Simplicity

It's great how simple it is to answer questions in my mind about what I can and can't buy.  Trying to buy clothes before now took major mental gymnastics with an inner dialogue that went something like this:

"Cute shirt. I want that!"
"Hmmm...Maybe you shouldn't buy it."
"No, it's been like 2 weeks since I've been shopping, and I've had a really tough week. It's only 25 bucks."
"Adam will be irritated if you buy it, most likely."
"I supported him through law school.  He can't say anything."
"Yes, great idea, you should say that to him when he calls you out for buying it when you just bought a whole new outfit two weeks ago. I'm bet this whole scenario will actually be great for your marriage."

I didn't always end up buying the shirt, but it happened enough that it was a problem.  Now the inner dialogue is this:

"Can I buy a shirt?"
"No."
"What about new shoes? Cheap ones from Target?"
"No."
"Can I at least go get a latte?"
"Do you have a gift card?"
"Ummmm.....no."
"Then....NO."
"Can I have-"
"No."

Here are all the cool things I have figured out that I can do:

-Download library books on to my Nook.
-Go running. 12 miles this morning. Not too shabby for a Wednesday.
-Lay out at my pool.
-Read magazines for free at Barnes and Noble.  I think the employees really like it when I do this, actually.
-Get caught up on all my lame TV shows on Hulu that I wouldn't dare force Adam to watch during the year.  Glee and Smash are like drugs that don't even really make you feel that awesome when you are high, but you still can't stop.
-Write a really lame blog. :)

I made a budget yesterday.  An actual excel document with a pie chart and everything.  I won't say how much money Adam and I make together, but if you do the math, you would know that we would have to put over 4,000 dollars a month toward our debt in order to pay off 100K in 2 years.  I'll go ahead and be honest and say that as a music teacher and entry level attorney, we cannot do that right now.  We are going to have to start off with about 3,500 per month until we get more side work together. I am teaching private lessons for the summer and that will help, but won't make up the entire difference.

Our spending this month is pretty well under control.  The only thing that was really disconcerting was our cell phone bill.  We both have IPhones, so we pay 130 dollars per month.  I had a no idea it was that much.  No. I. Dea. I use my phone constantly, but I'm kind of wondering if it is actually worth that much a month.  I listen to my phone on runs.  I use the navigation all the time.  It's what I surf the internet on.  It's my primary email source.  Okay, I think I just talked myself out of getting rid of it.  Ugh.

The running side of things is going fairly well. I logged my first 40 mile week in a long time and I'm working on a training plan for the Devil Mountain 50K at the end of September.  I feel fairly confident that I will be much better prepared for this 50K than my last 50k.

Food.

-by Adam-

This past weekend we went out with some friends in what we deemed will be our last fine-dining experience for these 2+ years until we’re debt free.  It was a going away party of sorts for us.  And a sad one for me because I love food.  Not only do I love food, I love expensive food.  I love expensive food and I love sharing it with my wife and my friends.  I can drop a Benjamin on dinner faster than you can say “Cabernet Sauvignon.”  And I like to do it often. 

At the restaurant Duo this weekend, our table shared Scallop Carpaccio, Anchovy Deviled Eggs, and Rabbit Rilletes.  Then I finished it off with a pork chop that would make Homer Simpson cry.  And with every bite, I was simultaneously euphoric and profoundly sad, because I knew this was it.  I know this way of living isn’t sustainable, isn’t responsible, and isn’t even morally acceptable for me. 

So we’re quitting.

My dad used to get very angry with me over cereal.  I ate cereal for breakfast probably 5,000 times between ages 4 and 18, and I loved all kinds.  But I refused to eat that last 1/10^th of the box of cereal—you know what I’m talking about, that part with all of the Lucky Charms dust, or the Frosted Flakes that have just become Frost.  And being the martyr he is, after getting angry with me he would combine the leftovers from three or four cereal boxes to make his own bowl of crumby, dusty cereal, and I would feel guilty the entire time I watched him eat it. 

I hope to learn a lot from our whole experience over these next two years, but one thing I hope to learn the most is the value of food.  I want to learn how it feels to not be able to get take-out or fast food every time we are too lazy to plan ahead, or worse, we have plenty of food but are too lazy or tired to make it.  No more “yeah we’ll just make that Chicken tomorrow night” or “that [insert perishable vegetable in fridge] will still be good in a couple of days right?”  If I’m out of decent food in the pantry on a Saturday afternoon, Jimmy John’s is not the answer—I am going to eat that can of vegetable soup that’s been sitting there for weeks, darn it.  We are going to buy lots of frozen meat and vegetables.  We are going to find a way to use our perishable items before they go bad.

 

We are going to have a back-up plan, because that sushi restaurant across the street is not an answer.

And when I’m too dumb or lazy to plan ahead, I will be thinking of my Dad with every bite of that mixture of Corn Chex, Froot Loops and Smacks that I have to eat.  

Training Recap:

Tuesday: Interval training- 6 miles
Wednesday: Trail run 6.5 miles
Thursday: Tabata 1.5 miles
Saturday: Long Trail 13 miles
Sunday: Easy 3.5 miles

Total- 30.5

Training for this week:

Monday: Off
Tuesday: 2 hour run
Wednesday: 5 miles with intervals
Thursday: Off
Friday: 3.75-4 hour run
Saturday: 5 miles
Sunday: off

Plan

I haven't broken down our financial situation or my training situation into minute detail yet, but I have basic ideas about how the 100K and 100 miler are going to go down.

Debt Pay-down:

1. Stop eating out.  For real.

We have gone through lots of phases in which we ate out "less," meaning we spent 100 dollars a week at restaurants as opposed to 150, but we are going to cut that down to nada.  I've decided that it's okay to eat out for special occasions if we make up the money by selling something or some unexpected income.

2. Stop buying stupid crap for no reason.

If you thought it was absurd how much we spend on eating out, you don't want to know how much I spend buying stuff just because I'm a terrible planner and record keeper.  I have spent hundreds of dollars on stuff for my high school kids that I couldn't be reimbursed for because I was too dumb to keep the receipt.  I lose also lose things constantly because I just don't care.  20 dollar sunglasses are not expensive until you have to buy 4 pairs each  year.  These things add up quickly.

3. Delay buying a new car.

95 percent of Americans would probably agree that I "need" a new car.  I'll post a pic later, but just so you get the idea: it squeals at an ungodly decibel level every time I start it.  I've had this problem "fixed" many times but it returns within weeks of each repair.  Paint is peeling.  One window is super-glued so it stays up.  A door handle is broken off in the inside.  There is a rusting dent from a hit and run.  In short, it's a beaut.

4.  Quitting coffee.

This is not going to make as huge a dent in my finances as it is going to make in my heart.  Goodbye, Starbucks.  You always took more than you gave.

100 miler

Right now, I can't even wrap my mind around running a 100 miler, so I'm going to take my races progressively

July 14, 2012- 50K or 25K Midnight run in Little Rock.  I'm behind on training so we'll see if I make it to the 50k mark.

September 29, 2012- Devil's Mountain 50K in Pagosa Springs.  This race is a beast.  5000 ft elevation gain....ouch.

April 20th, 2013 (I think that's the right date) Ouchita Trail 50 miler

The 100 mile race could be one of the following: Arkansas Traveler (Oct. 2013) or Rocky Raccoon (February 2014)

Today, I did a really tough 3 hour run.  Haven't done that kind of distance since last summer and I can feel it.  So if anything in this post doesn't make sense, it's the running hangover that I have.