My Frugal Story

I've gotten sooooo many emails asking what my frugal story is.  What time in my life did I start being frugal?  What made me become the way I am?  My dad taught me the value of a dollar growing up.  I listened and soaked it up.  My parents sheltered me and spoiled me so to speak so I didn't need to practice frugality.  My dad told me to think of what something costs and to wager the worth of it.  I heard every word and locked it in, but didn't put it to use.  I didn't understand the importance of not wasting money.

I had a job in high school and instead of saving my money I spent it on really high quality stuff like big dangly earrings that fell apart a week after I bought them.  I did not value the fact that I had absolutely no bills and no rent.  When I started college I got another job that gave me more hours so I could buy more stuff that I didn't need.  Pretty soon I cut back on taking classes at school so I could work more hours in order to buy even more stuff.  You see where this is going.  And then I did exactly what my dad asked me not to do.  I got a credit card.  It was super simple.  I was approved on my first credit card.  And since it was so easy I decided to get another and another.  Pretty soon I was living on plastic.  At the beginning I paid off the balance each month and every few months they would raise my limit.  A coffee here and a trip to the hair stylist there led me to 4 maxed out credit cards.  I was over $10,000 in credit card debt.  I was managing it, but a good chunk of my paycheck went to paying these credit card companies.  One day I sat down and looked at all my old statements and I had nothing to show for my spending other than a few nice clothes.  The rest was just frittered away. 

In 2000 I got a job working at a local police department.  It was night shift, but paid better than the job I was previously at.  Then in the summer of 2001 I found out I was going to have a little one.  It was my choice to do it alone.  Sometimes it's better to cut things in the beginning instead of letting things go on.  I knew that going on this journey alone wasn't going to be easy.  So, I took another job while I was pregnant.  Working two jobs is pure torture when you have severe morning sickness.  My goal was to pay off my credit card debt before the baby came. For more information on debt recovery and bankruptcy management, there are some great white papers from LexisNexis.

In March of 2002 my son, Mitch, was born.  I hadn't completely paid off my debt, but I only had a little over $3,000 left to pay.  It was better than over $10,000.  I was whittling it away slowly.  Being a single mom forces you to be frugal.  Well, that is, if you're as independent as I am.  I didn't accept handouts from family.  And I didn't use them as babysitters so I could go out partying.  I worked from 6pm to 6am three days on and three days off.  I would get off of work in the morning and sleep for a couple of hours before being at school at 9:30am.  I didn't have cable.  I borrowed DVD's when I wanted to watch something.  I clipped coupons - not as avidly as I do now, but I was smart about what I bought.  All the tips and tricks my dad taught me about being frugal was kicking in.  What I didn't know about being frugal I learned real quick like.

In August 2002 I started back to school.  I paid off the rest of my credit card debt right before Mitch turned 1 year old. I had finally paid off all my credit cards.  I felt so accomplished and proud of myself when I sent in that very last payment.  However, I now started tacking on student loans.  I wouldn't let my parents help me with college because they were already watching my son for me free of charge while I worked and went to school.

 In January of 2006 I started my last semester in college.  I had over $30,000 in student loans, but with very low interest rates. The good thing about student loans is that they can be deferred and they work with you if you can't make a payment. Most companies even offer ways to lower your payment such as signing up for automatic draft.

 I also met Wesley in January of 2006.  He proposed in July of 2006 and were married March of 2007.  Neither one of us had credit card debt when we married.  We only had vehicle loans to worry about.  We now pay cash for most everything, but we do occasionally put things on credit.  Our fave is using our Best Buy card for the 2 years no interest on purchases over $1,000.  We ALWAYS pay it off way before the 2 years is up.  I occasionally use my Belk Card to get the extra discounts during sales, but always pay it off when I get the statement.  (You do need to use credit in order to better your beacon score.)  We both have Bachelor's degrees so needless to say we have quite a bit of student loan debt.  When Conner (our third child) was born in 2009 we decided that it was best for me to stay home with the kids until they were all in school.  My husband had luckily gotten a really great job which enabled us to take this step.  We became a family of five living on one income.  My frugal journey continues because one day we aim to build our own house exactly the way we want it.  And I have big plans for that house. ;o)  Keeping our eyes on the prize keeps us frugal.

So there you have it.  It's not a riveting story, but it's my story.  Just a little piece of me and my crazy life.