Every Monday, I post Real Life Minimalists, a profile of one of my readers in their own words. If you’d like to participate, click here for details.
This week, we have a wonderful submission from Jan. She explains why she started on her minimalist journey, and describes the progress she’s made so far. If you’d like to learn more, please visit her blog, Finallygettingtoeven.com.
Jan writes:
My place on the roadway of this minimalist life so far:
I got my financial house in order, finally seeing things for what they were and had become and how weighted down personally I was from the debt load that I was carrying upon my shoulders on a daily basis. My gratitude comes from the ‘enlightenment’ and then the ’empowerment’ of finally being able to say “you know, I just don’t WANT to do this anymore”.
My biggest problem has always been that it’s not that I didn’t know HOW to get out of debt. I just didn’t care enough to finally do anything about it. Then in 2009, the light came on, (I can’t explain how or why) it just did….
So with the help of places like the internet & financial blogs, I was able to visit and remind myself daily what I was trying to accomplish, and I am so thankful that this has happened as I look around me at my family, friends, neighbors, strangers and I see all the struggling that is going on, and I know that I very well could have been one step away from being able to ‘walk a mile in their shoes’.
My husband and I paid off an enormous amount of credit card debt in 2009…something that I should have never had to begin with, even if I was carrying 0% interest on the cards. That is still thousands upon thousands of dollars worth of junk that I had purchased one way or another. It was NOT money being dumped into savings that could have actually been worth something to me in the future.
Then came the physical purge. Once I STARTED feeling lighter I took a look around at my surroundings. While I have never been a HUGE collector of ’stuff’, I still managed to have way more than I was comfortable with. So I started the elimination process. And with each item going out the door it made it all the easier to send the rest packing right behind it. This went on for quite some time as I continually made my way around the house over and over again, removing more each time, until, well there was nothing left to move out. All surfaces were clean and clear, drawers, closets emptied of 80% of their contents (yes, that much) and all I could see now were rooms that were airy & spacious.
And for the first time in my life I felt FREE. The burdens of debt & clutter that had been holding me down and choking the breathe out of me were gone. My mood lifted, my attitude adjusted. I became calmer, more patient and more than likely a little more tolerable to be around.
And while I have accomplished this much, I still consider myself to be in the ‘kindergarten’ stages and will continue to work hard to learn and live this newly embraced lifestyle that I have discovered.
And that is my story, so far….thanks for listening….
Jan
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Thanks for posting my story. I hope i can inspire at least one person and my duty is done, (but hopefully a lot more of course)!
I hope everyone has a great day today!!
Jan — Your hope has been answered. I’m coming at this from the other side. I need to clear out a load of debt and that became clear as I began to clear out a load of “crap” from the house. I looked at all I was getting rid of and realized how much of it was CC debt related.
I’m trying to move onward now.
What a great story. Jan you are doing so good. I’ve cleaned out a huge amount and now I’m working on the debt thing and am beginning to feel that freedom you talk about.
Thanks Jan. It’s encouraging to read about others who take responsibility for their lives and think about the consequences of their actions.
I think it also takes courage to react to your new beliefs too.
Enjoyed your post.
Wonderful story, Jan. That’s so impressive that you emptied 80% of your closet’s contents; I’m inspired to go work on mine!
Thank you so much for sharing this! Kudos for paying off all the credit card debt; that’s a great accomplishment. And I can totally understand what you mean by feeling FREE after getting rid of excess stuff.
It is absolutely the best feeling being debt free! Not owing money to anyone is the best freedom one can have. Good for you Jan and thanks for sharing your story.
Very inspirational, Jan!
Way to go Jan! You’ve really accomplished so much!
what a great story. i love how you just took charge of the situation and set out to change it. i believe that is the hardest part, just getting started.
~janet
Thanks everyone for reading my story and for your kind words of encouragement. I am a work in progress and each day i will continue on in the quest for the perfect life. (Big dreams, eh?) Reach for the stars i was always told, and so i shall.
Be safe, my friends.
You are such a great writer! I love your style. It was like poetry to read. I’m a big fan of living debt-free. There’s much more satisfaction to be found in a healthy savings account than in big credit card bills. I’ll never go back to that lifestyle again. I have debit cards only. I just bought a car with money that I saved up and I’m doing the same thing for a house right now. Luckily, I’ve always been minimalist when it comes to possessions, so I have no worries there. Loved reading your story.
We walked around a huge mall yesterday. Haven’t been in a mall in ages. It was very crowded and people were buying in an after Christmas frenzy.
The grandchildren got small gifts and the adults got cash- the gift that is never returned. The other grandparents gave museum memberships. I can’t imagine who is buying all the large plastic toys.
My friend has a Sam’s Club membership so we were there people watching. Cartloads of paper towels and toilet paper. Huge quantities of hand lotion. So glad I am a minsumer. I like to just walk around like I would at a mall on a cold day. I can’t imagine where people store all this stuff they are buying.
I have never had credit card debt. My husband has once in a while wanted something we would have had to put on a credit card and I’ve always talked him out of it. When we didn’t have much money, we just lived very frugally. I still pay cash for everything. We save up for what we want. I am bi-polar and have never gone on a spending spree. My psychiatrist says it’s not in my personality to overspend. Once in a great while, I buy a pair of earrings for around $30 and that is my big splurge.
We never bought dining room chairs, we have 2 folding chairs and when we need more, we borrow from my son. He also has lent us tables. Our house did not have an eat in kitchen so we always ate in the dining room. I try to get rid of things as fast as they come in. I truly want to live with very little.
I am keeping only one or two books on each craft I make. There is a library next door and I usually make paper crafts or do collage. This made a big pile of give away items for today. I have my weekly bag for Goodwill ready to go. I am hoping my daughter will get rid of some clothes she hasn’t worn in two years.