It's Finally Happening and We Paid for It in Cash!

I’m jumping in this week to talk about something to hopefully inspire you to take action on something that you have been dreaming about, but haven’t quite pulled the trigger on yet. If a global pandemic has taught me anything, it’s that we should be spending as much time as possible doing what we love most with whom we love most!

Since I have been working from home I have been driving my car so much less, and I sort of love it! Of course I drive my car and this is not an article about how you should take up biking but it is a lesson in searching deep into our souls to find out what we truly love in life.

For us it was traveling, specifically around the United States. Yes, we are all about international travel but we live in such a large country and we want to explore every nook and cranny. And to be honest, we are obsessed with our dog and she can’t travel internationally. 

After two road trips we realized our Jeep wasn’t cut out for longer trips. It drove wonderfully, had modern luxuries and had great mileage yes, but we couldn’t sleep in it and we had too much stuff to make it enjoyable to temporarily live out of.

This is where the idea of #vanlife came in and we finally decided to go after it! No, we didn’t have tens of thousands to buy one of those fancy vans and a loan was out of the question, so we decided to start looking at older ones that will need some TLC.

In preparation we sold my car to become a one car household during this transition, we are fortunate enough to have this flexibility since I work from home and we don’t have kids.

After months of searching and lots of patience our dream van popped up on Marketplace and I jumped on the opportunity to schedule a time that same day to see the van in person. The van was everything that we ever imagined and we paid cash on the spot so that we didn’t miss out as the market is really competitive at the moment.

My dad came to test drive it with me as Derek was out of town - and of course Kona came with!

Purchasing this van is something that we have always dreamt about but it never felt realistic. We can’t afford three cars. We both have jobs, what are we going to do with a van meant to live out of? COVID has taught me that anything is realistic and it just takes a little bit of thoughtful planning to make sure it happens without added stress.

By selling my car, setting money aside each month and focusing on our van life dream, we were able to pull the trigger when the perfect van popped up! This adventure vehicle will ensure we make the most of our long-weekend getaways. It means that we will be able to see more state and national parks as we will have to pay less in lodging. It means that we will be able to have our pup involved in all of the memories we will be making as we explore our beautiful country.

What is your version of van life? What are your dreams that you are setting aside because you haven’t sorted out yet how to make it work? 

I want this to be your sign to make time in your life for your dreams. What do you need to do to start making it a reality? How much money do you need to set aside to ensure as little stress as possible?

If You Have Federal Student Loans, What's Your Plan?

May I extend my fullest congratulations to those with Federal student loans. You are granted, yet again, an extension to when your payments will resume.

Now let me put my overbearing mother-figure hat on and ask you, “what are you doing about it?” How are you improving your finances with this never-been-done-before miracle that has come out of a horrible time for our world? 

These COVID relief measures mean much more than simply not having to make your payment. The bigger piece is that you are not accruing any more interest. Compound interest can be a wonderful thing when you are earning it, but it has the opposite effect when you owe it on a debt.

What happens if you continue to make your payments when they aren’t required? This breaks down to a $393 student loan payment (the national average) going directly to pay off the balance of the loan. 

Normally a part of that $393 payment goes towards the principal balance and another part goes towards new interest that has accrued since your last payment. Your payment has less of an impact when you are also paying on interest, taking longer to pay off your loan.

Now I ask you again, what will you be doing with this newly awarded time? Are you paying off high interest debt? Are you using it to increase the amount saved in your emergency fund? Are you doing the work to get on a working budget while you have some wiggle room?

If you didn’t say yes to one of the above, I want to ask you ‘why not’? I am a true believer in ‘everything happens for a reason’ and if this wasn’t a huge wakeup call I don’t know what is.

We have been taking our health, relationships and finances for granted for decades now. I am not the first to write about what 2020 has taught us but I am here to reiterate it for those of you with federal loan debt. 

How you focus your time and energy with your finances these coming months will have a major impact on the rest of your life, good or bad.

Are you going to continue to look the other way at your debt, knowing it will ‘get paid off eventually’. Or are you going to jump in the deep end, as hard as it might be, and create a plan to change your future for the better?

Get started with tracking your spending with this free tool to see where your money is currently going. We can’t change our futures unless we dig into our past.

49% of Americans Are Concerned, Anxious or Fearful

According to Marketwatch, 49% of Americans are “concerned, anxious or fearful about their current financial well-being.” The not-so-funny thing is that this study was before 1) the coronavirus, 2) a potential recession and 3) record breaking unemployment rates.

This is almost half! Why do we continue to live life with debt if it is causing us so much pain? Ost of us don’t see a way out. It has become so normal in our society we truly start to believe there is no other way. 

One roadblock when trying to get out of debt (which means living on a budget) is that you become an outsider. You start to have doubts that your friends will think of you differently, that people might think you are poor or that you can’t do fun things anymore. And the fact is that all those things can’t be further from the truth.

Aligning your spending with what you value most in life (vacation, a bigger house, fancy restaurants) is the best thing that you can do for yourself. Because you will be truly happy.

Don’t let what others “might” think of you as something that is stopping you. Being in debt shouldn’t be how you live your life, doing what makes you happy should.

Keep Paying Your Federal Student Loans While They Suspended, Here’s Why

Right now you are not required to may a payment on your federal student loan, sounds great right? Wrong! If you are still employed, or your household can afford to make your monthly loan payment, you should continue to do so. And, this may sound crazy but, pay extra!

Think about it this way, normally you have interest tacked onto your loan each month. So when you make your payment, some goes to the loan and some goes to interest. 

Right now, with your payments, 100% of it is going directly to the principle! That means that every penny you are sending to your lender is paying down your debt.

Of course, if you are worried about making rent or buying groceries you should hold off. But, if you are one of the lucky ones, hit it hard!

What to Do With Your COVID Stimulus Check

So, this stimulus check. What about it? 

First off, check out this link to see the details on how much you may be receiving. Amounts vary but are up to $1,200 for individuals and $2,400 for those filing jointly (with $500 per child also in the mix). If you are behind on child support you won't be seeing a check. You will receive this money via direct deposit or a check in the mail, depending on your last filing method.

What should you be doing with this money? I can tell most of you that the answer here won't be to spend it. There are a few easy scenarios to cover but if you think your situation is a little more unique you can always reach out. 

If your job is stable, you are not worried about lay-offs or reduced hours, this money should go towards any debt you may have. Let's say you don't have debt, then it should go towards your savings. If you have a five month emergency fund you can always invest or, my personal favorite, make a donation to an organization that is doing some good right now. 

If you are at all questioning your employment then it should go towards your necessities and any leftover funds should go straight to savings. What are necessities? Rent/mortgage, gas for your car, food and utilities. Netflix? Nope. It's only $8.99/mo - nope. Getting food to go because you can't stand to cook anymore? Nope. Birthday gifts for friends because you feel bad they are stuck at home? Nope. Nope. Nope. You lost all or some of your income, it's time to save every penny you can. 

Be safe and be smart out there!