Must. Spend. Money.

The challenges of getting out of debt and becoming financially independent seem so easy when reading others' blogs, but occasionally I find myself being sucked in by that feeling of "must. spend. money."

It seems when things are starting to go smoothly, Mr. Breeze and I find ourselves getting that urge to go shopping.  For Mr. Breeze it might be going and picking up a new computer game for $20, or getting ice cream for a treat.  I unfortunately like to dream big, and some of those dreams come with a huge price tag.

For example, Mr. Breeze and I want to move before Baby Breeze starts Kindergarten (we are in one of the worst school districts, and many of the schools are in danger of losing funding or being shut down).  Now Baby Breeze is only 16 months old so we have at least 4 years before we need to move - and our home is very affordable and meets all our needs, but I find myself looking at real estate online searching for the next area where we want to live.  This is fine, and I usually start off with looking at reasonable houses (i.e. ones that we could pay off so I can still retire at 40).

But then I get those urges, and I think, why shouldn't I have a nice house or one that has a completely remodeled (kitchen, basement, theatre room, you name it).  Next thing I know I am looking at houses more than twice my original spending plan.  Or worse, I start looking at vacation or beach homes.  Seriously, I have a lot of conflict when it comes to wanting to retire early and being financially independent and wanting nice things (you know, the keeping up with the Jones - or in our case - all of our friends who have newer, nicer homes and cars).

Okay, so how do I get past this . . .  I tend to be very OCD when I get focused on something like this.  Which is probably why Mr. Breeze and I had to file Bankruptcy when the housing market crashed and we found ourselves with three homes and five mortgages.  I know I want to get out of debt, and I want more time to pursue my interest.  I do love my career, but it takes me away from Baby Breeze more than I would like.  It is not easy for me to just stop obsessing, and while that has helped me be successful in some areas of my life, it doesn't seem to help me financially.

So here is my plan so that I don't just take on more debt or require myself to continue working longer:

1. Review my list of Goals - these were the reasons I wanted to get out of debt and be financially independent.  They are a great motivator.
2. Look at my Net Worth.  One of the benefits of tracking it and reporting it each month on this Blog, is that I have an incentive to continue to make it grow - I don't want to see it go backwards, and that has helped me stop some of impulse buys.
3. Exercise!  I think part of the reason I am so hyper focused on looking for that dream home is because I haven't been able to get outside much because of this cold weather, and so I am spending WAY too much time searching the Internet.  Time to get out and get some fresh air.  Good thing Spring is just around the corner.

I would love to hear other suggestions to help keep those of us trying to get out of debt and someday reach early retirement and financial independence.  I am sure many people slip from time to time, and we just need to get back to what our motivation factor was that started us on this journey.

So long Million dollar dream home, I think I am going to go spend $1,000 and fix up the little thing around my house that are bugging me (like the patch in the bathroom ceiling that needs to be fixed, or the linoleum flooring that bubbles up in the middle whenever the heater is running ), its the little projects that are easily fixed but have me running for the dream home instead!

Okay, I have overcome the urge for yet another day.  Here's to Dreaming of Early Retirement!