I may not be able to post regularly for the next week or so, but don’t despair! I’ll be back!
I am off tomorrow morning for a week in a seaside village in Mexico! “WHAT?”, you say? “What right do you have going off to Mexico when you’ve got credit card debt to pay off? Who do you think you are, anyway”?
Well, here’s how I’m doing it---and I’m paying CASH!
- My airline ticket was purchased by a family member, as a combined birthday/Christmas present.
- We are renting a house in a small town, my portion of which will come to $500, or less than $75 per night.
- Food: It’s Mexico. Can you say fish tacos and cheap beer?
- Entertainment: beach (i.e. free)
And here’s how I came up with the cash for the house rental, food, and entertainment costs. About three years ago, I opened an ING Online savings account, and had $50 automatically transferred from my checking account each month. When I moved to Portland, I froze the automatic payments, until I was more familiar with my new salary and living costs. Then I promptly forgot about the account.
Last summer, I happened to be doing some personal finance reading, and suddenly remembered my ING account. Since I had completely forgotten my login ID and password, I contacted ING by phone and they were kind enough to restore my access to the site.
To my delight, I found that I had almost $800 amassed in the account! So that money, along with $300 from my hefty tax refund will completely fund my weeklong vacation in Mexico! I know, I know, Dave Ramsey would not approve, most likely. I'm okay with that. I'm taking a vacation that won't get me any closer to financial freedom, but since I'm committed to NOT using credit while I'm away, at least I won't be moving backward in my debt reduction journey.
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