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| Peace of Artwork at Financial Peace Plaza, Dave Ramsey’s Studios Medium: Chopped Up Credit Cards |
In the final days of fighting our battle with the Sorceress Sallie Mae, I was on the prowl for ANYWAY to get out of debt more quickly. At first, I thought I had done everything that there was to cut back, bring in extra pennies and maximize what we were doing in our debt slaying efforts. But we did do a few final frugal and life giving things to help finish the race sooner.
1) Kick the TV Out. We had been getting only local channels but we released that last $20 in the last few months of the 4th year of paying off debt. Not only did we have a little bit extra to shove into the debt snowball, we did more effective things with our time, like working from home, and enriching our relationship with each other. Totally worth it, never going back.
2) Veg Out. I know, I know you’re thinking this woman is totally nuts. But we became weekday vegetarians during the last 4-5 months of paying off debt. We ate meat only 2-3 times a week, typically on the weekends. It saved on the grocery bills and I’d like to think we’re a bit healthier now, too. We are eating meat maybe 3-4 times a week now so we haven’t gone completely meat free. But we’re fairly flexible.
3) Work Out. Both the King of Free and I pursued an amped up fitness program what we thought would be 90 days before freedom {turned out we only had about 60ish days}. I’ll be honest that the shallow parts of me wanted to look good when we had pictures taken when we were debt free. Regardless, it helped me focus a lot of nervous energy into something else. And it made a HUGE difference in my mental clarity. Double bonus.
4} Peace Out. If you’ve read our journey at all, you know that our faith is very important to us. We relied heavily on prayer and the encouragement of faith community in the final days. If you haven’t before, TALK TO SOMEONE about the struggle to get out of debt. When you bring something into the light, it’s power over you grows minimal. Don’t drive your friends, pastor, or neighbors crazy but don’t hold it all in either.
