“We’re doing it wrong.”
It’s our joke as a couple
The thing we say
When what we really mean is
“Debt has left us black-eyed and bleeding.”
It’s not really keeping up with the Joneses.
It isn’t about your vacations or your fancy houses – yes, plural?!
Your new cars or your HDTVs.
(Though we make our secret faces
When we read about them in your Christmas letters.)
When we lean together and whisper
– oh, we can be so snarky –
It comes out “We’re doing it wrong”
But what we’re really saying is
“We’re trying to do it right.”
$90,000 to pay off, and we’re only
Two people working hard with four hands
And eight (closed) credit cards and
Just as many part-time jobs
And only 24 hours in a day.
So we crack our jokes, share our secret battle cry.
We’re strong enough to be debt-free for good,
And if “doing it wrong” looks an awful lot
Like wearing dollar shirts and watching Redbox,
Then I guess you can keep your Hollister.
When debt’s gone
– we’re still learning to drop the “if” -
We both know it’s not the things we crave.
It’s the freedom we envy.
To do it wrong ourselves if we want.
Or to do it right.
“WE’RE DOING IT WRONG” by Joan Otto
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