Being Debt-Free Is About More Than Just Paying Bills

So, last night I made the announcement during a Twitter chat party that I KNOW that I will be debt-free by the end of the year. Now that I've put  the challenge to myself out into the Twit-o-sphere, it seems like I've got to get my ass in gear to make sure that it happens. As it is, I only have 10 1/2 months at this point to Get It Done, so there's no time to lose.

I could admit that I'm not sure that I will really be debt-free by the end of the year, but I won't. Part of the reason that I made the proclamation is the more I believe it, the more it's likely to happen. And if I've told other people about it, I'm also more likely to do whatever it takes to avoid admitting failure.

And it's not an entirely unachievable goal. It's definitely a stretch — I owe Wells Fargo a chunk of money — but I think it's more a matter of reconsidering my priorities (you know, the ones that got me here in the first place) and making adjustments based on what's really important to me.

I recently read something (I wish I could remember where) that's already come back into my head several times. The basic idea was about how being thrifty and saving money is, in a sense, relative. If you have $20 dollars, for example, what you do with it when you have another $100 or $500 in the bank is very different than what you would do if it were the last $20 that you have for the next 10 days until you get paid again.

Yesterday I decided that I was going to start using TeuxDeux again to keep track of my to-do lists. It's a really simple interface, you can break things down by the day you want them and there's just no extra distracting crap that you just don't need. And it's free. But then I started thinking, how cool would it be if I could transport those to-do lists with me on my iPhone — how cool would that be? So, I check the App store and discover that TeuxDeux has an iPhone app for only $2.99 — an absolute bargain.

Then, this idea of relativity came back into my head. Yes, $2.99 is nothing compared to many of the other things that I'll spend my money on this month. And yes, I do happen to have $2.99 (plus tax probably?) to spare. But then I thought, what if this were the only had $20 I had until I get paid next (which is in 11 days) -- would I still spend $2.99 for an app that I don't really need?

I think you can guess the answer to this. And I've also used this same question to decide if I'm going to buy a kettlebell to have the convenience of working out at home, even though my gym (with my free membership) is one floor down from work. Again, a no-brainer.

Essentially, I've become used to spending — wasting, really — money in favor of convenience. While I believe that there are things that are truly worth splurging on, I know that enabling my laziness and impatience is not on that list. It's important to remember that this is more than about spending less or saving more (those it is also about these things); this is about readjusting my perception of the world I live in, where I fit within it and what's really important. It's about changing my priorities for the rest of my life, not just today.

And while that makes it harder in some ways, it also makes it more exciting because I know that the changes that I make today are going to affect and benefit so many parts of my life tomorrow and other days to come. Now, really, how cool is that?