I was listening to a Dave Ramsey Show podcast on my way home from work yesterday, and Dave was ranting about how much debt the "normal" American has. He also said that "normal is stupid!" I couldnt agree more.
Since January 1, 2010, Todd and I have paid off $23,000 and change in debt. We have been in debt since the very moment we met in 2005. As of today, we only owe $2098 on our very last debt and I couldnt be happier. The light at the end of the tunnel is definitely coming closer and closer. I never thought we'd get this far, but day-dreamed of a time when we would.
By July 1st, we should be completely debt free (except the house). We have been able to "snow ball" over $850/month to go toward this last debt by paying off the other debts we had. Those included $375 for the property we bought next door, $227 for a car loan, Home Depot card (0% financing for a year), and $200+ for the credit card we are currently paying off. We were paying nearly half of my take home income on revolving debt payments! No more!
We killed it this month by living so tight we squeaked! I think Todd is sick of hearing me say how broke we are and then in the next sentence, how much less our credit card balance is. Even this week, we have only $95 to live off of. This month, we both had extra pay due to 5 Friday's as well as Todd getting paid a little more money for training a new guy at work.
I told Todd that if we squeak through the month of April, we could breathe a little bit in May and June to pay off the rest of the debt. May is going to be an expensive month for us due to a vacation the first weekend of May, our puppy getting fixed mid-May, and hubby's birthday the end of May (he's turning 40, so I am doing something nice for him!)
Do you have debt?
Are you working Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover?
How is the process going for you?
My husband and I went through the Dave Ramsey class last summer, and have been trying to work the plan since.
ReplyDeleteHOWEVER, I've found that it's very difficult when you don't sit down and do the budget! Thehubs isn't exactly a fan of Dave, so he's not exactly 100% on board....
Your blog is VERY ENCOURAGING, and I hope I can one day be in your shores of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!
I've heard of Dave Ramsey, but never looked into it. We don't have much debt, just some very old collections that are about to drop off our credit.
ReplyDeleteI know what it's like to live so tight we may squeak! For the next two weeks we have $70 and that's it, and we NEED groceries bad! But come June and things will be a bit easier...so it's nice to look at the positives :)
Mrs. Hicks - I couldnt imagine what it would be like if Todd wasnt on board. I am also glad that Todd isnt a spender...that helps out alot!
ReplyDeleteValene - I highly recommend reading "Total Money Makeover." It may just change your life like it did ours. We are 16 months "all in" and almost done with Baby Step 1 & 2. And $70 for two weeks? With gas prices at $4/gallon? How are you going to do it?
Thank you for your comment about our pup. I really appreciate your kind words. I'm also sad to hear about your piggy :( Pets are part of the family and it's always hard.
ReplyDeleteWay to go on getting debt free!!!
ReplyDeleteI love Dave Ramsey. He is very common sense however apparently we didn't have much of that. I enjoy listening to his podcasts and having a written budget has really helped us so much!!
ReplyDeleteI love Dave Ramsey! My husband and I are definitely not normal by the worlds standards. God has blessed us financially. We're in early 20s, own our house and two cars with only 12,000 in student loans. We could have paid the loans off this month, but my car broke down and we had to buy a new one. (We paid cash!!) I know our story isn't normal, but we've been pretty smart with what God's given us by buying a small house we can afford and a car we can afford and sticking to a budget every month. Great Post! Thanks for the comment on my blog!
ReplyDeleteWow that is awesome progress! I will have to look into Dave Ramsey because we have been struggling to save money (my husband is just about to finish up graduate school). We have been very blessed to not have any debt- our parents both taught us to never ever spend more than you have and to save your money! Thanks for commenting and following my blog!
ReplyDeleteI WANT to budget, I WANT to listen to Dave Ramsey and DO it.....but I haven't. I applaude you for your success at getting rid of debt...I totally wish I could do it....living paycheck to paycheck is no fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Staying Home and Staying Sane. :) I am a new follwer.
Normal is broke with lots of debt. We choose to be weird and live debt free. And we LOVE not owing anything to anyone!
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