For those of you who are new to the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University program…this blog is to give you some hope.
My husband and I started our journey to Financial Freedom in September 2009. At that time we had tons of bills and more month than money. I couldn’t figure it out. I was the one who did all the bills, but we were always short. We didn’t take vacations, I didn’t buy expensive clothes or shoes ( I really hate shopping for myself), and our kids did not get the latest and greatest gadgets on the market. You can read about our beginning debt HERE.
Now there is a point in the FPU program where Dave says that participants get out of debt within 18-24 months (sometimes sooner). I couldn’t believe it. In fact, my thought was, “What in the world are these people doing (legally) that they can pay off thousands of dollars within a year?!?”
Well, I am here to give you an update on our status…which is surprising and exciting all at the same time! We started back in September 2009 with a total debt of $39,828. This included credit cards, car payments, student loan. It did not include our mortgage and HELOC. As of now, April 2010, ( a mere 7 mos later) our total debt is $25,739!!!! That is a total of $14,089 of paid off debt!!!!
How did we do it? Well, basically any extra money we make goes toward our debt. In the last 7 months, we have used our tax refund, a bonus check, money from acting jobs my husband gets, and income from my web design business.
Before Dave Ramsey, we would use our tax refund for credit card debt, but then the bonuses and other income sources would be spent on other things. Things we could not account for later. Interesting…isn’t it? When you have a plan for your money it works for you not the other way around. Thanks FPU!!!
