There seems to be two logical methods to eliminating debt---reduce spending and/or increase income. We have been working on both. We have been cutting our expenses left and right, getting our family budget down to the bare-bones necessities for living. We are learning a lot about wants versus needs. It has been highly educational in that sense.
Plus, we are also taking on side jobs and odd jobs as income opportunities arise. My husband has a great job that is steady, stable, and provides both income and insurance benefits. We are blessed. Unfortunately, there is no opportunity for overtime pay right now. So, we have been keeping our eyes open for other income sources.
I took on a babysitting job, 3 days a week, caring for the daughter of a friend, so that she could return to work. I'm actually enjoying having an additional kid in the house, which raises my hopes even more that adoption could someday be in our future. (Adoption is one of my life's dreams).
My husband signed up for the basketball incentive program, agreeing to referee 8 basketball games in order to receive half of the registration fee in return. Since we have two daughters playing basketball, if he referees 16 games, he will get reimbursed the cost of one entire registration fee. He is already over half-way there. He spends 2-3 hours running up and down a basketball court on Saturday mornings, but he jokes that it doubles as a cardio workout routine as well.
I was called to jury duty, which pays minimum wage any time I have to show up.
My husband agreed to be a taxi/shuttle driver for a friend's business. He picks up people from the airport and drives them to various tourist locations in nearby towns. For the most part, he shuttles on weekends, but there are a few late-night week day runs. He earns a commission, plus tips. He jokes that tips are better for this job than when he delivered pizza as a job in college.....saying that folks tip better when you are delivering them!
When we first shredded the credit cards and made the commitment to live debt-free, 6 months ago, we planned to seek such additional income as a means for paying off debt faster. It has been a huge reality check for us to have to use this "extra" income to pay for all of the "extra" medical and dental bills. It is real easy for us to see how we've acquired such a debt load in the first place. We had been budgeting very little towards medical, and putting all such expenses on the credit card. That is a recipe for debt accumulation for sure!
Now that our eyes are open to our medical expense reality, we've restructured the budget to cover those costs. It took a few months to get it all figured out, so all of our "extra" income went to those expenses until the budget caught up to the need. This month, things look like they have stabilized. We have not been adding any new debt, so the principal has been going down (even if it is much slower than we had hoped). It looks like the budget guidelines are anticipating the necessary amount of health-related expenses now, and those numbers are working so far.
So, I am really, really hoping that the kinks are worked out and our "extra" incomes can start tackling the debt at a snowball rate, versus the current snowflake rate!
Plus, we are also taking on side jobs and odd jobs as income opportunities arise. My husband has a great job that is steady, stable, and provides both income and insurance benefits. We are blessed. Unfortunately, there is no opportunity for overtime pay right now. So, we have been keeping our eyes open for other income sources.
I took on a babysitting job, 3 days a week, caring for the daughter of a friend, so that she could return to work. I'm actually enjoying having an additional kid in the house, which raises my hopes even more that adoption could someday be in our future. (Adoption is one of my life's dreams).
My husband signed up for the basketball incentive program, agreeing to referee 8 basketball games in order to receive half of the registration fee in return. Since we have two daughters playing basketball, if he referees 16 games, he will get reimbursed the cost of one entire registration fee. He is already over half-way there. He spends 2-3 hours running up and down a basketball court on Saturday mornings, but he jokes that it doubles as a cardio workout routine as well.
I was called to jury duty, which pays minimum wage any time I have to show up.
My husband agreed to be a taxi/shuttle driver for a friend's business. He picks up people from the airport and drives them to various tourist locations in nearby towns. For the most part, he shuttles on weekends, but there are a few late-night week day runs. He earns a commission, plus tips. He jokes that tips are better for this job than when he delivered pizza as a job in college.....saying that folks tip better when you are delivering them!
When we first shredded the credit cards and made the commitment to live debt-free, 6 months ago, we planned to seek such additional income as a means for paying off debt faster. It has been a huge reality check for us to have to use this "extra" income to pay for all of the "extra" medical and dental bills. It is real easy for us to see how we've acquired such a debt load in the first place. We had been budgeting very little towards medical, and putting all such expenses on the credit card. That is a recipe for debt accumulation for sure!
Now that our eyes are open to our medical expense reality, we've restructured the budget to cover those costs. It took a few months to get it all figured out, so all of our "extra" income went to those expenses until the budget caught up to the need. This month, things look like they have stabilized. We have not been adding any new debt, so the principal has been going down (even if it is much slower than we had hoped). It looks like the budget guidelines are anticipating the necessary amount of health-related expenses now, and those numbers are working so far.
So, I am really, really hoping that the kinks are worked out and our "extra" incomes can start tackling the debt at a snowball rate, versus the current snowflake rate!
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