We're Debt Freeeeee!!!!

I am proud to announce that for the first time in our adult lives, Todd and I are debt free except our mortgage!

We have been working since January 2010 to pay off our debts of over $26,000.  Within this process, we’ve freed up nearly $900/month in revolving debt payments!

This is what we have to show for all of our hard work over the last year and a half:

This is the house next door to our primary residence that we purchased to double our property size.  The house, though it looks decent from the front, is dilapidated on the inside.  The roof is caving in, there are foundation problems, and it is a flat out mess. We are looking forward to tearing the house down and putting up a 1 ½ - 2 car garage to use as Todd’s workshop (using cash!)

Todd test drove the Kia Rondo when they first hit the lots in 2006.  I remember him coming home talking about how much he wanted this car.  Two and a half years later, we bought one. The vehicle was purchased in 2009 (though it is 2008) as a repossessed vehicle with less than 400 miles on it.  We bought it at a nice discount, and it still had the “new car smell” to it!  It looks and drives even better now that it’s paid off!

We decided to change the front doors of our home to french doors in June of 2010: right in the beginning of our debt snowball.  Even though we love the new doors, we probably should have waited.  We put the cost of these doors on a Home Depot 0% financing payment, and paid it off before getting hit with the interest charges.

Unknown items from a credit card Todd brought into the marriage.  What “stuff” this consisted of, I couldn’t tell you, but I can tell you that I did not contribute to any of the debt on this credit card.  None-the-less, it is paid off and we are both debt free (except the mortgage) for the first time in our lives.

The next step right now is to save 3-6 months worth of expenses to use as an Emergency Fund in case anything happens.  This will be much faster and easier now that we have an extra $900/month to put toward this step. 

DISCLAIMER: I was in no way compensated or influenced to write this post.  I truly believe in the teachings of Dave Ramsey to help eliminate debt and build wealth.  I highly recommend his book, The Total Money Makeover as well as listening to his free podcast every day from iTunes. The encouragement and wisdom are priceless.