How I Manifested $12k to Pay Off Credit Debt In Less than Four Months

I've always wanted to talk about finances here, but have been way too scared to do so. Why is money such a taboo subject? Why do we cast judgement on so many aspects of it. We judge people because they have too much, pity people who (appear) to have too little. I have been ever so slowly trying to crack this egg. I am at such a weird place in my money life that I really want to open up and learn from you guys. 

As you know, my family and I have moved to Michigan. One of the factors in moving was and is the cost of living. However, I had a good salary in New York. I am facing the possibility of a very significant pay cut here. I know finding a job that pays a New York salary would be next to impossible, but I also want to make what a professional with 12 years of experience is worth. Navigating the waters of what to ask for, what we need to live a comfortable life and how to save to invest in my business, have another baby, buy a house and contribute to retirement is a rough sea. 

Truth about our situation: I am currently unemployed, but am still in wedding season, so I do have a little coming in. Luckily my husband kept his remote job, so we have a single income. My husband is a contractor, so we had to purchase an insurance policy from the open market (not cheap!) and we are paying a good bit of cash to keep our stuff in storage. But, we are living rent-free with my in-laws and share a car. It sounds like a recipe to stock-pile some cash, but alas, somehow that's not really happening. 

I want to talk for a minute about our wins and about the concept of manifesting money. It sounds so woo-woo. I feel like a fraud saying it, but after I read (and reread and reread) "You Are A Badass At Making Money," I decided to test this concept out. In it author Jen Sincero tells a story about manifesting $80k to pay for a coach to kick her butt into gear and to help her get the results she truly desired. $80k! That's more than most people make in a year!!! After the third read of the book, I decided that I was going to manifest $100 a day to put toward my accumulating credit card debt, which at the time was about $12k. *Look at that, I told you my credit card debt number and I haven't burst into flames!!!* I know that $100/day seems crazy. I thought so too, but if Jen SIncero could manifest $80k, I could make a little magic of my own. So in mid-March, I started, with the goal of paying it off by the end of June.

• I had already been paying about $500 - $600 a month, I upped $700 and that was a week out of the month marked off my calendar.
• I do some freelance blogging that covered another 2 - 3 days
• I got a bonus at work during that time, an other week or so worth of payments
• I styled a shoot to earn $500 
• Since we were moving, I sold some things on Craigslist 
• Cleaned out my closet and sold items on Poshmark
• I used cash from the sale of our house to pay a chunk
• Right after we moved I was employed and living with our in-laws allowing me to contribute a larger chunk to this "bad debt"

I got there! or more truthfully, I practically got there, with about $600 still left on the card. I am so so proud of myself and it has left me wondering what else I can ask the universe for and work toward manifesting. I know my situation and life change helped me get to my goal, and not everybody is going to have the same experience, but the truth is I set out to eliminate this debt and I think I would have gotten there with or without the life change, because I was 100% focused and committed. Before we even saw the money from our house sale I had paid over $4k toward the debt. 

Next up, I am planning a month-long spending freeze in order to achieve our goals for the down payment on our new home. I am laying out my parameters here and will document my progress on my instagram stories. 

• It's our anniversary on September 8, we plan to do something special to celebrate. 
• I will allow myself to only purchase the amount of coffee on my Starbucks card
• networking lunch or drinks are okay, but I will keep it economical 

Have you done a spending freeze? How did it go?