We're Debt Free!!!

Bethany just sent a check to her student loan company that paid her balance in full. With the exception of our house, we no longer owe any money to anyone anywhere! Because we no longer make car payments, student loan payments, credit card payments, etc., we could triple our house payment each month and own our home outright in three years!!! However, we are setting aside that extra money for our adoption expenses so that we will not have to borrow one red cent of the $20,000 it will cost to complete the process. Then, we will begin to pay off the house in earnest.

Our goal is that in five years we will have the house paid off, have an emergency fund, and have a decent nest egg built up. Imagine having ten acres of land, a fully furnished four bedroom home, two automobiles, two college degrees, two children, three dogs, three cats, two goats, a retirement fund, an emergency fund, a college fund, and not one dollar of debt! I openly share this dream with you not to brag about our success but to inspire you to do the same. In the past two years we have managed to eliminate over $42,000 in debt!!! We have done this while also making monthly house payments, investing money for Alex's college fund, saving for retirement, and saving for an adoption. How did we do it? By living within our means. By creating a budget and sticking to it (thanks to Bethany's careful planning). By not spending money that we don't have. Some people might say, "Yes but you have two decent incomes that have helped. Not everybody makes as much money as you." We are very fortunate to have the jobs that we do. But you must remember that for the first year of this debt elimination I did not work at all and we relied on Bethany's income only. In fact, I dabbled with selling used cars for a while which as you may recall cost us a few dollars when all was said and done. I can say that we are a typical, middle class family who did something quite atypical- we resolved to live like no one else so that later on we could live like no one else.

In other words, we made sacrifices and worked hard to achieve our goals. We lived the past two years on a very tight budget. We paid cash for things or else went without. We sold our brand new four wheel drive truck and dumped the $400 a month payment in exchange for owning a pair of cheaper, yet paid for vehicles. We haven't bought new cars even though Bethany's transmission went out and my water pump and intake manifold gasket had to be replaced within a week of each other. We haven't bought a new stove even though ours only has two burners, the outer shell of the oven door is gone, and it doesn't even have a handle. We haven't bought a new refrigerator even though ours is rusted and the ice maker had to be disconnected because it leaked water all over the floor. We haven't bought a new dryer even though we have to dry each load twice to get the clothes fully dry. We haven't bought a new washer even though the control knob broke off a year ago and now we have to use pliers to durn the dial. We haven't bought a new furnace even though only two of the four heating elements still work. We have resisted the temptation to run out and charge new things on a credit card when our old things break. In fact, we no longer have credit cards at all. That's what it means to live like no one else.

After we pay off the house, we should have about $4000 a month in surplus income. Then we will really be able to live like no one else. All new appliances paid for in cash! A like-new car paid in cash! Hiring someone to dig and stock a fishing pond paid in cash! Paying for college without borrowing a penny! Enjoying the rest of our lives without stressing over money issues! If we can do it- anyone can. And its never too late to start. I hope that you will find financial peace, too. A great way to start is by reading "The Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey. Bethany will be calling in to Dave's radio show next week to announce to the world, "WE'RE DEBT FREE!!!"