debt | BulgingButtons

It sounds like a good idea, right? Identify your goal and hop to it. Go out there and grab hold of your dreams! That’s the American Way, isn’t it? Is it? I’m not sure.

I’m not sure of a lot of things. Like, for instance, what exactly my “goal” is at this particular point in my life.

I have goals, certainly. I have many of them, some large, some miniscule. So I suppose my question is how do I prioritize them? How do I decide WHICH goal is the “go out there and get it!” goal? Or are there multiples of those? In which case, the new question becomes, how on earth do I go out and conquer all that stuff????

Well, I’m a firm believer in divide and conquer, so there’s that. But then we go back to the prioritizing issue. What to tackle first?

When paying down debt there are two main schools of thought. The first states that you should allocate the majority of your efforts to eliminating the debt with the highest interest rate first, then tackle the next highest and so on. The second one suggests that you go after the smallest debt first, then the next smallest amount and so on, leaving the largest debt for last.

Both methods have their pros and cons, and both methods, if applied faithfully, will get you out of debt eventually. So what’s the right answer? I don’t know, but fortunately getting out of debt is one goal that I achieved several years ago, so I don’t have to worry about it. (By the way, I used the small amount first method, it helped me feel successful and empowered by the process).

Maybe I can use the same method with my goals. Maybe I should start with “baby steps” as Flylady says. Or, as my father used to put it, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” For now I will keep stepping to get my daily fitbit steps, I will keep working at revising my novel, I will keep sharing my writing with you all and my writing partners, and I will keep working to tackle the clutter that’s been invading my home bit by bit. I will also keep being the best teacher, mother, daughter, and partner I can be. That’s not too many goals, is it? Wish me luck, and if you have any advice, I’d love to hear it.

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We recently attended a presentation by an admissions officer from Notre Dame University. Wow. Now I kind of want to go there, but I realize that ship has sailed for me. The thing is, my son kind of wants to go there too, which is great, because it’s a terrific university with so much to offer. But, holy cow, it’s expensive!

Yes, there’s financial aid available, and loans and whatnot, but I don’t want him to begin his adult life saddled with large debts. It’s difficult enough to be out on your own for the first time, responsible for your own bills, without worrying about how you’re going to dig yourself out of a hole created by debt. He’s well aware of this concern, which is why he’s applying for scholarships.

The main one he’s going for is the Naval R.O.T.C. scholarship, which both makes me incredibly proud and a little worried. I think he’ll be accepted, but we won’t know until after he actually applies. The application process for scholarships and universities in general, can be quite involved. There are forms to fill out and questions to answer, and essays to write.

It’s a good thing he’s a good writer. He comes up with interesting responses to the questions he’s faced with, and writes them in a way that’s genuine and direct. I think the reader can get a sense of who he is through his answers, at least I hope so.

I’m trying to stay calm throughout this whole process, since I know that any hysteria on my part would only slow things down. I know he’ll get all of his applications filled in and sent out on time. I know that he will be accepted into a program that will be a good fit for him. I know that it will all work out.