Rejuvenation

So...it's probably no secret that I've fallen off the debt-repayment band wagon a bit.  The past few posts have detailed mini-shopping sprees and weekend getaways, while my end of the month debt totals have become markedly less impressive.

I was so gung-ho about debt repayment in January, February and part of March.  Then, my resolve started to falter.  I missed "treating" myself to different things.  After I crunched the numbers on my impending apartment move with C., it became somewhat easy to abandon the debt repayment action plan.

But then I read about a fellow Austinite (Yahoo article link here: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/wiping-out--90-000-in-student-loans-in-7-months.html) and Harvard Business School graduate who obliterated 90K of student loan debt in a mere 7 months.

Now, I am not a Harvard graduate and I make a modest teacher's salary.  I do not think that I can feasibly expect to erase my debt within the next seven months.  But I have become downright lazy with my debt repayment action plan.

I think part of the problem was that I got caught up in consumer fervor while looking for apartment furniture and decorations.  Another part of me doesn't want to "miss out": I want to be a young, hip 20-something with the polished wardrobe and the dinners out and the domestic and international vacations.  If I don't whip myself into better financial shape before C. and I get married and start a family, then we are all going to be "missing out" as 30% or more of my paychecks will be going to debt repayment.

So, I started by lowering the amount that I save monthly (sorry Dave Ramsey, I am a saver and cannot completely go cold-turkey) and I threw an extra $80 towards my car loan.  I'm planning on cutting out fast food and specialty coffee drinks indefinitely, and once I'm in my new neighborhood, I can walk to the nearest grocery store.  And if I start to waver or fall off the bandwagon again, I'm going to read stories like the one mentioned above to regain some inspiration.