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The Debt Warrior

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20.01.2022 Yikes! There have been quite a few new people who have joined this page recently! Welcome! I'd love to know where you're from and what prompted you to like this page. (I live just north of Brisbane, Australia).

20.01.2022 Truth! You don't have to buy it! You didn't "save" $100 if you didn't need to buy it in the first place.

20.01.2022 I'm excited for the year ahead ... https://thedebtwarrior.blogspot.com/2019/02/hello-2019.html

19.01.2022 {Income Boost} January is always a challenge with finances. It's a recovery month after Christmas, but it's also an expensive month with back-to-school shopping (here in Australia). In order to bring in some extra cash, I'm doing some decluttering and will be listing items for sale this week. How much 'stuff' do you have lying around that could be turned into cash?

18.01.2022 {Challenge 19} DIY beauty treatments. I know it's nice to be pampered, but when money is tight, I can't justify paying for things I can do myself. Waxing, pedicures, manicures, mini-facials - all things you can save money on. How do you save on pampering? (I'm not very high maintenance, so that makes it easy to start with!)

18.01.2022 {Celebrate the small victories.} When paying off debt, try not to get discouraged by the big numbers. To keep your motivation going, celebrate the small victories to remind yourself of just how far you've come. Our "small" victory this week was receiving our water bill and being close to $500 in credit. I was in shock!! What was your small victory this week?

17.01.2022 {Challenge 17} It's ok to say 'no'! On our debt-free journey, we have learned to say 'no' to many things. It hasn't been easy, but I've already seen the benefits. We've said no to a family wedding, our annual holiday, sporting activities, new clothes, dinner out etc., all for the sake of working hard to pay off all of our debt. Short term pain for long term gain - so that we can freely enjoy these things later.

17.01.2022 {Insurance policies} You've probably heard it a thousand times, but it really pays to look at your insurance policies when it's time for renewal. We have 2 cars, and both renewal policies arrived last week. Car 1 had an over 30% increase in premium, while car 2 wasn't far behind!! I rang the insurance agency today (we have been with them for years and have been more than happy with them) - and asked if they could do us a better deal as we've made NO 'at-fault' claims. The guy was so helpful - car 1 is now only increasing by $0.63 per month, and car 2 will be $11 LESS per month. That's a big savings in comparison to what we would've been paying if I'd let it slide. Look into your policies!!

17.01.2022 If you're a visual person like me, you might like these 'debt-free charts'. They are a great motivational tool to see how far you've come in paying off debt. Charts are also available for tracking your savings. Check out Debt Free Charts. https://debtfreecharts.com

15.01.2022 No Spend Feb My husband and I sat down tonight and decided we would challenge ourselves to a 'no spend' month. You've probably seen many of these challenges around. I've done a few 'no spend' days and 'weeks' in the past - but going a whole month will indeed be a challenge! A 'no spend' month will look different for everyone. For us, we have decided 'no spend' is anything beyond our set budget. That means - no impulse buying, no takeaways, no buying clothes etc. (Obviously bills and mortgage are not included!) It means being organised, having meal plans and using what we have. Who's willing to join us?

15.01.2022 This quote resonated with me today. We've been on this debt-free journey for a little while now, and I find myself getting so frustrated that we haven't made more progress. We've failed many times, BUT the important thing, is that we keep on moving forward. How is your journey going? Oh, and a BIG welcome to all the new people who have joined us here!

15.01.2022 Checking in for our 'No Spend' challenge. It hasn't gone as well as I would've liked with some unexpected expenses cropping up - but that's all part of the learning curve and comes down to planning, and we will be prepared next time! I'll do another update at the end of the month to compare against the first half. Food has always been one of our biggest expenses - 6 mouths to feed. We still have another week before I buy food again, so tonight's dinner was a 'make something out of nothing' meal - fish with pasta salad (gluten-free pasta, spinach, cherry tomatoes, bacon, egg with a mayo & mustard dressing). Are you doing a 'no spend' challenge? How's it going?

15.01.2022 THIS is why you need to pay more than the minimum monthly repayment off your credit card/s!! (72 years to pay off a debt of $6000!) Think of all the extra $$ when that baby is gone!

13.01.2022 Debt is a dream deferred.

11.01.2022 I'm quite a few days behind with posting my challenges .... Are you happy to share on here something you've done to save $$? What is a way that you've saved money this week/month? What is one way that you've been able to tackle debt?

10.01.2022 In preparation for 'No Spend Feb', I've made a list of all meals I can make with what I have in the pantry/fridge/freezer and will use those ingredients before I do my next grocery shop. With 'no spend Feb', I am aiming to reduce my grocery bill substantially for the month. That 'extra' money will go onto debt.

10.01.2022 {Challenge 18} Meat-free meals. Going without meat a couple of days a week can save money in the long run. I bulk up our meals with beans, lentils & vegetables. Quiches, jacket potatoes, vegetable curry, pasta bake....there are plenty of options for going meat-free. I've found our meat-free meals are often ones the kids love the most!

