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.
As much as I don't love it, I can honestly say that having a budget and meeting to discuss it every month has been one of the single most important things in my marriage. Everyone is on board about money. Everyone knows what gets spent, and we don't scramble every month to get things paid. We get to allot extra (it's not much, but we're looking at $100K of debt here) to pay more than the minimums on things. And there's no more wondering where our money went at the end of the month.
ReplyDeleteWe couldn't stop eating out though. Not completely. We do limit ourselves to $100 a month though. And we each get an allowance to spend on whatever we want every month.
So there's my advice. Feel free to tell me to shut up.