I’d like to tell you that paying off debt has made us Mr. and Mrs. Popularity.
That we have people calling all the time who want to be our new BFFs.
But the plain and simple truth is that if you seek to make a countercultural change in your life, people are going to dislike you simply for being different. True story.
A couple of weeks ago the lovely Lady Just Heather was kind enough to feature our story in a piece that she was writing for Babble. And then said piece got picked up by Yahoo. It was cool to be mainstream media. And then I read the comments.
I was accused of everything from being a hedonistic idiot to using the 10s of thousands of dollars that I make blogging {um, hint, I make no where near 10s of anything} to pay off my debt. It was said that the only way we’ve paid off debt is because I have a husband {true, I do have a husband and true, he is the primary breadwinner. Also true? He works 3 jobs which include numerous hours and me being at home with 2 little girls by myself for long stretches.}. And then there were a few that were so downright nasty {like gross} that Yahoo removed them.
And quite honestly, it got all up in my head. Hence, my recent silence.
Today, I’m getting back on track. I’m remembering that I have a very large cheering section of people who actually know us, who actually know our story, who actually know our character, who have walked this long and winding path with us, and who will rejoice with us in less than 3 months when we are finally debt free.
That probably includes you. Unless you’re just down with Schadenfreude {go ahead and Google it}.
We honestly haven’t incurred many {if any} strange looks or snide comments from the people who really matter to us. But you might. You see, any time you win at something or anything, someone out there somewhere will want you to fail.
They will want you to screw up.
Make a misstep.
Quit.
Or be bludgeoned into submission simply because, “Everyone has a car payment.”
It’s simply not true. Plenty of people have paid off debt before you. Someone probably made fun of them, too. Maybe friends? Maybe family? Maybe strangers who accuse you of being evil and rich like Mr. Burns? Do you think that side of financial peace the snide comments and weird looks bother them anymore?
Oh and hint, the bigger obstacle that you overcome and the more your story is publicized, the more of a target for dislike you will be. Lesson learned. Also, don’t read comments on big sites. Lesson learned.
You know your story. And so do the people who count.
Chin up. Chest out.
You got this.
By the grace of God, we’ve paid off over $120K since April of 2008 and have less than 90 days remaining until we’re debt free. Check out 31 Days to Reducing Your Debt and Our Story posts to find out how.
