I forgot that the King of Free is a fantastic writer. Like much, much, MUCH better than me. He can work a metaphor, encourage, inspire, and challenge all at once. He can leave you misty eyed and stronger at the same time. Or maybe that’s just me. Regardless you get to hear from my better half this Friday. And I’m so glad that you do.
Hey everybody. So glad you stopped by today. Freedom Friday is when I bi-weekly let you in on how we’re doing with our pursuit of paying off debt. It’s also when many of you have e-mailed me with your story (with either “Freedom in Progress” or “Freedom Achieved” in the subject line) so I can share your story to encourage others, too.
So there’s this nursery rhyme. You’re familiar with it. It’s called Humpty Dumpty. What you may not have realized is that wrapped inside that little gem is a debt eradication secret. By avoiding a pivotal error made in Humpty’s (the nursery rhyme, not Shock G) tale you will have a huge debt slaying advantage. But, we’ll get to that later.
Please allow me to begin by stating that I am humbled and honored to have the opportunity to share with you about our debt slaying quest on Her Royal Majesty’s site. While I write with all the authority that comes with being the King of Free (Read: not much authority at all), I am no expert on the subject. However, my expertise lies in what we have done as a family to fight daily for financial freedom. Before we ever get to the daily fight, however, we must begin at the beginning.
Which brings us back to Humpty. He could have been saved. Two crucial actors in the story never made an attempt to restore or revive our fallen hero. The King never personally tried to help Humpty. The Queen (sure I wrote her in) never personally tried to help Humpty. They certainly never worked together. Granted, the King sent his horses and his men, but he never showed up to help on his own. There was a huge mess. Instead of taking personal responsibility, the Royal couple presumed that someone else would take care of it. Perhaps if they ignored it, the mess would just disappear.
At least, that’s how it worked for us. We found ourselves with quite the mess on our hands; not quite broken, but close. Ignoring it was no longer an option. Facing a mountain of creditors and and a fire-breathing debt dragon mocking our uncoordinated efforts to gain traction, we almost never began this journey.
At some point in time, our debt-load became so large and so ominous that we couldn’t feel a little bit more being added, it was merely a statistic. We were on a plan. Unfortunately, the plan was not having a plan.
Call it a great awakening or a call to arms, but we (the Queen and I) finally got on the same page. The plan changed. The focus of our lives changed. We attacked the debt dragon and surprisingly won an early round. After the small victory, we realized together that the debt dragon is not invincible. At that moment of clarity, we found hope. Our debt, our mess, was no longer a mind numbing statistic – it was a real threat to our family, to our future, and to our very freedom as human beings. Anything else that would pose even a less than comparable threat would be met with an all out assault, so why not this debt?
We weren’t going out like the King and Queen in Humpty Dumpty and we certainly weren’t going out like Humpty either. We combined forces, King and Queen (technically pre King and Queen). We applied what we knew worked in parenting to debt slaying – that two combined influences are much more powerful than just two influences. What’s even more powerful are two combined influences working toward the same goal with the same strategy. Communication. Communication. Communication. The death of communication is the birth of resentment. Resentment between partners only serves to make the debt dragon smile his snaggled smoke stained smile.
If you aren’t married or if your spouse isn’t on the same page, fear not. You don’t have to do this alone. Partner with someone who is going through or has gone through a similar quest. You might also be questioning my credibility and thinking: yeah, but your queen is the Queen and my spouse isn’t exactly a renowned money saving superhero. Fair enough, but when our quest began, neither was my spouse. The debt battle royale, much like a radioactive spider bite or a yellow sun, catalyzed the QoF’s superpowers. Who knows what will happen in your situation?
If you find yourself broken.
in pieces.
without hope.
You don’t have to live like this.
There is always hope.
You don’t have to do this alone.
Communicate. Desire less. Be more. Fight like crazy. Learn from Humpty’s plight. Give that debt dragon an open-handed smack in the mouth.
I hope you’ve found some hope. Some encouragement. Some joy in the words of the King of Free. Leave him some comment love and embolden him so he’ll post again someday soon. I’d reaaaalllllly like for him to do so.
Be a Money Saving Lord or Lady! Join us daily for savings, tips, and fun @ The Queen of Free.
www.queenoffree.net
www.queenoffree.net
