Skinny Wallet Phat Life Series – Introduction

It’s been fun to watch the reactions when I tell people that I’m taking a year off.  Particularly from people who know that Britt is a stay-at-home Dad.  Generally it’s a raised eyebrow followed by a long pause.  I can see the wheels churning in their head wondering how we pay our bills.   Are we getting some assistance from the government?  Did we win the lottery?  Did I get an inheritance?  Nope – the answer to all of those questions is a big NO.

Although I am still hoping for the lottery….

So here I am to tell you how I did it.   In a nutshell:

• I shopped
• I shopped some more
• I shopped even more
• I got into debt
• I got out of debt
• I learned my lesson
• We now live (and have been living) below our means

That last bullet point is the ka-ching folks.  Britt and I don’t live any differently now than we did ten years ago.  Well just a little differently – we have children and live in a state where the sun shines every single day, but our living expenses have increased only ever so slightly.  Couple that with some wise decisions along the way, a growing career, a ton of prayer and bit of luck – we did good!

Those of you that know me also know that I am a material girl at heart.  I love my purses so much that I need a separate insurance rider.  I like nice clothes and much to Britt’s dismay – I like to decorate and re-decorate  (and re-decorate and re-decorate).  The key to living below your means is to know yourself & identify your bad spending habits.  Then develop creative ways to satisfy your cravings so you can funnel your money to a savings account instead of a cash register.  The end result for me was a year off!

Over the next couple weeks I’ll be talking about how I got out of debt, how I budget, how I generate income online and how I save.  Along the way I’ll share my methods to living below my means without feeling like I am.

I’m going to call it the Living on the Skinny but Feeling Fat series.  Nah – that’s too long.  How about the Skinny Wallet, Fat House series?  No – that implies I have a big house.  And I don’t really like the word fat.

I got it. Skinny Wallet, Phat Life!  Perfect.

So won’t you join me?  And don’t worry – if you liked reading my adventures with my Playroom Office – there is lots more of that to come.  I have a whole house to do.  (Sorry Britt.)