/publisher with three books on the subject of personal financial management, a personal money coach, and I used to teach the subject at the college level. It was one of my clients who dubbed me “The Debt Whisperer.”
It has been my experience that people focus too much on their debt, sometimes to the point of an unhealthy obsession. And, just as often, their most pressing financial concern is not their debt but, rather, the fact that they have no savings.
In my work with clients I help them to get out of debt but the focus of my work with them is to build their savings. In other words, I put the emphasis on a positive rather than a negative.
In fact, at first, my clients often pay the minimum due on their debts, credit cards, in particular. Then I urge them to forget their debts altogether and focus on building their savings. Homeless people are usually debt-free; how much good does that do them?
And, really, debt is only a symptom of the real problem. The real problem is that debt means you have been spending more than you earn. The real problem is over-spending and that is the second focus of my work with clients that come to me with debt issues.
A psychologists helps people deal with their past, a coach helps people develop their fundamental skills in a given area. Learning to budget is one of the fundametnal skills of personal financial management and it is a skill that many of us lack entirely or can use help to refine.
A focus on debt is just one example of someone who needs to work on their fundamentals. I applaud any one who is taking any steps to improve their lot. But if you are focusing on your debt, I would recommend that you consider changing your perspective.
We in this country are fairly awash in a sea of money; every year more and more new millionaires are minted. A focus on one’s debt only serves to diminish one’s capacity for prosperity thinking.
R/TDW
These are also the things that I do. ;)