I’m thrilled to be sharing our FIRST Freedom Achieved Story. Lady Julie (and her husband Sir Andy) are personal friends and an inspiration to the Royal Family. Read her story knowing that it could be your story, too. She also has some great practical wisdom to share with you in your debt slaying journey. She obviously knows what she’s talking about since they’re debt free!
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.
When I was single, I don’t think I considered myself as someone in debt, simply because I didn’t have credit card debt. But in reality, I had a car payment, a mortgage, and a never-ending student loan. Anytime I had an extra $100 to throw at one of these things, it seemed like a tiny pebble in the ocean – a pebble that served more like a rock for other things. Like, say, my entertainment budget (heck yes I want to go to the John Mayer concert!). When I got married at the age of 29, we took a hard look at our finances and our newly combined debt total. Fortunately, as a married couple, we were now blessed with two incomes, a relatively low mortgage, and accountability. In early 2007, a few months after we got married, we set up a snowball debt reduction plan modeled after the Dave Ramsey way.
And skipping in the story straight from A to Z, on February 26, 2010, we made our last student loan payment to Sallie Mae (we still have our mortgage). I can now yell, “WE’RE DEBT FREE!!” During those three years we had a baby, my job got reduced to half-time – and we slayed almost $50K of debt. We also had a few fights, ahem. It’s not easy folks. I had to learn how to say to invitations, “I’m sorry I can’t.” I had to reframe my thinking from what I thought I deserved, to what I realized is truly important. The victories celebrated and the freedom gained for your life is worth the time of sacrifice. Here’s a few tips I learned during that crucial middle part of the story:
1) If you’re married, you both have to be on board. It’s virtually impossible to do alone. Get both of your hearts and heads in the game before you start. But if one of you screws up along the way, please have grace. N obody wants to be the policeman of the budget – or be policed.
2) If you can spare it, give yourself (or both of you, if married) an allowance of fun money each month. This can seriously be as little as $20! If you just have to have a Starbucks, then have it and don’t feel guilty. This is especially helpful if you’re married, you can’t judge what the other person wants to spend their money on. If you’re single, it allows you to breathe a little bit, and you’re less tempted to cheat in other areas. My husband faithfully saved up his fun money for months and months (and months!) and bought himself a laptop. I usually spent my money on eating out with friends and race entry fees.
3) Figure out what you need, not just to live, but to survive with your sanity still in tact. It’s like going on a diet. If you say, “Just ex-lax and water til prom,” you’ll probably fall off the wagon pretty quickly. Debt repayment can be a long journey (hello, years!) and if you constantly feel like you’re financially fasting, it’s harder to stay on course. We decided that if we were going to be home a lot more we were going to have cable. And Netflix. End of story. (And you don’t have to be a couch potato – use your Netflix to try out different workout DVDs!)
I could say so much more, but really just listen to the Queen, people. She’s constantly giving you the tools you need – make your meals at home, find a different way to do the same things (Buff on a Budget), and keep coming back here to find what’s out there on the interwebs to help you save money! (This plug for the Queen was made of my own accord and under no durress or bribery.)
Thanks Lady Julie! We’re not worthy. Way to rock it out AND be faithful through the end to achieve TRUE freedom. I’m guessing in no time at all your mortgage will be paid off, too. And PLEASE tell us if you’re going to call in to Dave Ramsey’s radio show and scream because we want to tune in to listen so we can party it up with you. And thanks for your kind words, too. It means more than you know.
Come on now people! I need more stories of encouragement to share. E-mail me today and share your story in progress or your freedom achieved. We’re better together.
www.queenoffree.net
