There are so many things that I didn’t think would be possible without debt. I used to believe that I would never be able to purchase a decent car without a loan and that I wouldn’t be able to own a lot of the really fun and nice things that I wanted…like furniture, a boat, a new laptop, a nice vacation.
But the truth is, that I’ve been able to do all those and more with cash all because we changed our mindset about money and started to see debt for what it really is – temptation. Temptation to spend more than you actually have on things you may not even really need.
And the amazing part of this whole debt-free journey was summed up a few weekends ago when we traveled to Cabelas and purchased a brand spanking new boat…in cash.
It was a crazy thing – knowing that we were headed to a place with the intention of spending a lot of money on a “play thing” – something that was unnecessary, something that wasn’t going to make us rich, or even drive us to work.
But it was incredible knowing that by the time we drove off the lot, the boat would be ours – we wouldn’t owe anyone a dime for it. There would be no payment book sent in the mail and there would be no monthly payment to work into the budget.
It was ours.
Many people ask how they can save up for major purchases and the truth is you have to be willing to sacrifice. My husband really wanted this new boat. He wanted it so badly that he sold our 1971 Wreidt boat that he purchased for $700 7 years ago and completely restored, in order to fund this new boat purchase.
It was hard watching that beloved boat go and if you know us in real life, you know that I’m still not over losing that part of our story but the joy of watching my 31-year-old boy enjoy his new toy is priceless. It’s even better when you know there’s no strings attached to the purchase.
So how can you make this a reality for you? How can you make large purchases whether or not they are “necessary” without incurring debt, a reality in your life?
Here’s a few places to start:
- You must change your mindset! Honestly, you’ll never achieve true debt-freedom if you don’t change your mindset to believing that all debt is bad and that you should avoid debt at all possible costs.
- Save as if your life depends on it. You must keep an emergency fund and that emergency fund should only ever be used in an emergency situation – like a job loss or a sudden move. You should also keep a few other savings accounts for other non-emergency things like an auto fund (to fund car repairs or the purchase of a new vehicle), a savings account for vacations, and maybe even a savings account to fund a large purchase like new furniture or even a new boat. It’s up to you how many savings accounts you keep but I highly recommend you get in the habit of keeping a certain amount designated in your budget towards those accounts every week/month.
Related Post: How We Paid off $5,000 of Debt in One Month
- Set goals. I’m a firm believer in the power of goals and I’m even more of a believer in financial goals. If you want/need to make a large purchase, set a goal of the amount you want to have and by when you want to have it. Then figure out in your budget how much you can set aside towards that goal in order to make it a reality.
- Get rid of it. Just like my husband sold off our other boat in order to make room for this new boat, sell off whatever you don’t need in order to help fund the new purchase. So, if you’re wanting to purchase new furniture, sell off the old furniture first and then apply the money towards your “new furniture” fund.
These are just a few things that you can do to make large purchases without debt a reality. If you have any tips for others I’d love to hear them!
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Congratulations. We want a boat too, but we want a sail boat, and, well, we should probably work out how to sail first . . .
The nifty thing is when you’re debt free saving money just becomes so easy (since it’s not going to pay off debt.) So I’m sure this will be the first of many large purchases all paid for in cash for you and your family.
What I love most about this is that you’re so honest! You share the toy purchases, the budget fails, and inspire me (and everyone else!) to keep working toward financial freedom. Congrats on the boat gf!!
Thank you darlin’! When you come down to Georgia for a visit we’ll take you out on it! 🙂
I’ve made the decision to purchase an iPad Pro with all the necessary accessories. I want to pay cash even though I could get it now at Best Buy and make their no interest payments. I might ask your husband’s favorite question when I’m ready to buy: what’s your best cash price? I’ve not tried that at any of the national retail chains before. I also know that there are usually a lot of great deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday that could be even better than paying cash. We’ll see. I first need to check out what this new “toy” will do and how much would it cost to have the accessories I want. Oh, and now that I’ve decided to put off the “instant gratification” of the new toy, I’m waffling about getting it at all. But I’ve talked about it often enough that I’m more serious. Maybe I’ll be less serious after I actually touch it, hold it, play on it. More will be revealed.
Congratulations, Jessi! What a fun purchase for your family!!