Enjoying the Stuff I Have

I paid for my college degree with loans and credit cards.  If I had paid more attention in high school and put some work into it I could have had some scholarships that would have helped defray those costs.  I didn’t though and so I depended on other people’s money.

Now I’m paying all of that money back.  I’m using the debt snowball method which if you google you’ll find all sorts of good advice on how to implement this system yourself.  The gst though is this:  Identify your most expensive debt (highest interest  rate), and start paying extra on it every payday, as much as you can, all other debts pay the minimum.  When the first debt is paid off take whatever amount you were paying on the first debt and apply that to the next every month. Wash, rinse, repeat until you’re debt free. 

In order to pay these debts off as quickly as possible I’ve put a hold on most entertainment purchases, video games and books especially.  So while everyone else is enjoying GTA: China Town and Resident Evil 5, or whatever is going to be the ‘must-have’ game next week I am playing Chrono Triggeron my DS.  When I’m done with that I have stacks of games I’ve bought but never played, let alone completed.  These have just been sitting there, some for years, as I moved from one “next thing” to another.  Now that I’ve taken myself out of that rat race I have time to play them and enjoy them on my own time without worrying about what everyone else is doing. 

The same applies to books.  I’ve been buying multiple books a month for years at a time, most of which still remain unread.  Now though with the stacks growth suspended I can begin to read through these.  I also am going back to the numerous models I have and assembling, painting them up, and using them.  Before I move on to a new army, new models, etc…

I’m also looking at the hobbies I have and looking to get better at them rather than moving on to another one.  Photography is interesting me again, I’m writing more, and I’ve started developing some really good project ideas that won’t cost me any money but will be very rewarding.  I’m especially excited about the letter project I’m starting and the oral history idea I have (more on these in the future)

So not spending has sort of been a mixed-blessing. It is allowing me to enjoy the things that I have rather than worry about getting the things that I don’t while alienating me, in a way, from the culture as I’ve opted out of pursuing the next purchase whether it be game, book, movie, restaurant, etc…

Author: Jonathon

Would rather be out swimming, running, or camping. Works in state government. Spent a youth reading genre-fiction; today, he is making up for it by reading large quantities of non-fiction literature. The fact that truth, in every way, is more fascinating than fiction still tickles him. View all posts by Jonathon