The following is a guest post by Richard, who blogs about his personal experiences of getting out of debt, saving money and gaining financial freedom over at Frugality Magazine. Enjoy!Â
As someone who has recently succeeded at paying off all my consumer debt I recently spent some time considering how debt has affected my life – and what changes I expect now that I’m free from the shackles of unpaid debt and all the negatives that come with it.
As it turns out, debt robs you of far more than the money we all think about. We know that once you take on debt, you then have obligations to repay it. You’re borrowing from your future self and reducing your freedom because you’ll not only need to pay back the principle that you borrowed but also the interest on top of that.
But what else does debt cost you?
5 Things I Personally Missed Out On Because of My Debt
Here are just a few of the things I realized my debt cost me – over and above the obvious financial constraints…
Sleep
When you’re drowning in debt, wondering if you’ll ever dig your way out and in some extreme circumstances even wondering how you’ll meet your minimum payments, it’s not surprising that a few sleepless nights can be had worrying about the situation.
But there’s more.
In my own situation, I opted for a “short term pain for long term gain” mindset in order to repay my debt as quickly as possible. In order to do this I landed the best paid job I could find – irrespective of any other factor (working hours, job satisfaction etc.).
I ended up working 50+ hours a week, which included shifts, which essentially meant I could either choose sleep or spending time with my friends and family with the few remaining hours I had each week.
And while I tried to find the best balance I could, a “normal” nights sleep weighed in at between 5 and 6 hours. Not healthy and certainly nowhere near as much as I need to feel refreshed and rejuvenated each day.
Sadly, I’m now so used to getting up at 4 am for work, even on my days off or while on vacation I still find myself waking up at a similar time.
Birthday Parties
I have a number of nieces and nephews of school age or younger. Which means there are birthday parties going on all the time. And while I get invites, they’re often last minute. Which means I haven’t got time to request the specific day off work.
So I miss out. I’m resigned to seeing all the photos on Facebook and hearing about the party second-hand from the family members who attended. While I don’t enjoy my job at the best of times, it’s hardest when I know I’m missing out on a big family get-together.
Vacations
Vacations cost money. Money that could arguably be better put into debt repayments. So while my girlfriend and I had a number of lovely days out, over the last few years we’ve avoided the temptation of taking off for foreign climates and instead put our hard-earned cash into paying down our debt.
Surprisingly, while I love to travel, this hasn’t been too painful. And now that the debt is repaid, there’s nothing to stop us jetting off the the sun this year if we so choose. And to do so without any feeling of guilt 😉
My Dream Job
When I had made the decision to land a new job and get serious about my debt I was actually offered two different positions. There was the highly paid yet life-sucking position I took and then there was the alternative; in many ways my dream job.
Relaxed, enjoyable, reasonable hours, based around my passions and with loads of opportunity for personal growth and fulfillment. Except it paid barely more than half of the alternative.
If I’d been debt free I’d have jumped at the chance – I could easily have lived on the salary and would be doing something I love for a living. But, my debt repayments took priority, I (politely) turned down the dream job and instead went after the money.
A mistake? Who knows. Hopefully other opportunities will arise. Now my debt is paid off and my monthly expenses have dropped like a stone, I have far more options available and far more flexibility in my career.
I’m sorry to have missed the job, but I’m more glad I paid off my debt and bought back my freedom.
A House In The Countryside
Real estate is expensive – even more so in the UK (where I live) than the States. The prices we pay – particularly as a percentage of the average salary – would make your eyes water.
So in another attempt to keep costs down and snowball all available funds into debt repayments we opted for a low-cost home in the middle of the town I work in. It’s acceptable, but it’s not what we want long term.
We’ve found properties we like online and in newspapers but the additional cost of a “nice” home has kept us from making the transition. We’ve had to say no to the home in the countryside with the beautiful garden that we want.
Has It All Been Worth It?
You might be thinking by now that I’m a bit depressed looking at all the extra things that my debt has cost me. And in a way it’s a bit sad. But it was also temporary. And now I’m in a better financial situation than most of my friends with their nicer houses, fancy cars and piles of debt.
I’ve spent 4 years making compromises so that I don’t have to make any after that. Has it been easy? No. Would I recommend it to others? That depends. Am I glad I did it? Yes, actually I am.
I’m not proud of the things I’ve given up/missed out on, but it feels like I’m entering a new era of my life – free of the burden of debt. Where I’m free to dream about the future without needing to factor in any kind of debt.
In all, I’m pleased I made those compromises because the end result will be far better.
What have you missed out on because of your debt? What costs have you found to debt besides the obvious financial ones?
Please leave your experiences in the comments below!
***Photo courtesy of https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8094/8456188296_375a94bc19.jpg
