I completed my debt pay off journey on December 29, 2017. Just like my sobriety date, I’ll never forget it. I lived with my parents during the final 15 months and once the debt was gone, I started making plans of where I’d live next. The whole world was my oyster and so I had choices. I ultimately chose to live where I could walk to work.
Clean Slates & Strategies
My parents are awesome and encouraged me to stay with them through the winter months to save some more dough. I acquiesced to their suggestion and by not being in a hurry to move out, I was able to:
- Build up my emergency fund to a sizable amount (something I managed to not have for the first 44 years of my life).
- Buy some stuff for my new apartment.
- Celebrate my debt pay off by attending CampFI Mid-Atlantic.
- Enjoy more time with my parents.
When I started looking for apartments I knew one of my goals was to lessen my commute time to work. You see while living with Mom & Dad, I had a 45-60 minute commute one way to work. I took advantage of that time by listening to podcasts but I was ready to be done with the loooong commute.
When you have a clean slate a whole world of choices opens up to you.