One year ago my family started on a journey to get out of debt. We knew it would take 18-24 months of working intensely to be debt free, and we knew it would be difficult since we committed to trying to start a business. One year later, it looks like we have four to six months left of plugging away at debt and the business is successful and profitable–though not yet replacing the full-time income we gave up to start it.
It hasn’t been easy. We’ve changed our lifestyle in a big way. One of the biggest was how we celebrate and entertain.
Here’s a few examples of how things have changed:
Entertaining with other couples/families: Most of the other couples we know also have small children. Going out to eat usually involves a baby sitter or two and a “grown up” place out and costs about $100 per couple. Lately we’ve been doing take-out Chinese or Ethiopian food, and watching movies at home with our friends (and their kids). We’ve found we’re getting together more frequently this way and enjoying our friends—and their children–more without regretting the expense. Sometimes in the summertime we’d cooperate a barbeque with friends at a city park. One family gets buns and hot dogs, the other family brings chips and a jug of sweet tea. Throw the “beach bucket” in the car and we’re all set. (Our beach-bucket is a 5-gallon bucket with two towels, a soccer ball, Frisbee and beach ball—it resides full-time in the car in the spring and summer just in case we need to go play).
Birthdays/special occasions: All of our family’s birthdays are in the summer—July, August, and September. Family was in town in the summer as well, so we threw a one-time-bash at the lake and also had our girls baptized on the same weekend (our family celebrates baptisims like birthdays). We had a huge bash for all four birthdays and the kids’ baptisms. It wasn’t a “budget” event per-se—with decorations and cake and a shelter rental at the lake but it consolidated all of the birthdays into one planned-for expense. We were able to entertain our friends and family and celebrate the kids’ milestones without going overboard all for the same cost as one Elmo-themed toddler party.
Christmas: We have lots of local family who love to spoil our girls. The kids were also adopted as bigger kids from situations where they really enough have enough of anything. Now of course, we’re in suburbia USA—the land of plenty, and they’re overwhelmed with “stuff.” This year we did home-made gifts for our loved ones (baked goods, candies and nuts mostly) and at home budgeted tickets for one holiday play as a family activity. Christmas gifts at our house were limited to the opening of Christmas stockings. Really.
Each kid got a few edible items, hair bows, a movie (discount purchased of course) and a photo album showing all of their milestones and activities for the year (I order these at shuterfly.com). This scaled-back Christmas was a huge hit with everyone, and didn’t leave my husband and I feeling spent (literally or physically). There was no midnight “assembly and battery hunting” sessions on Christmas Eve. Instead, we baked cookies and watched Santa’s approach on the NORAD Web site. I’ve never made it through a holiday feeling so relaxed before. It was delightful. I also never once went into a shopping mall during the holiday season.
Now we’ll be debt free in just a couple of months, but our scaled-back celebrations will remain. Next year’s Christmas will be one family outing to a play or something, and stockings—also we’ll plan on buying Christmas dinner for an orphanage—in memory of the time our youngest daughter spent there. Kid birthdays will be a “sundae bar” at the park, not just because it’s easy on the budget, but because I love not worrying about getting the pink ice cream off the rug.
Ironically, the year of our marriage that we thought would be the hardest (following my layoff and subsequent choice to launch a business in 12/08) ended up being our best year yet. We made progress as a family, and we made sure that every minute we spent together truly counted.
I hope your family will give some of these a try and reap the benefits of less expense and less stress also!
Here’s to a fantastic 2010!
