Monday 30 January 2017

Be Willing to Zig, When Everyone Tells You to Zag

I have previously touched on what I will cover in today’s blog entry in greater detail. As I have said, I like my job, I like the company I work for and yes I like my Boss.

Three years ago, when I started this journey towards Total Debt Freedom, and Boss found out (through work conversations) that I was downsizing my life to take care of debt, he was amused.

Boss chuckled and said something along the lines of “that’s admirable,” and left it at that. Yet over time that attitude changed.

Boss has asked how things are going and what challenges that I am facing in my journey. Part of it was genuine interest, yet part of it was entertainment. 

As each credit card got paid off and the longer I stayed out here, living in my RV, Boss’s attitude grew more concerned, worried even.

It was somewhere in the dying days of Card #3, my largest and last credit card to be paid off that something Boss said, first triggered that perhaps Boss did not have my best interests at heart. 

Boss looked at me with a straight face and said “Not all debt is bad, you should keep some.” I looked back at Boss with a puzzled and disbelieving face and said nothing, but nodded.

After that, during last year, when I was building up my savings in the bank, Boss kept talking about the merits of home ownership. 

I mean Boss, was routinely talking about how great it is to buy a home . . . any home . . . any condo . . . anything at all, just for the love of god get a mortgage!!!!

Boss even suggested that I buy a one bedroom condo! Anyone who knows anything knows that the resaleability of a one bedroom condo is not good. 

Most people buying something want a two bedroom condo at least. One for them and one for the kids (present or future) or at least an office. 

I still remember the wide-eyed panicked expression on Boss’s face when I had mentioned in passing that I had paid off the truck (over two years early).

This year, as I focus on being debt free, there is a talk at least once a week on the merits of buying something and how debt is good. 

I just ignore this as I continue towards my goal of Total Debt Freedom, this year. I accept that Boss would like me to carry debt. 

My best guess as to why this is, is because that I will be more likely to stay at work and be less likely to go elsewhere. 

An indebted employee is more controllable and will put up with more crap. Doublely so if that employee is married with children.

To be fair and balanced, I also accept that it is possible that Boss is giving me what Boss genuinely feels is good advice, and the best course of action for me to follow. 

We live in a world which has taught us that everyone has debt and that nobody is supposed to ever be debt free. This is just a pipedream, reserved only for those who win the lottery, or receive a large inheritance.

I will buy something, but I will do so whilst remaining debt free. I have credit cards and I still use them, but I will not get into a large and crushing debt again. 

If I buy something on credit, there will be an end date, something similar to a car loan. Once I buy my freedom, I will not be so willing or eager to give it up again. 

This is me, and what I chose for myself. 

As always, dear reader, make your own choices and do what you feel is best for you. Never let anyone, myself included, dissuade you from doing what you decide is best for you.

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!

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