09.01.2022 I absolutely love this! That's why I am so passionate about living debt-free. We're not there yet, but every choice we make with our money brings us one step closer to financial freedom :)

07.01.2022 I'm going to try and be a bit more active here and share my vision for this page. Finances are often a taboo topic and can cause friction between friends and family. It's hard to find like-minded people who "get it", so I'd like this to be a 'safe place' where there is NO judgement and where people can feel free to share what works/doesn't work for them with regards to being debt free and what that might mean. I'm in no way an expert on finances, but I'm determined to leave ...a better legacy for my children than the one I grew up with. I'd also like to feature some debt-free stories at some stage - so if this is of interest to you, please message me, or email me at [email protected]. It's a new year - let's set some new goals and smash them!

07.01.2022 I just saw this on Twitter - are there any other boring/basic items that you spend a little more on? "Daily use items that are worth spending more on than the average person: -shower head -garbage can... -bath towels -office chair We rarely view basic items as investments, but the things we use everyday can provide a little joy with every use if they are well made. What else?"

06.01.2022 {Challenge 16} Re-visit your 'Why'. It's easy to lose motivation when paying off debt. Sometimes it feels like all you do is work and pay bills. It's important to remind yourself of your 'why' to keep the motivation going. Why is it important to you to get out of debt?

06.01.2022 {Challenge 13} Declutter and sell. One way we've brought some extra cash into our home this year is by decluttering and selling things we no longer need. Getting rid of "stuff" is so freeing, and it makes you realise just how little you need to get by. We've been able to pay off debt faster with money gained from selling our excess stuff.

06.01.2022 Sorry kids, Mum's on a tight budget..

06.01.2022 Leave the right legacy for your children.

05.01.2022 {Challenge 15} Look at ways to bring extra income into the home. I've already mentioned selling one way is to sell excess items around the home, but what other ways can you make money to pay down your debt or have a little spare cash? Besides my regular job, I write, resell and do surveys. What are your talents that you could use to bring in some extra cash for your family?

04.01.2022 {Challenge 14} One of the biggest lessons I've learned on our debt-free journey is to be more resourceful and less wasteful. "Use up, make do or go without" is a mantra that has completely changed my outlook on money and purchases. It's changed my way of thinking to look at things from a different perspective and to curb my instant gratification. If you're going through a tight month, try doing this. What can you use up, make do with or go without?

04.01.2022 No Spend Feb With 2 more sleeps until 1st Feb, here are some things to do in order to be prepared: - Work out your 'why'. Why are you doing a 'no spend month'? My 'why' is to tighten the spending after a very expensive December/January and get back on track with our budget. - Define your rules. Everyone's 'no spend' rules will be different. What are the exceptions to your 'no spend' month? Consider birthday presents, medication etc.... - Get your family on board. We've explained to our kids what we're doing and why. (What: not spending outside our allocated budget. Why: to save money so we can pay off debt and enjoy life). - What will you do with the extra money? Put it towards debt? Add it to a savings account? - Plan for fun activities. There are plenty of FREE activities out there. We will be using some vouchers we were given at Christmas, as well as heading to the beach and doing some hikes. - Don't think of it as a burden or deprivation. Don't be bogged down with FOMO. Yes, it's a big challenge - but one filled with possibilities to see how far you can stretch yourself and make do with what you have. Enjoy!

02.01.2022 Interesting read ... however, I often struggle with articles like this, because not all of them are relevant to my circumstances. We are not a 2A, 2C family, and many financial articles are geared towards singles, DINKS (double income no kids), or families with 2A, 2C. It's best to take the good ideas and make them work for your situation. https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au//a-house-in-your-teens-an

02.01.2022 It's my son's 12th birthday next week. When I asked for ideas for gifts, or if there was anything he would really like, he said, "I don't actually need anything." Wow! His response completely blew me away. I love the fact that our financial journey to becoming debt-free is paying off in terms of leaving a legacy for our kids. I'm thankful he is learning the difference between needs and wants at a young age.

02.01.2022 Pretty please...

01.01.2022 {Long post ahead!} What happened to 2018? I had every intention of keeping up-to-date on this page, but the year just ran away from me! How has your debt reduction been going? Have you made progress? ANY amount of debt reduction is progress. In all honesty, we fell of the wagon a few times. Some of it couldn't be helped (medical expenses, family tragedy etc). And some of it was because we were so busy that time slipped through our fingers and we didn't make as much progress a...s we would've liked. In saying that, we paid off a $13, 000 debt and are now snowballing some other small debts. It is such a GREAT feeling paying off debt! On days when I get frustrated - I am reminded of how far we've come. Five years ago, we would not be where we are now if it wasn't for knuckling down and working hard. I am tired - working shift work and doing some extra side hustles - but in another year or so it will be ABSOLUTELY worth the hard work! I am looking forward to 2019 to some more breathing space with just our mortgage left. I also have some ideas swirling around that I will share with you in time. What are your goals for 2019?