The road to debt free
Courtesy of Dave Ramsey's website
I’m excited. Nope, beyond excited. We could potentially be DEBT FREE BY JUNE!
I think June would be fitting as it was June in 2008 when we started this process. I was pregnant with Zeke when we first attended a Dave Ramsey Financial Peace class. Close friends raved about the material and we decided with our upcoming life changes (another baby, leaving active Army, final move to Denver) that it wouldn’t hurt for us to attend the 13 week course. Hubby and I felt like we were fairly good stewards of our income before the class. We started the course with minor credit card debt, car payments, and a small loan.
It would take more than this post for me to explain the results of going through all 13 weeks. Hubby and I agree that the course could easily be called the Dave Ramsey Financial Marriage Counseling study. The material helped us get to the root of our problems with finances, why and when we spend, and ended up improving our marriage as we improved the way we managed our finances. Not only that, the class completely transformed how we look at money.
Even before we finished the 13 weeks, we sold numerous household items, a car, and our house. Amidst selling and buying a home, we paid off over $15,000 of our consumer debt (all debt except a home mortgage). Using the course steps, we secured an emergency fund, and started our “debt snowball” so that by the time I left the Army, we had paid off over $30,000, almost all of our debt. I tell you this not to brag, but to encourage anyone that is considering changing the way they handle their money. We were amazed at how our cash budget and extra work (overtime pay, odd jobs, etc.) amazingly added up to major debt pay-offs.
We are so close to the end of this step in our financial process that I can’t help but feel giddy. After I left active duty and we went down to one income, our debt payoff when from a fire hose to a faucet trickle. I started to feel discouraged that we would never be debt-free. Crazy that I wasn’t satisfied with paying off $30,000 the year before. I guess my hopelessness had more personal roots. When I left the Army, I agreed with Hubby that as soon as all of our consumer debt was paid off, in other words his school loans were paid off, that we could try to have another baby. At the beginning of this year, I reasoned that we probably wouldn’t raise enough until next year with his income and my small Army drill contributions.
Man was I wrong! Foreseeing no major catastrophes, it looks like our tax return and my Army training this spring will pay everything off within the next few months. WITHIN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS!! I’ll keep you updated as we get closer to the goal. I can’t wait to call Dave Ramsey and yell, “WE’RE DEBT FREE!” Oh, and “I’M PREGNANT!”
© 2010, FROM MILITARY TO MOM™. All rights reserved.
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Thats Awesome! Congratulations! Did I read that last line right (or are you just checking to see if we are paying attention?)
Love this! Good Job!!!! ;o)
We’re reading his books but haven’t found a Financial Peace class in our area yet. I honestly think that this lay-off will help us get rid of our debt – now we absolutely HAVE to pay more attention to our budget, whereas before we only kind of watched it out of the corners of our eyes.
And wait a minute – you’re pregnant NOW or you plan on being so in June?!? GAH DON’T LEAVE US HANGING!
Um yah are you pregnant for real or what!!!??!
LOL… Nope, not prego now ;( but hope to be when I call Dave Ramsey in June!
Jen-I think you would love one of his classes during Financial Peace called Working in Your Strengths. Talks all about doing what you love.
So proud of you guys!!! It totally changed our marriage too. You and Ben should consider leading a FPU class. It’s very easy and your testimony is powerful! We’ve lead 5 classes so far and it is so awesome to see the changes in the couples from the beginning to the end. Marriages are changed and couples are finally on the same page with their finances. It’s so awesome to see the transformation!
Oh, man, you’ve got to tweet when you’re getting ready to call in. Unfortunately, I can’t pick him up in the house, but I’ll have to make an effort to be in the car listening!
We love Dave Ramsay. Although we haven’t done his course…we use alot of his advice.
The course is sooo worth it. We were doing a lot of his ideas before we went and the course just made us that much stronger.