Working the Plan

Listening to the new Mayer Hawthorne record and thinking about the simple pleasures in life - sitting in a coffee shop, drinking a mocha and listening to a little Blue-Eyed Soul is certainly a pleasure. So, too, will be planning my Italy trip after significantly reducing my debt.

Since my last post I've put a lot of wheels into motion. I've reduced my 401k contribution at work, stopped my IRA contribution, reduced or stopped a few charitable donations and even cut my Netflix in half. Sure, the Netflix is only a $7 savings per month, but as they say, it all adds up, right!? I've also turned down a few fun things - an invite to a Bronco's game ($45), entry into the 2012 Colorado Half Marathon ($90), a 4-mile run on Halloween ($30), and most significantly, an airline ticket to see dear friends in February ($210). The objective is to send that 'saved' money to my debt and I'll be starting this with my next paycheck.

I'm also continuing the not-buying-anything-new paradigm. This has really become a way of life for me now. I do buy new things on occasion but whenever I need to buy something I try to get it used first. For Christmas I'm trying to find things that I can make. Beginning with the New Year I will severely limit the new item purchasing back to 2010 levels in order to put even more towards my debt.

Is this all just a smart way to live or am I simply bored and need a challenge? I think its a little of both, maybe more of the latter if I'm honest with myself. Either way, my hope is when 2013 roles around and I turn 45 I'll have a reasonable amount of debt and will be able to plan the trip I've been thinking about for years. Fingers crossed.