Almost two years ago, we paid off our last bit of consumer debt: car, truck, credit cards. It’s amazing to me how different our life is today than it was when we first started tackling our debtor’s ways back in 2007. Life is much more calm and peaceful.
It took us a year and a half. And it was really hard — for a really long time. Thanks be to God, we did it.
When it was all over and I’d wiped the sweat from my brow, I wrote a series, relating what we did to dig ourselves out of the hole. If you find yourself wanting to be free from unwanted bills, know that you are not alone. These ways worked for us, and they may just work for you.
- Where Do You Start When You’re in Debt?
- When in Debt, Let Dave Help You
- Take a Financial Snapshot and Dream a Big Dream
- Get Out of Debt with a Budget
- Getting Out of Debt by Reducing Expenses
- Getting Out of Debt by Increasing Your Income
- Beating Debt with an Emergency Fund
- Get That Snowball Rolling
What do YOU do to save money?
Share your favorite money-saving ideas today. Leave a link to a post that shares some frugal wisdom. (Please no giveaways or deals posts. Teach us how to fish!)
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Love this post. Isn’t it incredible to look back and realize how far you have come? For us, I think building that emergency fund has been the most essential part in terms of creating a true sense of security. I never believed I could control my finances, but now, with 6 months of expenses in a liquid savings account, I feel in control for the first time. He’s not kidding when he calls it financial PEACE.
I’m fed up with debt, and I’m taking serious steps to do something about it. I’m sharing in my post what’s step number one for me.
http://www.whoislaura.com/2010/10/21/frugal-friday-i-hate-debt/
Dr. Laura
What a fantastic series! Thanks for sharing your family’s personal journey…it is so inspiring.
We are working so hard on eliminating all our debt that we are cutting corners everywhere – this year we made my daughter’s birthday cake/cookie instead of buying it. It was cheap, sorta easy, and we made awesome memories by letting her decorate it herself. LOVE IT!
Congrats on being debt free!! Thanks for the link-up.
Congratulations! What a wonderful feeling that must be!
We’re still muddling along, but slowly improving. Only thing is, we may soon buy a church building, and that would put a huge dent into things again…but God loves a cheerful giver, and He will provide.
Thanks for putting the whole series together!
Blessings,
Annie Kate
2007 must’ve been a BIG year for paying off debts… that was also the year we purchased our current home cash
FINALLY!
My husband and I decided shortly after getting married that we never wanted to go into debt and it was the best decision we could’ve made for our family! My hubby’s school was paid for with some help from his parents and grandparents and I know what a blessing that is because most people our age have lots of student loan debt. I hope to go to school after our kids get a little older. We did buy a house, so that is our only debt. We heard Dave Ramsey on the Radio and even though we have no debt we love to listen to keep on track and remember why we never want to go into debt. We stick to a really strict grocery budget, have 6 months emergency fund, have roth IRAs set up for our retirement. I work from home for Nu Skin and he is in the Navy. I am 22 and he is 26 and I know that we have started out right, and I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father who gives us the strength to carry on even when it seems difficult. We are saving up for a second car (that is definitely the difficult part… being stuck at home and just wanting to go get another car!) We have a little girl and plan to have a few more! We are able to serve others because we don’t have to worry so much about ourselves! The most important thing I would say is stick to your budget even though it is hard, we use cash for everything so when it is gone, it is gone! We pay tithing first, then we put the alloted amount into the savings account. You have to pay yourself first or you’ll find somewhere else to put it! So I guess my real advice is to anyone just starting out, avoid debt like the plague… just don’t do it in the first place!!
Re-use what you already have. I am sharing how to make tee shirt yarn from those shirts that might not be good enough to wear any more. Thanks for hosting.
We are working our way out of debt and the light is at the end of the tunnel for us. We are so exited. I just linked to you on my site and I did the linky thing. Thanks!
Your post is very timely for us as we discuss how to get out of debt. we are an odd case – little to no regular consumer debt, just a home mortgage that is killing us and seems to be something we cannot do away w/ as the market in our area won’t allow us to just sell and rent…
This year I am saving money with a friend by babysitting her kids a few hours a week in exchange for her giving my daughter piano lessons in our home (we decided 2 hours of babysitting is equal to one 1/2 lesson). Another friend and I are swaping her babysitting my kids on occasion for my husbands handman work (which her husband cannot do but is willing to help out in order to learn). This has been a HUGE blessing!
I also put your button on my site! That’s how much I like your site:).
I’m sorry! I had my old website linked in there.
Frugality as a lifestyle is one of the best ways to really save money long term. Much of what I do as a stay-at-home mom is done in a frugal way, from breastfeeding, cloth diapers, baby food making, garage saling, etc. That’s why I did start a blog series called Babies on a Budget, which I’m working on right now. The goal is to be a good steward of the resources God has given us. Another hope is that when it comes time to buy a minivan (we’ve got baby #2 on the way, and hopes for many more), then ideally our frugal lifestyle will enable us to pay cash for it and avoid consumer debt.
Thanks for the encouragement. It is so easy to get lazy about budgeting…
Congrats on paying off all of your consumer debt! I enjoyed your series. I love the flexability and freedom that being debt free provides!
Good job! We work hard to stay out of debt, and it IS a good feeling!
What a comprehensive series to help those in debt! Happy monday, and I apologize for the late linking. My article this week is important for any mother to read who still allows her children to eat school lunches regularly. One look at the dumpster diving squirrels near our school will clearly show you why! Alex@amoderatelife
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