We paid off how much?!

When we set out on this “getting out of debt” stuff I was not very happy.

The first year of marriage and my whole life I/we never really paid attention to saving or managing my money. We spent money on things that we wanted and not necessarily needed. Ate out a lot, had a flease (a Dave Ramsey term for lease) and or car payments, didn’t budget and just wasn’t really caring about our debt. Car payments, credit cards, hair appointments, etc….we were apart of the “normal”. Well, one day my husband mentioned Dave Ramsey to me. I do not like the whole get rich quick stuff. So I did not buy into it right away. BTW Dave Ramsey is not a get rich quick guy. I was sitting down and writing the entire list of bills for us. I was trying to figure out how to stay at home with our new little one and still afford life. I almost had a panic attack when I found out that in order for me to stay at home I would need to have $1000 more a month. And that is when it hit me. We had debt and bills that were just outrageous. Then he brought back up Dave Ramsey and I said ok. I started to listen to his podcasts and it was such a relief to hear such amazing stories about people like us.

I was, at that moment, on board.

I did everything I could to cut the budget down. We traded in our flease for a vehicle that cost $20,000 less. That right there saved us $200 a month. I stopped going to get my hair done every 4-6 weeks. Being a platinum blonde is expensive ya’ll. We stopped going out to eat after church. We buckled down. We got our first baby step done and we started on baby step two. We ate on a beans and rice rice and beans budget. And no, we did not just eat beans and rice ha! I’ve actually been super healthy and was in really good shape not long after we started our budget. Sold so much stuff our dogs thought they were next. Ha! It’s amazing how much stuff we had. Well, soon enough we were all of a sudden thousand of dollar paid off. My husband worked so many hours just to get us above water and pay off this stinking debt. My husband is truly my hero, really, my hero. I really admire him. I did some surveys and mystery shopping to try to get a little more money for us. We were gazelle intense.

Thankfully, we got a job offer to transfer across the country to a beautiful state. We were able to sell our home in one month and move. Thank the Lord! It was a lifesaver. We sold one vehicle before we moved and are down to one vehicle that we barely use. My husband rides his bike to work, no more commuting!! And a great workout. We are just loving it over here. When it isn’t way to cold we ride bikes and walk everywhere. I was looking at our debt payoff so far and I was absolutely floored at how much we have managed to pay off and I get to stay at home with our little one.

$276,164.37

All because we opened our eyes and are living like no one else so we can live and give like no one else.That’s amazing ya’ll and it takes a lot of dedication. I haven’t had too much support outside our little family. I have heard that I need to enjoy and live life…..Well, we do and love our life. And, soon we will be loving it even more. People were making fun of the way we live on a beans and rice, rice and beans budget. Like Dave Ramsey says; If broke people are making fun of your financial plan, you’re on track. Let me tell you….we are a million times less stressed. I only have to pay a few things a month instead of a list HA! We do not charge anything on a credit card, so if we don’t have the cash right then, it’s a no. People say, “don’t you need a good credit score to live in this world?” HAHA NO! Cash is King, baby! We are not “normal” because of that. It’s amazing how credit cards and living beyond your means are “normal”.  Car payments, “normal”. I like what Dave says “I’m not against people having new cars. I’m against them having you. We spend a tremendous amount impressing somebody at the stoplight who we’ll never meet. It makes you broke and keeps you broke”. So true. You know the average car payment is $400 something a month. yikes! I am so thankful we haven’t had a car payment in forever. A paid for car drives a lot better….if you know what I mean 🙂

We are so fired up about getting out of debt that we are almost done. It sounds like a super long time but we should be out of debt in 1 year and some change. We cannot wait to call Dave on the day we make our last debt payment and do our debt free scream. We are on a pause since we have a baby due in June but after that its game on.

If you are where we were or you have to work two incomes to afford life…..just give it a chance. Listen to Dave Ramsey and be “weird”! I did not think this would be possible and actually thought it was just normal to have a credit card, car payment, living paycheck to paycheck and not being on a budget. I now know, I was wrong. I thank God for bringing my husband into my life and opening my eyes to Dave Ramsey.

And, like Dave always says at the beginning of his amazing show-Debt is dumb, cash is king and a paid off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW AS the status symbol of choice. 

Live simple and debt free!