Comments on: Our Debt-Free Marriage: How We Paid Off $54,500 in the Name of Freedom

By: Kristy

Kristy — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 22:43:58 +0000

Thanks for sharing your story. It’s good to hear. My husband and I started Financial Peace University on September 7 of this year. We have paid off almost $1000 in debt and have our $1000 emergency fund. In a lot of ways, we are still just getting started. Of course, in the last 2 weeks we found out our dog needs hip surgery ($500) and they just raised our mortgage (due to county taxes) about $20 a month and we just got a letter saying we owe back taxes from 2006 (we were only 21 then and we didn’t know the taxes weren’t being taken out of my husband’s paycheck. Live and learn, right?). I’m much more rigid about it than my husband and I’m a bit discouraged. Not counting student loans or mortgage, (before these additional expenses hit) we were looking to be debt-free in June of 2013 (I haven’t calculated student loans yet and that was only on my husband’s paycheck with no additional funds, such as the side jobs he’s been getting and the part-time jobs I’m looking for). I’m so glad you were able to get debt-free! I’m sure it is so nice not having to give payments out to everyone!

By: Dustin

Dustin — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 03:07:21 +0000

Hi Jenny, thanks so much for sharing your story. I definitely empathize with where you and your husband find yourself at this point. You are working so hard, and being so diligent, yet progress is slow or stalled because you just don’t have an income that exceeds your basic expenses.

I think you’ve received sound advice from the Christian financial counselors who told you that you simply need more income. I know that’s cruddy advice, but it is the reality of the situation, and it’s unfortunately the place where many folks find themselves.

I worked a LOT when we were paying off our debt. In my case, I had the opportunity to work OT at my job and I also did side work. For most, it may take some creativity to find a good side income source. I would recommend checking out the resources from Dan Miller at 48Days.com for some good ideas on that front.

I hope that helps a bit. Good luck and God Bless you and your family!

Dustin

By: Jen

Jen — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:45:27 +0000

Hi! Thank you so much for sharing! My husband and I have been so bummed, under the surface, for years. In short, we’ve been married 8 marvelous years and have a loving and hilarious 15 month old. My husband is one of the hardest working men of integrity that I know, and I work part-time when I can. We went through Crown Ministry’s financial course w/ our church when we first got married, and also went through Financial Peace in our 3rd year. I know we’ve made some mistakes, but overall, we are very frugal and practical with our spending. I grew up with 8 siblings and had an awesome upbringing in which “debt” wasn’t even an option. My parents truly were an example of living w/in your means. We had a used vehicle go out on us and the issue was a loophole that didn’t fall under the warranty, so that left us upside down on the next vehicle. My husband also built a spec home 3 yrs ago that finally sold, though it sold for even less than the cost of building it. That was a blow, but we’re happy to be out from underneath it. Nevertheless, we are left paying minimum payments for a school loan, the truck (only on one vehicle), remaining spec house debt, and my husband’s medical premium (he has an auto immune issue and can’t have a lapse in coverage – my son and I are uninsured).

We budget and budget, but don’t know where to go from here. My husband’s construction business causes his income to fluctuate so much month to month. When we budget just our needs, it seems there is about $100 left for rent and that’s without any savings, insurance for my son and I, etc. (By the way, we don’t qualify for Medicaid for our son b/c of our income). We’ve prayed for creativity and wisdom and don’t know where this leaves us. (We are still tithing as well). I contacted two recommended Christian financial planners to ask if they saw any wiggle room on our expenditures and they both agreed (good and bad) that our budget and planning looked organized and cut down as much as possible. Their only suggestion was working more… which we are trying to do.

So my question is, do you have any recommendations from your reading and experience, on what to do when we’ve cut down on our expenses as much as possible and still don’t have enough to live on? I feel like we can’t even continue following Dave’s “baby steps” to get on track b/c our income doesn’t support our current expenses, but we’ve cut out as much as we can already (cheapest cell phone plan, don’t spend money on dates/clothes, etc). However, in all this, we have seen Our Lord’s amazing provision month to month! We have not been in need, and have had sufficient clothing, shelter, food and friendships. We have so much to be grateful for! We just want this debt gone and feel helpless to make strides to pay it off right now.

I appreciate you hearing me out. We know there is hope!
Jenny

By: Nikki

Nikki — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 13:38:24 +0000

We’re debt free except the house (and we owe less than 100k on that) and have been for almost a year (when we paid off the last student loan), thanks to Dave’s plan. During our 2.5 year journey to being debt free, we paid off $35,000 in debit, bought a car for cash, bought a house, with 20% down, and didn’t miss out on much. The piece of mind knowing that we have 6 months of expenses in the bank is so fantastic! If we both lose our jobs today, we’ve got 6 months to find something else, and if it’s only one of us, we’re fine for much longer (or indefinitely if it’s my husband since he makes almost twice what I do). We were going to start extra payments on the house this summer, and found out we’re expecting our first child the day before. It’s been an amazing journey, and it’s totally worth every sacrifice and weird look we’ve gotten. The simple knowledge that I don’t have to go back to work after our child is born (even though I want to) and that we can just use the debit card for any emergencies is the best feeling in the world. I, like a few others, was dragged on this journey, and now I’m the one that asks “what does Dave say about that?” We have, and do, live like no one else, so that later, we can live like no one else.

By: Sue from Become Pharmacist

Sue from Become Pharmacist — Wed, 11 May 2011 16:42:21 +0000

I believe one of the biggest problems in debt today is the cost of an education. You end up paying for years just to make yourself qualified.
Sue from Become Pharmacist´s last [type] ..Pharmacist Awards Available After You Become a Pharmacist