10% of my debt paid off

[ManicBystander]

I just put through my first shovelful of digging myself out of modest debt, on the way to financial freedom!

I have a low income situation because my wife is disabled (bipolar disorder and anxiety) and so she cannot work, leaving me to cover the income side of the arrangement.

We had 4400 of CC debt and were cycling around monthly minimums (often enough missing them) while struggling with the costs of living in Sydney, Australia, 20 minutes out from the city.

Now that I have been indoctrinated into the cult of mustache I am on Gumtree looking for a bike, running to the hardware store to fix some plumbing issues, and collecting all of my financial information together so I can see the highest interest things to pay off, and that credit card debt is squarely in my crosshairs.

It feels good to be focussed on a plan, rather than just feeling trapped in the mentality of "I can't fix that because I can't afford to". Every month I used to pay off a chunk of my CC and by the end of the month be pushing the limit again, and while my income status was actually pretty bad, it was made orders of magnitude worse by the absolute lack of skepticism towards my expenses. I had a shiny phone before paying of debt, I had a car I put 34,000kms on in 6 months before killing is, I knew nothing about car maintenance didn't even try to learn about it, I just put my fingers in my ears and tried to pretend everything was OK. Now I know it will be, because I'm going to make it OK.

[PMG]

...Now I know it will be, because I'm going to make it OK.

Yes.

[Lordy]

Congrats for getting on the right trajectory!

Once you develop your first mustachian habits, everything will get easier, so keep going :-)

[Lyssa]

Congrats! The first steps are the hardest you'll be surprised by the speed of your Progress if you continue to establish new habits.

[ManicBystander]

Mustachian update 1 - Anniversary dinner

Normally we would do an anniversary dinner each year, spending something like AUD$300 in total on dinner, parking, dessert, and inordinate amounts of coffee.

This year we've boiled down what is important about the event and are working to highlight those elements. We are spending time together in a deliberate way, with some small comforts, while chatting the night away and being generally excited. So this year we are going to grab a few items from the deli, some cheeses and the like, along with some drinks (lemon lime and bitters for her, water for me). We're going to sit and enjoy each other's company at the beautiful waterfront while watching the moon dart across the sky and have some real intimacy, not an expensive 'experience' which would detract from spending time together.

I think this will be the best anniversary so far, and another $280 onto the credit card!

[SwordGuy]

I think you have figured it out.

Congrats!

It will only get better from here.

Not to say there won't be some Dammit moments along the way!  But you'll overcome those with less effort each time.

It's amazing what people can do when they put their hearts and minds to it!