I was thinking this morning, as I was getting ready for work, about this whole push to become debt free that I, and many many other people, are engaged in. I could be wrong, but it seems that it has become an increasing focus over the last year for many people, in large part because of our collective fear over the economy. I know that I personally could not pay my bills if I were to lose my job, and be forced to take a job that paid less.
So, besides the overall feeling that debt is a burden that I would like to not have to deal with, here are some of the reasons that I want to be debt free.
1. I want to buy a condo/house in the next few years. And I know that if I keep going the way that I am going, there is no lender in the world that will approve me for a mortgage!
2. I (probably) want to start a family in the next 5-10 years. I’d like to have the option to have children, and to feel like I could possibly stay home with them, or work part time, at least for a little while. If i don’t get the debt under control, there is no possible way that this will be an option.
3. I want to be able to give people nice presents, and not feel mind-numbingly depressed after I do it. My family tends to be a little extravagant in the present giving area, and, honestly, I like spending the money to get someone something really nice, that I know they will treasure and enjoy. I just want to be able to do so and not then feel so guilty that I charged it all, and will be paying it off for who knows how long!
4. I want to indulge my expensive hobbies, guilt free. A few months ago, I really got interested in genealogy, and was in the process of creating a family tree on ancestry.com. To go along with it, I started paying close to $60 a month for access to their databases. I really got a lot of use out of it the first 6 weeks I had it, but then the holidays happened, and life got really hectic, and I got away from it. I eventually cancelled it in February, but I certainly wasted some money there first. I’d like to be able to re-sign up for a subscription there, and not feel terribly guilty when I do, even if I only have 10 hours a month to devote to the research.
5. I want to develop new hobbies. I’m really really interested in learning how to SCUBA dive, and I’ve looked into the process of getting certified, but all signs point to it being a fairly expensive hobby to take up. I’d like to be able to set aside the money for that, and for a few dive trips to the Caribbean, and not feel like I’m doing the wrong thing.
6. I want to travel more, and plan for it. I’ve actually gone quite a few different places, and I’ve got a long list of other places that I’d like to see. But I can never quite seem to justify spending the big money on travel, so I haven’t yet made it to Australia, or New Zealand, or Thailand or Japan. I want to be debt free so that I can plan a trip like this, and feel good about my decision.
I guess what it really comes down to is the idea that I want to be able to spend money without feeling guilt that it should be going towards debt repayment. Or that I am just adding to the debt by spending on credit cards. So, for me, being debt free is buying peace of mind.
