Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses? – Ebenezer Scrooge
Being in debt is simply no good – and if you lived in the 19th century it meant you went to live in a very unpleasant place where you were forced to stay (and pay rent!) until your family could pay off your debts for you. Today, debt simply sucks. Back then debt killed, literally – well maybe not literally, it was probably the dysentery or the tuberculosis that actually killed you, but it was debt ’s fault for putting you in the stinky death hole of a debtors prison so it deserves some of the responsibility in my book.
In light of debt’s uncanny power to give a person the bloody flux or consumption, my wife and I have decided that we never, ever, ever want to live a life that will put us into debt (except to buy a house). We have committed to:
- Embrace an attitude that values people more than things (frugal to the max!)
- Develop an emergency fund for 6 months of our living expenses
- Save up to buy all our big ticket items before we purchase them
- Use a budget that balances for everyday and regular expenses
- Live a healthy and active lifestyle to reduce medical bills and future debilitating illnesses
The main goals of our debt free lifestyle are as follows:
- Impact as many lives as we can in a positive way
- Secure a stable and safe future for our children
- Be happy
We avoid debt because we want to make this world a better place, and it seems funny to me that something as simple as avoiding debt can be such an important part of that equation. But when you consider all the money that you need to earn more of to pay off your debts, and all the time that you need to spend doing so, and all the growth that money could have been doing in a high interest savings account or in the stock market, which might have allowed you to retire earlier, thus giving you more time, it really adds up to opportunities lost to impact the world for the better. There is no bigger time suck and money drain than paying a person for the ability to pay another person for something you want but don’t need and can’t afford.
What are your commitments to living a debt free lifestyle? What do you hope to achieve by living debt free?
Very well said! Debtor’s prison… yikes. Glad I wasn’t around back then!
Although I’m starting a little bit behind, I’ve decided to embrace the same values that you list here. I’ve learned first hand how financially and emotionally draining debt can be… I’m never going back!
Once I am debt free I’m going to be committed to saving up for freedom… be it retirement, quitting an unhappy job, helping out a friend or relative, donating to a worthy charity, starting a family, buying a pet monkey
, ANYTHING.
Once I’m debt free I will own my earnings and I will be free to do as I please. Thats a huge motivation for me. I will happily continue to embrace my frugal ways, but it will be by choice – never necessity!
I really enjoyed this post
Great post. Currently I feel that “debtors prison” still exists, if only in my mind. I can’t wait to dump this debt, and thankfully my family is behind me as well.
Keep up the great work!
I’m thrilled that I was able to get out of consumer debt this winter. It eases my mind, for a minute until I see my large HELOC, and mortgage. I don’t think I will be fully satisfied until those are paid off. Your goals are very similar to ours. Frugality is the key in today’s times. If you can be happy living that way, you will be able to save and stay out of debt. Great post.
Great commitment to being debt free.
Being debt free is akin to being set free – yes from aka debtor’s prison.(I’m sure that is in every debtor’s mind – no matter how much we deny it)
We have no debt now and finally achieved this at a great cost.(Inheritance).
However, we’ve always lived frugally & things aren’t changing now.
We bought a used (barely)family car the other day with cash – that was nice. A brand new fancy one would have put us back in debt.
No way – debt free here to stay.
Thankyou God!
I actually like debt – it can add a lot of value to your investment returns if things go well. Of course it adds risk as well, but no risk = no return.
If you mean consumer debt, I absolutely agree that zero debt and a simple values based lifestyle is the way to go.
@ traineeinvestor – I don’t mind businesses or governments having debts, these institutions acquire debts that they can repay to increase profits or to improve operations. I simply cannot see myself taking on debt to buy stocks in the hope that I did my research right and will earn money on my gamble. I don’t even think I could take out loans to start my own business – I would simply use money that I already had or had saved for the express purpose of starting a business. I am very risk averse!