How I Changed My Money Mindset and Paid Off $100,000 in Less Than 2 Years

Let me just start off by saying, money is complicated. The way we view money likely goes all the way back to our childhood. Back in the day, I used to buy a lot of things just because I wanted them at that moment. I did not think long-term about if those items would last beyond a few weeks or a month, continue to be useful to me, bring me happiness, or if I could really truly afford it.

If something, like a new sweater or jacket, cost a pretty penny, I would think twice about buying it, but typically my husband would then tell me it was ok to buy it and we would buy that jacket or sweater or pair of BKE jeans.

I would sometimes cringe at the amount of money we were spending but I always justified our spending in my mind. “I can afford to buy nice jeans because I don’t have student loans.” Or “I worked really hard these last 2 weeks, so I deserve to buy that new pair of shoes.”

We were not spending extravagant amounts of money, but we really weren’t being responsible with our money either. I didn’t have a budget, I had no clue what I was spending a month on groceries, clothing, fuel, or really any day-to-day spending besides our bills.

When I would question my or my husband’s spending, again, I would justify that we deserved it because we worked hard, or I had a decent-paying job, or we didn’t have credit card debt. By the way, this is NOT how our money mindset should be. But mine was for a loooong time.

Eventually, when my husband had emergency back surgery, I got furloughed from my nursing job, and I had to become a farmer to plant our farm crops, only then did I realize we were not being responsible with our finances. Oh, by the way, that was in April 2020! Hello Covid Pandemic and virtual learning for our 3 boys! (Well only 2 boys had virtual learning our youngest was too young, but he was taken out of daycare to stay home with us full-time, Goodbye- Daycare!)

 Growing up I really only knew a few things about money. It took hard work to earn, and it was okay to have a credit card as long as you paid it off in full every month. That was about the extent of my money knowledge as a child and into my young adulthood. I took out student loans for college, but my parents also helped me along the way with paying for things. I also had to have a part-time job throughout all of my college years. In fact, I have had a job since before I could drive.

I’ve always been a hard worker but I felt like my savings and retirement accounts weren’t showing that. I had a nice vehicle, decent clothes, and a house full of “things” but I realized I wanted more.

When I had to “play farmer” in the spring of 2020, I started listening to money podcasts and audible books on finances. I realized that my family and I needed to get on a budget and pay down our debt. I had to plant our crops that spring because we couldn’t afford to hire someone full-time to plant our crops. I didn’t even know how to drive a tractor!

So, it took me getting really scared about our financial situation and stressed out to finally start researching money management. I wish I would have known that Financial Coaching existed because I would have 100% hired one! But instead, I got crafty, came up with a budget, worked really hard, and put in a lot of LONG hours of overtime. We paid off my SUV almost 3 years early. We were also tackling our camper debt and my husband’s truck loan all at the same time.

My money mindset changed over time, but I really took the lessons I was learning + hearing about on the podcasts and books about money to heart. I went “hog-wild” with paying off our debt and spending as little as possible for a couple of years. However, I didn’t follow the “7 Dave Ramsey Baby Steps” to a Tee. I didn’t fully 100% agree with them all and his principles, even though I do agree with a lot of them.

We still went out to eat, however, not nearly as often as before we started getting financially responsible. We still allowed our 3 boys to play sports. We still bought clothes and household items that were not 100% a NEED. But before every purchase, I would ask myself “Is this a want or a need?” If it was a want, I would wait at least 24 hours before buying it (if it was a less expensive item) and at least 7 days before buying it if it was a more expensive item.

Now, I am not perfect by any means, but I tried to cut back on our spending, we cut our cable bill out, we tracked every single dollar we were spending, and I created a budget to equal zero. I still saved for my retirement and into our emergency fund while paying off our consumer debt. I had to tell myself, my husband, and our 3 boys “no” A LOT.

We talked about money and budgeting, paying bills, and making financial decisions as a family often. We still do. We decided as a family to sell our gorgeous 1-year-old destination camper and that propelled us forward in paying off the remainder of our debt and allowing us to put some money into our emergency savings account. And none of us regret this decision!

When we are faced with difficult decisions, we need to remember to embrace what we can and follow the path that will bring us closer to our dreams, visions, and goals. My goal was to pay off our 3 consumer debts, my car, my husband’s truck, and our camper. I wanted to be debt free (besides our house) so I could decrease my stress and anxiety, pay for things using cash and not worry so much about our money and how we were going to pay for our next youth sports registration or tuition bill.

Thinking back to the time in my life when I was under a mountain of debt I was so stressed, overwhelmed, and riddled with anxiety. I still have those feelings, but not as often and not as severe. I am now able to enjoy life more and pay for things IN CASH! It feels sooooo good!

With the cost of literally everything increasing I am so grateful we decided to get our butts in gear and really dig deep to figure out our finances, get on a budget, and stick to it. Now we save up for things before we buy them. I was able to pay cash for my new SUV, we pay cash for our annual family vacations, and we pay cash for ALL THE THINGS!

There are still times when I find myself wanting to buy things we can’t afford. I have lots of “wants” as does my family. But I know that money is a resource that I need to manage wisely. I need to save more for my future, my husband’s future, and our kid’s futures. I need to save money and plan ahead for life’s unexpected and expected expenses like new appliances, car tires, and repairs, house repairs, new bedding, hockey registration, sports gear, new shoes as the boys outgrow theirs, and the list goes on and on.

I am able to give more to others, our church, and charities. I am able to fund my growing financial coaching business because I make that a priority because I truly want to help others meet their life and financial goals.

 I make sure to figure out what my priorities are in life and work towards making those things happen. Some of my current priorities are going on a family vacation once a year, funding our emergency fund, funding my retirement account, funding my boy’s savings accounts, growing my financial coaching business, saving up for our future purchases, and paying cash for them.

At this time, I do not want to take out another vehicle loan. I would love for my 3 boys to be able to go to college or start a business after high school debt free. Someday I want to have a little house or cabin on a lake. And my ultimate goal in life is to be able to work from anywhere and be financially secure so that my husband can quit farming and not have to work unless he wants to!

In order to work my way towards these goals, I have had to change my money mindset significantly. I cannot just spend what is coming in for our income. Even if we have money in our bank account, that is NOT money we are “able” to spend. I have to be dedicated and committed to our goals. I have to also get my family to “buy into these goals”. HAHA.

Perhaps your narrative of how you think of money and how you are managing your money needs to change. Maybe you need to think of what could be instead of what is.

Try changing your narrative around money. Think, “How can I make this happen” instead of “I can’t make this happen”.

I used to go shopping a lot and now I rarely go. I don’t care to “window” shop because that often turns into me buying something. When I am not in the stores (oh how I love Scheels and HomeGoods) I don’t see all the things to buy. I don’t have the desire to purchase a bunch of unwanted/unneeded items. If you like to shop online, remove the apps from your phone. Make it so you have to sign into Amazon each time you want to look for something on their website. Remove your credit card or debit card information from your computer/phone so you have to go get your card and enter the information each and every time you buy something online.

Removing the things, you desire or lust over helps keep you on track with your spending. If you were a recovering alcoholic, it wouldn’t be in your best interest to hang out in the bars or hang around others who are spending a lot of their time drinking. Surround yourself with those who will help you meet your goals and stay on the right path. Let a friend know that you are trying to cut back on your online shopping and that you are trying to stick to a budget. If they are a true friend, they will encourage you and help support you to meet your goals.

xoxo

Jess Wayne

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