As part of this month’s focus on Debt, we’ve interviewed a woman who is documenting her financial journey to becoming debt-free. Enjoy the share!

Name: Tanya Euler
State: Queensland
Occupation: Owner of Artifex Marketing Studio

10TG: So Tanya, tell us a little bit about yourself!
TE: I have been self-employed as a graphic/website designer and marketing consultant for small businesses for the past 10 years. I am a mum to two young girls 10 and 8 and have been involved in a range of business and community non-profit groups. I opted to pull out of full time work and become self-employed once we started a family; primarily for the lifestyle options it gave us and to be available for the children whenever needed.

I love working from home and love my work, however the reduced income has been an issue for us at times. I have often contemplated returning to full-time work, now that the girls are both at school, to help boost our earnings, but then the additional costs that this would create (eg need for childcare, extra fuel consumption, clothing etc) have always led me to stay where I am.

10TG: What was the reasoning to start your blog Baby Steps Thru Debt?
TE: I simply reached a point where I had had enough of not being able to pay off our credit card. In talking with family and friends I could see so many struggled through the same thing (basically a case of spending more than we earn). I knew for sure that other people were struggling through the same issues and so the concept of Baby Steps Thru Debt was born.

Before I started, I had a sense that we would be successful in beating our debt, and wouldn’t it be great to have a record of those wins and losses along the way. So when we did reach the finish line, the history and the stories would be there for others to learn from. The plan was to simply journal my way through as I moved from a credit to cash way of living and beat down the lingering credit card & loan debts; to share the pains and successes; and hopefully others might follow the journey and learn, share, experience but ultimately IMPROVE their own situation.

10TG: What are you learning about yourself through this journey?
TE: My eyes have been opened to how blessed we really are. I am thankful for the debt that we have, because it could be a whole lot bigger.

I have also learned how much of an influence we are on our children, often unknowingly. I can see great improvement in my daughters own spending/saving habits as they have seen us change ours.

10TG: When did you realise you wanted to focus on moving away from debt?
TE: In late 2010 I finally decided ENOUGH! It just didn’t make sense to me to be living on a credit card that we can’t pay back. We aren’t big spenders, we don’t spend needlessly, eat out or go away often – but we still couldn’t stay above the line. I have seen so many around me living in the same manner (by credit and not cash) and it just didn’t make sense to me. Why do we do it and how can we stop?

I also noticed my children did not have a good grasp of saving, spending, giving and an understanding of what lay behind the “swiping of the plastic card.” So I really wanted to practice better money management for them to learn from.

The real catalyst however, was after I had just saved up a large sum of money with the hopes of using it for a holiday. I “realised” the credit card debt had to go first, so I used the saved money to pay off that debt. Within a couple of months or so the card was heading back into unpaid territory. My sense of accomplishment of saving all that money was so short lived, the frustration of more debt was coming back – the cycle had to stop!

10TG: How has this changed your everyday life and that of your family?
TE: We have become much smarter with how we spend our money and prioritise the material things in life. We weren’t wasteful spenders, so we didn’t have a lot of areas where we could cut back our spending. Instead it became a case of being a little smarter whenever and wherever we did spend.

I would say that the biggest changes have occurred in our grocery shopping.  There are 10 or so things we have changed in the way we shop for groceries and these have helped us reduce our weekly spend considerably.

I also now always ask myself before I buy – “is it a need or a want, will it add value to my/our life, and if I buy this, will it lead to me spending more money?”. If it is a want that won’t add any real value or purpose and will result in more spending – then the answer is always “don’t buy”!

10TG: What can people do to start their journey out of debt?
TE: The first step must be a conscious decision to make a change. We can spend weeks, months, years complaining or worrying about our financial state, but that won’t change anything. First of all, decide that you are going to stop doing/spending as you have been and commit to change.

After that decision was made I found the best way to really start our journey was to pick 1-2 key areas where change could be easy to implement. For us, it was setting a strict limit at the grocery line and sticking to it (always) and not using a credit card to pay for it.  Then look at what you do with your money and build on those areas.

And finally, get the support of those around you. Start the journey with a friend who is also struggling with debt or if you have a partner, make sure you are on the same page and have the same goals – that support will do wonders.

10TG: What are some tips to start to tackle debt?
TE:

1. Small steps, baby steps: Pay off smaller debts first. The sense of achievement when a debt is paid (no matter how much it was) is a great motivator to tackle the bigger ones.
2. Know where your money comes from and goes: Spending time to track every dollar in and out really does help you make better decisions about where you need to make change.
3. Find ways to stay motivated that work for you: I have found setting small saving goals and setting small debt pay-off goals help me stay on track for the bigger ones.

10TG: What is the good (joy) and the not so good (pain) of this journey?
TE: I have found a real sense of satisfaction and ownership after 8 months of paying cash and not credit for the majority of our everyday expenses. We are still paying off the existing debt on our credit card, but not seeing it grow higher and higher over this time (as would normally be the case) has been awesome.

The not so good part of the journey is the “doing without” at times. For instance, I really wanted to go to an upcoming concert (there is a post about this on my blog). In the past, I would have dropped the $300 spontaneously without a thought. However, this time I went through the thought process of “is it a need or want”, “is it really going to add value to my life”, “will it cause me to spend even more money” > the result being to not go. There is that sense of missing out, but I am still satisfied that the best decision was made.

10TG: What are some of your short term goals?
TE:

1. To get rid of the credit card debt, and eventually the credit card.
2. To lose weight/improve fitness (of course). But this has really aligned with my journey, as one of the strategies was to start baking instead of buying – this has resulted in money saved and healthier eating.
3. To increase our income and a career change for hubby.

10TG: What are some of your long term goals?
TE: An overseas holiday for the family – it seems very far in the distance and almost out of reach, but I guess that is what long-term is about.

10TG: Is there anything else you would like to bring to the attention of the 10thousandgirl community?
TE: I am concerned about today’s children and what they are learning from us “grown ups” when it comes to the way we manage our money. So I would really urge parents to sit back and look at what they are unknowingly teaching their children. Do they want their children to go through these same struggles – most likely on a bigger scale by then? If not, commit to change now.

10TG: What is the best financial tip you’ve ever received?
TE: Where possible, pay small and regular amounts to an upcoming bill rather than waiting for it to come to you. I now pay small, regular amounts to my phone and electricity providers, so now when the bill arrives; I typically only owe a small amount OR have credit owing to me. Not having a huge $100 – $400 bill to pay out in one hit has been great, and paying these smaller, regular amounts is better for managing our cash flow. It has also helped limit those weeks when all the big bills seem to arrive at once.

10TG: Are there any resources related to debt you’d like to share?
TE: When I first started on this journey, I stumbled across www.daveramsey.com and www.mytotalmoneymakeover.com. The teachings on these websites totally aligned with my “new way of thinking” so I would highly recommend them.

I also discovered this website www.kidsmoney.com.au a couple of years ago, but only recently bought the moneyboxes for my daughters. They have been great tools for my kids – who now save, give and invest their money.

Find out more about Tanya and Baby Steps Thru Debt:
Blog – www.babystepsthrudebt.com
Facebook – www.facebook.com/babystepsthrudebt

We hope you’ve been inspired by Tanya’s story. Have you taken baby steps, or even giant steps through debt? Share your story with us or in the comments section below.