2012 plan modified

It all hit me one day while I was running on the treadmill at work.  Usually the TV gets tuned into CMT, which is not the most conducive thing to watch to working out.  It just seems that country music doesn't seem to get me to pumped up to work out.  This day was no different than any other day.  I wasn't paying much attention to the TV until a Kenny Chesney (I know, don't judge me) song caught my attention.  He was in what looked like a small town in Mexico.  As I was running on the treadmill I was thinking how great would it be to be able to live in Mexico for a year if I wanted too.  I often have dreams like that.  Dreams of traveling the country, living in a cabin, moving to Oregon, or becoming a whitewater rafting guide.  The next thing that pops into my mind when I have these dreams is the reasons that I can't do those things.  Car payments, a mortgage, and student loans all demand a payment from me every month.  I don't thinking being a hermit or a mountain man pays much.  This dream was a little different however because I started thinking, "What if I didn't have those bills?".  Such a simple thought but it opened up a whole new possibility for me. 

I began looking at all of the bills that Karyn and I had and crunching the numbers. I read a few personal finance blogs thesimpledollar.com and getrichslowly.com and found the debt snowball.  You can read more about it here.  I started my figures using February 2012 as the date that I wanted to have all of our bills paid off because that's the time frame that my enlistment ends with the West Virginia National Guard.  The idea of not having to stay in the guard appealed to me.  If 2012 came and I wanted to stay in it would be because I wanted to, not because I had to. 

With the news of the deployment however the plan has been adjusted.  Karyn and I's plan is to have the majority of our bills paid off by the time that I come back from Iraq.  This opens up a world of opportunities to us, especially when we look at moving to attend seminary.  The thought of being debt free is liberating.  It certainly isn't the answer to all our obstacles, but it will go a long way into making the road so much smoother. 

So the 2012 plan is for me is less about money than it is about freedom.  Freedom to live my life more simply and be able to enjoy my wife, my family, my vocation, and all the things in between.  So here's to the 2012 plan and the freedom it offers.