The Final Friday Series: Where is she NOW?

As I said when I started this series, frugality started with a goal. As I continue on my frugal journey , there is always a goal. We break it up into small specific goals, that will ultimately lead to our big life goal.

Our current small, specific goal is to finally pay off my husband's student loans, save money for a house and a rainy day, and remain debt free.

As our lives have changed, our goals have evolved, but there has always been a goal. It is much easier to be frugal when there is a reason. I'm sure that our goals will change as we continue on the journey.

It seems like I have hit several points where I thought I was being as frugal as possible. Then I figured out that I could change something else. When I look back at myself five years ago, I think of how much I could have saved if I had known then what I know now. And I wonder if I'll look back at myself five years from now, and laugh at what I thought was so frugal. Or maybe I'll have thrown frugality out the window, and wonder how I could have ever done it. I doubt it, but you never know!

I would like to continue to explore new ways to cut our expenses, without deprivation. I do not want us to be cheap for the sake of being cheap. I want a pretty home and nice clothes and a decent car. I want pets and to eat out and travel. I just want to do those things as inexpensively as possible- I am seeking the minimum level of fulfillment. I want to use our money in pleasurable, productive ways. We work hard for our money, and it is senseless to spend it in ways that we do not enjoy, or in ways that do not match our values.

What we have going against us:

A large student loan. Maybe someday I'll get brave and tell you guys just *how* large this loan is.

Family and friends who think we need to loosen up a bit

What we have going for us:

We have no credit card debt, and never have.

We bought our cars in cash. Mine is 10 years old, and my husband's is 18, and they're still going strong. We will not take a loan out on a car unless absolutely necessary.

We have no major expenses, are pretty healthy, are educated, and goal driven.

Here is where we want to be:

Our ultimate life goal is to become financially independent. If we cannot achieve that, we would like to come as close as possible. We want to be able to work part-time or not at all if we choose, without it hurting our lifestyle. We do not want to get stuck in professions we hate, but have to stay with them because we need the money that it brings in. At very least, we would like to retire at a reasonable age.

We want to own a small, easily maintainable home. We then hope to either rent out that home or sell it and move into a cob house that we build ourselves.

We want to pay off the Evil Student Loan.

Here is what we are currently doing to achieve these goals. Pennies make dollars!

We use:

cloth napkins
leftovers to make meals
a clothesline to air dry clothes
a cell phone, no land line
coupons
The Keeper (I may write an entry on this alone someday!)
secondhand stores
E-bay for both sales and purchases
e-mail and electronic bill pay, to save on stamps
creative deprivation
generic brands
the library for video and book desires
half.com for books that we must buy for school
small notebooks to record every cent that we earn and spend
Freecycle- both to give and receive.
our freezer
our pantry
our crockpot

We don't have:

New cars
cable
New clothes
consumer debt
much new furniture
new electronics (In fact, our very old TV, VCR, and DVD player were all gifts)

But we still:

eat out
go to the 2.50 movie theatre
sometimes rent movies, if we really want to see it and the waiting list is long

We should be able to pay off the loan by this time next year, as long as everything goes well. If everything falls apart, I think it is feasible to pay it off in a very reasonable time span. Owning a home is possible in the next year or so. It could be possible now, but we want to pay off the loan ASAP. We want to have only one debt at a time, as much as possible. (Many argue that this is a dumb move, but we're pretty stuck on this.)

We're aiming for 5 years with the Cob house. (Or similar alterative housing- this will involve a lot of research.) How close are we to financial independence? Not close at all, but I do believe that it may be possible in the next 15 years.

So where are we now? Very happy with what we've done, and looking forward to the future. Like many before me have said- We are buying our freedom with our frugality.