Thanks for joining me!
I have two choices. I can give up, go bankrupt, be poor forever or I can take control of my life, own up to the situation I created and get to work. I am no quitter and I got myself in this mess so I had better start working my butt off.
I knew we weren’t in good financial shape but I didn’t realise just how bad a position we were in until I did some sums.
You would think with a massive debt my husband and I would have large wages. Nope. Between the two of us we earned $85000 from our main jobs in the last financial year and debt repayments are killing us. Our minimum payments on all debt is actually more than this.
Things have come to a head at the moment as we both work in retail and have both had our pay reduced due to cuts in penalty rates and we expect to see our pay continue to decline when we are doing the same amount of hours. We also see a decline in the physical retail world with a move to online retailing. We are 38 and 40 years old and we don’t expect our jobs to exist by the time we reach 67.
Another concern is a birth defect that I have which has been causing a lot of issues in the past 12-18 months. My job requires me to be on my feet and it is causing considerable pain. I don’t see myself being able to work in this position or a similar one in the relatively near future. Also I may require some expensive equipment in the future such as a wheelchair or modifications to stairs in the house etc.
So, to recap, we have heaps of debt, our wages are declining and I may not be able to work within the next couple of years and have increased health costs. Plus I want more from my life than the daily grind.
I am writing this journal for the next year to keep myself accountable for the drastic action that needs to happen. Also, others might find it interesting to follow along and see what someone can do to alter their financial trajectory. I intend to devour books and blogs and put ideas into action, not just read. Not everything out there is applicable to someone in Australia so I will have to work that out. I am not a financial expert (obviously) or professional writer so hopefully we can learn from each other.
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
