Okay, there’s really nothing fun about buckling down and getting out of debt. Or is there?
No, there can’t be; it’s a barren, joyless trek through sacrifice with nothing but denial and self-discipline.
Ha! Haven’t you guys seen Mary Poppins? Spoonful of sugar, baby. Our family has had loads of fun while working this debt snowball. In fact it’s forced us to find free & low-cost things to do together that we wouldn’t have sought out back when we were brain-damaged.
But this post isn’t about cheap things to do while getting out of debt. I’ve written about some of those already. It’s about one little thing that I’ve held onto and refuse to budge on until we’re debt-free.
I think The Wife is about to strangle me, but I am holding on to my broken, crippled and ugly technology until we are through this thing. In fact, I’m framing them like badges of honor.
A five year-old first generation ipod nano that was given to me for free holds the Dave Ramsey podcasts I listen to on the commute. Its face is so scratched you cannot even read the screen when the sun hits it.
A microwave with its guts hanging out, seriously. The push-buttons stopped making contact with the electronic keypad below them a year ago. I tried to repair it several times and finally realized that simply yanking the keypad out and letting it hang there was easier.
A cellphone in pieces. My poor phone was crunched a year ago and its flip-open hinges began coming apart. Over time its performance got worse and worse. The front keypad and screen failed first. Now the inner screen works one out of ten times I open it. The Wife hollers at me while watching me trying to get the thing to work, “Just budget a new phone already!”
No way.
You know why? Every time I can’t read that ipod screen, every time I grab that dangling microwave keypad, every time I want to text someone with that crap phone I am reminded of our goals.
It’s hard to forget you are deeply in debt when you can’t update your Facebook status (insert ironic, wry smile here).
I’m keeping all these busted things. They’re reminders of what we’re doing and why. They’re my iBadges of debt and I love them.
the Dad
UPDATE: A dear friend gave me an old phone from the same cell phone provider to use. The screens and keys work, but it’s old and awful… so I accept it.
© the Dad, Climbing Out, 2010. | 4 comments