Why I Want to Live Debt-Free (& What’s in it for YOU)
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To live debt-free is not as impossible as it might sound. I was once a skeptic, but now I’m a believer that we can live within our means. Here’s why I think it’s a valid pursuit.
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Almost eleven years ago my husband and I were convicted to stop using credit and to pay off our debts. Thanks to God, Dave Ramsey, and some hard work, we were able to do just that.
Nowadays we don’t spend money we don’t have and except for a mortgage on a rental property, we have no debts. I’ve told our “get out of debt” story before and shared how we did it.
Debt-free living is what we do.
Today I want to share the WHY behind all that effort.
Why I Want to Live Debt-Free
What’s the big deal? Why should we live a debt-free life? Isn’t the American Way, life, liberty and the pursuit of more stuff? Isn’t a mortgage and a couple car loans a rite of passage? Isn’t plastic the only way?
No, ma’am. I beg to differ.
Now, before you get all antsy at me, let me tell you that I was once a MAJOR, BIG-TIME skeptic about this debt-free living stuff.
Sure, I’d heard about people being “convicted to live debt-free,” but I figured that it was just unnecessary. Credit was a resource that God had given us to get by in this world. Hmmm…. and HA! I don’t think so.
Here are a few of the reasons why me and my house prefer to live debt-free.
Our expenses are lower.
Since we do not have car payments, school loans, or credit cards to pay each month, the money on the paycheck is ours to spend. Obviously we have rent and utilities to pay for, but overall our expenses are lower and we get to decide where our money goes.
We’ve been able to create so much wiggle room in our budget, that we’ve been able to take our family of 8 on month-long trips to Europe. TWICE. Reason enough? Yes’m.
We aren’t “behind.”
We belonged to the school of thought that said credit cards were okay as long as you “paid if off each month”.
Well, that is still debt! We were always a month behind. Instead of the paycheck going toward’s tomorrow, it was paying for yesterday. I’d rather pay it forward than backward.
We aren’t slaves to debt.
The Bible says that the borrower is slave to the lender. And it’s true. When we had debts, we were obligated to someone else. Today we’re responsible to ourselves.
We aren’t living speculatively.
Some of the reasons that our country has been in a mess financially is due to speculative behavior, spending money that you don’t have on something that may or may not increase in value in the future.
Using credit, in my experience, was risky. Sure, we might make it big, or as it turned out, we might be unemployed for a time and be stuck in major debt with two houses we couldn’t sell in a down economy.
I prefer to spend what I have rather than hope for “something” to pan out.
The view is better when you’re not in the hole.
Life can feel pretty depressing when you’re in debt and your money — and your life — are not your own. It’s amazing how different it feels not to have financial obligations.
When I filled out our rental application for this home, there was no longer a list of creditors to claim! We have more freedom than before and it feels different.
Most importantly…
We rely on God instead credit.
When we used credit cards, we knew we had a back-up. We felt this false sense of security that if we couldn’t make the ends of each paycheck meet, well, we could carry over to the next month by letting a little balance ride.
Now that we don’t rely on Visa, Mastercard or American Distress, we rely on God.
And who better to rely on? Who can calm a raging storm? Who can feed the multitudes with a young boy’s lunch? Who knows what we need before we need it? He does.
Paying off debt was one of the hardest, yet one of the most fulfilling things my husband and I have ever done. I realize that for some it sounds ridiculous. Wouldn’t be the first time I did something strange.
For others it seems impossible. But, I think you’d be amazed at how do-able it can be. Curious? Head here.
Do you live Debt-free?
This post was originally published on January 19, 2010. It has been updated for content and clarity.
You are so good! I would love to get our debt paid off once and for all. It isn’t a lot and it was for necessary expenses, like a washer, dryer, and refrigerator, but it would be nice to get rid of it and start fresh so we can save more. We keep trying, but it seems something else always comes up.
great post. we’re working towards being debt free right now and i’m going to slowly share our story on my blog.
Like you, we used to pay our credit card off each month. When we decided to stop the insanity it took about 3 months to become debt free. I thought we weren’t in debt b/c we paid it off each month. But, when all of the sudden you had $4K on your bill and have to pay for the coming month we didn’t have that amount to pay it off and it took three months throwing the extra at it to stop the cycle.
We committed this year to pay off our last debt, our student loans, and I decided to track my progress on a new blog. We’re only nearly 3 weeks into the year and it has been so crazy seeing the places that Heavenly Father brings money from (like the Tylenol I almost delivered to a Haiti relief site but got there too late, and then the recall was issued the next day). Seriously, I’d think I was being stalked by someone if I didn’t know how aware He is of His children’s needs, ha!
Amen! We too are debt free except for the house. We are hoping and planning to pay it off in the next 7 years instead of 15. Being debt free allows you to give right when a need arises. For us, it has meant being able to go on Mission Trips. We can afford the airfare etc. when we aren’t worried about bills. Its a very “free-ing” state of living!
And the borrower is slave to the lender! We also have taught FPU, for adults at our church and I did it for the teenagers in our homeschool group.
Dave Ramsey has great advice that really works. But it is work and you just have to change your own attitudes toward debt, money & budgeting.
I just finished reading through all the posts that linked to you getting out of debt. I too find it hard to think of % when it comes to budgeting and I always found it to be overwhelming or discouraging if I didn’t fit into “said author’s” recommended % for a category.
This has given me hope and a vision. I am familiar with Dave Ramesy. I will be getting the book today from the library.
Thanks!!!! : )
Right on, sister!! We are also debt-free except the mortgage. We teach Dave Ramsey’s FPU at our church and have graduated well over 100 families in the last couple of years. What a blessing it is to be living without debt!
Oh, I forgot! Since we live debt free I am able to stay at home with our kids and work only part time for personal fulfilliment (I am a freelance musician and work evenings and weekends sporatically). This has blessed us in many ways for which I am ever so grateful.
I learned the hard way about credit cards in my twenties when I was still single. Thankfully I got a clue around the time my professional life picked up so I was able to pay off $8K worth of credit card debt in a year and a half. Never again will I go back there.
What we don’t realize is how much debt traps you. My turning point was when I realized how many of my life decisions were influenced by my debt, how I had to work jobs I hated while still going to school so my studies suffered, having to ask my parents for money to fix my car, etc.. Even now that my husband and I live debt free except for our house the mortgage hanging over our heads has affected some of the decisions we’ve made in terms of both our careers. Our committment to paying off our mortgage early keeps us in check because it’s important to have that debt gone in time for kids to start college.
Although I do think there is such a thing as “good” debt. Judicious use of students loans allowed both my husband and I to invest in ourselves which yielded very satisfying, and in his case well paying, careers in our fields. I had a course of study that is not compatable with working your way through school and I don’t regret the small amount of debt I incurred during my education.
Beautiful my friend. We believe the same way. We haven’t had car payments for at least 8 years and our credit cards are mainly used for purchases on the internet and paid each month. We are in the process of selling our house for the main purpose to be debt free. We have a TON of equity in our house and would be able to pay cash for another one. And then we would have no debt whatsoever. It’s hard to be patient when you feel you are trying to do the right thing but nothing is happening. But we are just relying on His timing and not ours. He knows our hearts.
Keep up the good work and keep spreading your knowledge and heart!
Hugs
Kim