Year of the Student Loan
Back in 2002, I had the privilege of walking across a chapel altar and receiving my master’s degree in Occupational Therapy. With that honor, came a hefty IOU...my student loan. I would not trade that IOU for anything. My degree has given me endless opportunities to love and care for people, all of whom I hold in my heart with high esteem and endearment. There are parents who have taught me much about the passion and effort it takes to raise children and children who have an unbelievable drive to succeed against all odds. I am so honored to walk alongside them and I can’t imagine spending the last 11 years any other way.
Although, I would not trade in the last 11 years for anything, it is time for the bill to go away. It is time to free up funds to push forward the Kingdom of God by spending more time with family and friends and having freedom to explore how I can love and care for more people. This year, I think I can do this. It is a hefty goal, because it is a hefty sum. It will require some changes in how I live and spend. It will require simplifying life and planning ahead better. It will require support from family and friends to celebrate each mini success and encourage through each mini catastrophe.
To make this happen I am working with the ideas from a book I recently finished called Seven: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess, written by Jen Hatmaker. In my year of the student loan, I want to 1) cut expenses to funnel as much as possible towards paying off my loan and 2) cut excess out of my life to free up time, space, and finances to reflect God more and love and care for others better. Jen writes about 7 areas that she spent cutting excess out of her life, spending one month focusing on each area. The 7 areas are:
Food | Clothes | Possessions | Media | Waste | Spending | Stress
My plan is to pick a small goal in each area and spend the year living it out the best I can. Here is my year of the student loan:
Giving up fast food and take out when I am too tired (or lazy) to cook for myself.
If I am going to spend money on eating out, it needs to be with people. When I eat at home, I have to choose healthier and fast food just isn’t that. My freezer will soon become my new favorite appliance. Success depends on my ability to bake and freeze meals to eat during the week. I work late during the week so cooking a big meal from scratch once I get home is not an option. This one will be fun because I love baking and don’t do enough of it. I am excited to try out recipes from my bookshelf full of cookbooks that have not been touched in months!
Purchasing no clothing/accessories.
This is new. This is goodwill. If you see me running around in ratty clothes or notice all my socks have holes in the toes, please be kind and send me something new for my birthday.
Online shopping is for toiletries only.
I use online shopping with the intent of purchasing gifts for family/friends and soap/shampoo for me. But online shopping ruins me. I am so easily tempted to add on little extras, thinking that it will 1) save me from placing another order tomorrow or 2) prevent me from having to see the inside of a Wal-Mart or mall. But it does neither. Somehow I keep ordering, and ordering, and ordering.
Getting rid of 7 possessions each week.
I have stuff. I have too much stuff. I have more than I need and it fills spaces in my home that others could use. It eats up my time, time I could be spending growing God’s kingdom, because I have to clean and dust it all. The stuff has to go out and with my limits on online shopping and clothing, the stuff will stay out. This is good because it will do no good to open up my space and time if I end up replacing it all with new stuff. If you are looking for stuff, come to my house, I may have a deal for you. Also, be on the lookout for a great yard sale and my new easy store later this year if you want to buy my stuff.
Limiting social media to once a day and computer/TV to 4 hours a week.
This is outside of the time I use the computer and Internet for my job. I get home at night and I am tired. I check Facebook, sit on the couch, and turn on the TV to relax for a few minutes. The next thing I know my bedtime alarm has chimed and I have not moved from said couch. It’s a problem. I am sure it is killing off the brain cells I’ll need when dementia kicks in at 80. It may be why I need the above-mentioned bedtime alarm today. It’s time I could spend praying for the many people God places on my heart each day, growing my side businesses, enjoying life with family/friends, and catching up on reading all the books that are sitting on my nightstand. The possibilities are endless.
Giving up prepackaged lunch items.
I am a sucker for convenience when it comes to lunches. I could easily eat a snack pack of carrots, a granola bar, a bag of m&m’s, one yogurt, and a package of peanut butter crackers, mostly because I dislike having to get up early to make and pack a real lunch. Time in the mornings is so precious that the 30 seconds it would take to make a peanut butter sandwich makes me cringe. But all these items come with a lot of wasted packaging and cost eight times more than me buying in bulk (or just normal grocery story sizes) and packaging them myself from my cabinet of seldom used containers of every size.
Actually recycling everything that is on my city’s pick up list.
My city has a huge list of things to recycle and I can easily open my back door (that is in my kitchen, one step from my trash bag) and throw into my bin without ever stepping a foot outside. But instead, I throw 90% of these items into my kitchen trash. This is stuff that can be reused and repurposed. It can be disposed of in a way that saves landfill space and keeps God’s creation looking good. I will be recycling:
Newspapers, magazines, & catalogs
Clear, green, & brown glass
Aluminum, steel, & aerosol cans#1 and #2 plastic bottles & jugs
Take my house off the market.
My house has been for sale for the better part of a year. But the money I have saved to move into my next home would get me over halfway to my goal. It’s a tough choice because it lengthens the time I will spend away from the community I enjoy spend time with. But, it gives me more time with my great neighbors and is the only way for me to have a fighting chance of hitting a loan free life this year.
Cash only spending.
I am limiting excess spending by giving myself a finite amount of money to spend on groceries and entertainment each month. I already start each month with cash spending, but it is so easy to swipe a card (or take cash out of my savings) when I run out. I will also be putting some of this cash aside to use for a few fun rewards throughout the year. The first thing I have planned is a girl’s weekend in California with a side trip to meet my newest soon to be born baby boy nephew. He also lives in California, so I will actually be saving money by combining the trips….right? Beyond that, any extra savings will go to smaller rewards to keep me moving towards a loan free life each season.
Materials to finish a quilt and cover dining room chairs
Pair of running shoes
Lawn mower
Reupholster my favorite chair
New bedroom flooring
It is a lot to work towards. The chair is a stretch. The bedroom flooring will probably be a celebration for making the final payment on my loan, and I am praying that my lawn mower will make it though another summer. Starting the mower requires a prayer while I pump the primer, tilt the mower on the back two wheels, hold my breath because it smokes something fierce when the engine turns over, and pull the cord to crank it up. Sometimes this process is repeated.
One quiet night during the week and free afternoon during the weekend.
Quiet does not necessarily mean alone. It does mean turning off earthy wants and making choices that are restoring to my soul. I will need this for my sanity. I will need this for preparing for each upcoming week. I will need this to keep my eyes focused on God. I am not sure how this will look from week the week, but carving out this time is important and a priority. Be on the lookout for an upcoming blog on how this plays out.