Getting Out Of Debt


Well today July 17th is day 180 without using a credit card. I hope to never use one again, as you know from reading previous posts. Six months is somewhat of a milestone for us because we were in the habit of charging everything, so such a radical behavioral change has been fantastic.


We had 21 total debts on January 1st, 2006 and by using the debt snowball plan that Dave Ramsey talks about, we have paid off 12 bills in full and over $10,000 in debt so far. We are finally getting the hang of the budget and living by spending only cash.


Perhaps equally as important, we have managed to double the baby emergency fund of $1000 that Dave tells us to get. We will be dipping into that to get our basement back in shape after some recent flooding, but that is something that we would have charged on credit cards just one year ago.


We have also been able to increase our giving at church and that is a very important part of this process. We are not yet at ten percent, but we will be one day, and hopefully more than that.


I have actually had people start referring to me as weird for not using credit or debit cards, and I like that I am weird, because as Dave says, broke is normal why be normal. I also have some inspiration to pull from. I work with a couple of folks that are debt free and they have become role models so to speak in my journey. I consider it very important for people who are looking to become debt free to tell everyone they can so they can find some inspiration to help them along the way.


I will be debt free one day and I will stay debt free with a six month emergency fund in cash to fall back on should anything happen. I hope everyone in debt reads this and understands what debt is doing to us as a country and individuals everyday. It is ruining us.