Step One for Self-Sufficiency

If you ask me what my dreams for the future are, you'll get two answers: 1) that I will be a college professor/sociologist without borders 2) that I will be as self-sufficient as economically possible.

I want lots of land, preferably with some woods on it, and a little cottage home with a porch. When I'm not at my job, my time will be taken up tending to the produce DHF and I grow and cooking in a kitchen whose size will not cause me to have a nervous fit (my current one would make a cockroach claustrophobic).

It's funny because, when I was little, I grew up on a farm near the woods. My time was taken up chasing chickens around, avoiding the geese (they get testy), exploring the woods, and playing on the train tracks. I would help my grandmother shell peas and, on a couple of occasions, churn butter and I would wake up to the smell of biscuits and bacon in the morning.

Needless to say, my dream growing up was getting the hell away from their. I wanted city-life, the sounds of cars and people, and the pulse that only downtown can give. Then I moved there and I can the sounds of cars, sirens, and people yelling and the smell of dumpsters and homeless that only a neglected downtown can give.

It's funny 'cuz my dream for the future is the one thing I never wanted. It's weird how that works.

Currently though, DHF and I can't do much for self-sufficiency right now. I'm finishing up my last year as an undergrad (translation=broke and time consumed) and he's working a new job that calls for 12 hour shifts. Neither of us can afford a house here and we find it kind of pointless since we will be moving out of state after I graduate for graduate school. So, since we can't do many of the things we want, we have decided to start planning for when we can.

Our step one involves paying off as much of our debt as possible. He's already succeeded in most of that since he works full time but I'm just getting started today. I have decided to aim for credit cards since my hope for the future is only having one and for emergencies only. Currently, I have five and have plans in the works to bring it down to four by August 26th. Eep! Excitement! Today I plan on setting up a 'pay off schedule' that will help me form a budget and get them all paid off by next May. I may not have a really good idea of it until after I get my car but at least I'll have a general one.