Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Kicking Debt to the Curb


Last year Dave and I finally kicked debt to the curb. No more car loans, credit cards, or outstanding medical bills. We celebrated by screaming at the top of our lungs, "We're debt free!!!!" Then we sat down and ate ice cream.

We had been working on getting out of debt for a number of years. We didn't owe a ton and our payments were manageable, but we wanted to be completely out of debt by the time Dave retired. Progress was slow. It was like we were on a treadmill. One loan would get paid off and then another would inevitably take its place.

The game changer was when our daughter and her husband introduced us to Dave Ramsey. If you haven't heard of Dave Ramsey, he's kind of all over the place. Author, motivational speaker and talk show host, he educates and counsels hurting folks on how to get out of debt and gain financial freedom.


Amber and Paul were doing Dave Ramsey's debt snowball plan to pay off their college loans. Newly married and fresh out of college, they weren't making much and were living in Boston, a city with frightfully high living expenses. When their college loans first came due, reality hit hard. The combined loans would equal a monthly mortgage payment for the next 10 years, if not more. 


Amber and Paul heard about Dave Ramsey from friends who had been successful in paying off their school debt using his plan. They bought one of his books and started working the plan to attack their loans, smallest to largest. 


We kept up with their progress and cheered every time they called to say they had paid off another loan. In less than two years, they had knocked out their last payment. Their excitement was contagious. Paige and Matt went all in too and became debt free within six months.


Ours isn't nearly as impressive as the journey our kids made to become debt free. It took us longer than it should have, but we finally said enough already and got 'er done.

Dave Ramsey's just a guy. He admits that he hasn't invented anything new in the area of money. On his radio show, he often says that he gives the same financial advice your grandmother would. None of his concepts were new to me. But he's made the process simple and doable.

The best thing is you don't have to pay one cent to follow his advice. Just check out his book The Money Makeover from the library (or borrow the book I never returned to Amber). You can also watch his podcasts online or catch his radio show. Dave and I stayed motivated by listening to his show on IHeart Radio every night on the way home from work.
We're now working on Step 6 of Dave Ramsey's 7 Baby Steps.

Next week Dave's retiring on his 62nd birthday. We're not going to be rolling in the dough, but we're very happy to be out of debt and have a savings. 




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