The other day I was going over our budget and tweeking it a little. I looked at the amount that we're putting toward our debt each month and got a little ache thinking about how much fun we could have with all that money. We could go on weekend getaways, replace my chipping dishes, get some paintings for our home etc. Not that we don't believe in spending money on those things, but right now we've committed to putting some of those things off until we have our debt paid off.

Anyway, I was thinking about the ache I was feeling and it reminded me of the sore, aching muscles I get when I exercise. It's always the best kind of pain because even though it hurts so bad, I know that I'm doing something great for my health. In some ways, the ache that I get from not being able to go out and spend that money is similar because it just reminds me that we're doing great things for our financial health that will pay off in dividends in the long run. So the next time I look forlornly at that beautiful set of dishes on the store shelf, I'll remember that I'm doing something great for our fiscal health by saying no.

This is my first time blogging, but I've been looking at this site for a long time. It has been such a great source of support and encouragment while we turn our finances around.

Some background: My husband is active-duty Army and we live in base housing. We love the Army life and it's been a great help in saving money since we don't have to worry about paying health insurance and get huge discounts on groceries (at the Commissary) and housing.

We started our "debt diet" in July of 2006 and so far have paid off almost $17,000 in debt. We paid off a huge chunk of that when we sold our two brand new cars and bought a used mini-van. At that point we knew we were committed. We had a little setback over Christmas because this was our year to travel home to see family, but now we're back on track and excited about knocking out our debt by January of 2008.

I'm also excited about being a part of this community! Again, I appreciate all of the support that you've unknowingly given me just through sharing your own stories.