Right now I’m trying to make a decision. As you all know (because I won’t let you forget!), I’m trying to get on top of my finances and pay down some of this debt that I have. That’s what is helping this decision be so difficult for me to make. See, there’s this conference happening in Florida in September, and I REALLY want to go. In an almost desperate sort of way. I want to go and hang out with friends, meet new friends, and finally meet some new friends in person for the first time. Not to mention, it’d just be all around a great experience. I’ve spent a bunch of time crunching the numbers, and in August I should have the money to pay cash for the trip and not have to put myself further in debt (like I did for Vegas last November, oops) in order to go, especially if I manage to find some vacation deals, which I’m hoping I will. Rooming with friends would bring down the cost of the hotel stay considerably, and as soon as Allegiant schedules their September flights, I’ll be able to see if I can get any good deals there.

So what’s the problem? It’s this whole debt repayment thing! I’m a big fan of Dave Ramsey– reading the Total Money Makeover, and listening to his radio show has been a huge catalyst in getting me moving, and finally making progress in the financial arena. And I know what he would say about taking a vacation…. so even though I could go, and pay cash, there’s a big part of me that knows I “should” be putting all that cash towards my debt snowball and making more progress forward. The rest of me is saying hey wait a minute! I’ll have the cash to do it, and don’t I deserve it? Oh yeah… never mind the fact that I deserved myself right into credit card debt in the first place. I know it’s going to take me awhile to get out of debt completely, and I am just not “gazelle intense” enough to deny myself absolutely everything for the several years it’s probably going to take. I was reading an article on somebody’s blog the other day (but of course I can’t find it now) where they were talking about sacrificing a little bit of repayment intensity for the sake of making memories, and that’s the direction I’m leaning. Yes, I want to get out of debt, and yes I’d like it to happen as quickly as possible. But at the same time, I don’t want to deny myself every great opportunity that comes along to make it happen a month or two faster either.

I’m really leaning towards making this trip as long as I can pay cash for it, so I’ve started a special savings in my ING account called Florida to start putting small amounts of money in. Even so, I won’t know for sure for another month or two. It’s kind of strange how my mindset has changed… before I never would have questioned it. I’d be going whether I could afford it or not, and I’d make it happen. I never thought I could live within my means like this, and that I’d be so committed to make sure it stays that way.