We're Debt Freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

It's happened.



We're debt free.





(Excuse me while I clear my throat...)




...

Wow.



Pride. I feel immense pride. We fricken did it!



When we started this journey, we had $60,952 in debt and our monthly payments were $790. Looking back, I can honestly say it all started in September 2008- my husband hated his job. He was doing the job search thing, but nothing was panning out. He had an opportunity to start doing personal training, but it was risky- if he didn’t find clients, he wouldn’t get paid. He’d start Day 1 of this job without having a clue how much he’d make. He would go from making $45K per year to who knows what, but he would be happier. This was the first time in my life, I felt like our debt was running our life, controlling our decisions. How could we possibly go to one income when we have these payments to make each month? Here my husband was truly unhappy and I felt like our hands were tied… it was the worst feeling.

That’s when I realized something had to change. I made a budget. Mind you, I’m a numbers gal so before this point, if you asked me if I had a budget, I would have said “yes!” but what I had was not a budget…not like I know now.

I made a budget. The next day, Michael quit his crappy job. We were going to make it work- we had a plan.

That was September. We had 8 debts in all.
In December, as Michael's new job steadied itself, we paid off our 1st debt!
In January, full payments were made to debts 2 and 3!
In February, our car was totaled in an accident. Our loan was gone and we did not replace it. We became a one car household, something I swore we could never do.
In March, we paid off our 5th debt.
In May, we paid off debt #6.
In July, we said good-bye to debt # 7.
Finally, today, we paid off our final debt- lucky #8!


Brad, the awesome dude behind the awesome words on this awesome blog, recently became debt free as well. As part of his debt free post, he interviewed himself. I hope he doesn't mind, but I'm totally stealing his idea.


How does becoming debt free actually feel? Does it feel better than you imagined it would?

I let out a huge sigh. I mean, a HHHHUUUUGGGGEEEE sigh. I feel like so much weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Then a sly little smile creeped up on my face...


What were some of the struggles that you had to deal with along the way? Was there ever a time where you almost gave up?

I can honestly say no, we never almost gave up. We were going to become debt free, the only question was how quickly.


What would you consider to be the most important key to becoming debt free? What helped you the most?

Communication and discipline. I used to say that Michael and I were a good team because I did the numbers stuff and he did the health stuff … now I realize we’re a good team because WE’RE GREAT TOGETHER. We’re a good team because we support each other and we communicate.

It seems a lot of people have bought into the idea that debt is essential in order to prosper, what do you have to say to those people?

Wow. I thought so too. All I can say is that my entire perspective changed when I started SAVING to buy something versus PAYING for something I just bought on financing. Debt, to me, is a crutch… not something to be “leveraged” like everyone says.


What was the biggest sacrifice you would say you made in order to become debt free? What about you changed the most?

It’s funny… I’d say the biggest sacrifice was not buying a 2nd car after the accident and starting to bike to work. But now that it’s been that way for a while, I love it and don’t see it as a sacrifice at all.


The biggest change in me is my appreciation for what I have and how little I care now what people think. I had no idea how badly I suffered from “stuffitis”… if I wanted something, I’d go buy it. There was no such thing as “delayed gratification” with me. I did not save for something before running out and buying it, so I really did not appreciate what I had. When my behavior changed, my whole perspective changed. If I wanted something, it had to be budgeted and since we budget BEFORE the month begins, if it’s the 5th, I may have to wait 25 days… might not seem like a big deal, but it really made a big difference. I stopped trying to keep up with the Jones’ and I genuinely value the possessions I have.


Did your friends and family give you a hard time about your new mission to eliminate the debt from your life? If so how did you deal with it? Did I have skeptical friends? Do I think I inspired others by my journey?

It may be weird, but I didn’t tell my family about it. They don’t get it. They never will. I was even selective about which friends I told. Money is very personal. I didn’t want to sound preachy and part of this was selfish too. I didn’t want to tell anyone who wouldn’t be supportive. I didn’t need that.

I know I’ve heard from a few really good friends who have been inspired. Maybe not to the extreme that we were this past year, but even if I encouraged someone to look deeper into their financial situation or ask some tough questions, that’s a good thing.


What is next for you? What financial goals do you plan to accomplish? Our next step in this financial journey is to establish an emergency fund. 3 months to start, then we’ll go from there. From here on out, we pay ourselves first. I can’t wait!

Thanks for all the support from my blog readers... honestly, in so many ways, you know more about me than my own family. This was a personal journey that you supported me through and I really appreciate it.

Kelsalynn