I'M BACK!

Man, it's been awhile since I've posted something on this blog. I have all the excuses in the world...I've been working crazy hours; I've been trying to spend every other minute hanging out with my family; when I come home from work the last thing I want to do is open up my laptop and start typing again, etc.... All of those are valid excuses in my mind. But the fact of the matter is that I just didn't make this blog a priority. We all have to prioritize things in our lives because we can't do everything all at the same time.

So, I was becoming content with my accomplishment of starting this blog, getting it out there and even maintaining a daily post for at least the first month of the year. Hey, that's probably the most I've ever stuck with a New Year's resolution. :) I just chalked this blog up to the countless number of ideas and "things" that I've started and abandoned. Man, if I had a nickel for every great idea that I had....I would be a very rich person. But specifically over the past couple of weeks, I've realized that this blog is different. It's actually something that I want to keep going for a number of reasons:

1) It allows me to realize the struggles I've gone through in my journey and reminds me of all the success that's been achieved.

2) I've seen/heard first hand from people that were positively impacted by the content I've posted.

3) I'm passionate about this!

It's very important to me that I'm reminded of the hardships that I've endured and am currently experiencing throughout this debt free journey. I don't want to forget all of the obstacles I've overcome because that helps ensure that I won't repeat them. There have been many times that I've stopped to think to myself....wow, I used to do/think 'that.' The outcome of this debt free journey is not just to have zero debt....but more importantly, the outcome is to result in a different mindset. And for me, having reminders as to where I used to be and how I used to think....really helps me realize that my mindset has changed. I am no longer embarrassed to drive a beat up Honda Civic and I don't feel deprived when I can't buy the newest/shiniest toy. My mind is set on only buying things I can truly afford and never borrowing again. Another benefit of rehashing my journey is that it reminds me of all the things I've accomplished. It's so important to remember all of the success that has been accomplished along the way and use that to push forward along the journey. Someone the other day reminded me that I got rid of $100,000 of debt in one year....if that's not motivation to keep going...I don't know what is.

Just in the last couple of weeks, I've talked to several people about my blog who were totally unrelated to each other. And I wasn't the one who brought up the subject. This really hit me the other day when I realized that my posts were being read by all kinds of people, and in fact, impacting them in a positive way. Someone told me that they would open up my blog everyday to see if a new post had come in. Another person told me that they now talk to their spouse about their financial future together. And probably the best story I heard was that someone said my blog inspired them to begin their own journey and they've already gotten rid of over $20,000 worth of debt.

So, that's my story. Making priorities is all part of the debt free journey. I promise to keep this blog going. And I'm not just promising you, the readers, but, hey, I'm also promising myself.