Another debt is finished!

So, we were able to eliminate another debt this month! That's three big expenses (two debts and one big bill) in two months. Wow. Incredible feeling... This one was the lawyer. We hired a lawyer a year and a half ago to work through my annuity settlement. As a result, it was restructured and now that's our income. In doing this though we incurred an $8,600 bill from the lawyer. Yes, they were expensive, but he was the best and he knew the right people. The issue was solved in 2.5 months after 19 years of searching for the right lawyer who was willing to take this on. It was a battle I kept praying for and feeling quite defeated about. Finally, it's all done. Not only is the annuity solved but now the lawyer's bill is paid in full -- and two months earlier than we expected at that!

I have to admit, this was the highlight of October and it only happened a few days ago. We're quite pleased but very much in awe of how amazing God is... We feel blessed beyond words...

Moving on, October we didn't do much shopping for groceries and such but opted to eat more out of our own pantry, fridge, and freezer. We had a lot of success in this area plan to do it again for November. We've allocated $100 for groceries next month and I think that'll be plenty for milk, eggs, and bread. Really honestly we have plenty of food in our cupboards and it's high time we utilize what we already have so it doesn't go to waste.

Some folks have asked us for advice about how we're doing this. We get asked about it on occasion and it's really not as hard as you think it is to get out of debt and live with greater financial peace. Does it take sacrifice, planning, and a detailed budget? Yeah, but it's worth it!

No judgment here if you have debt, none at all. The only thing I ask is that you stop being an ostrich with its head in the sand and pretend there isn't a problem. I believe in you. God believes in you and trust me if Chris and I can sacrifice continuing to live without a car (a much-needed transportation vehicle!) year after year as we slog through this debt, then you can, too.

Don't let yourself make another excuse to let another Christmas go by with too many presents sitting under the tree and a bank account bled dry.

Remember, God doesn't want you to be in debt. He has a greater purpose for the money that He asks you to manage for Him. Sacrifice today means a great heavenly blessing He can provide others through you tomorrow. It's worth it. Sacrifice with a cheerful spirit!

September Review...including the interest!

Overall September was an awesome month. We paid off the credit card and I received my tax refund. We did go out for breakfast to celebrate that win but I will say it was an overwhelming slap in the face when I got another letter, a week later, from CRA that they're reviewing some medical bills submitted with my 2016 taxes. We're praying about that and just trying to stay calm as we wait for more news on that front.

I feel like my feet are on more solid ground now that the credit card has been paid off and its back to zero. It's the one debt bill, out of all of our bills, that just use to bug me night after night lying in bed when I reviewed our debts. It's not fun to have to keep paying for items that were bought a year ago; no matter how important they were when we bought them. 

So,  I got a little curious about how much interest we have paid since May of 2016 when we began to get serious about getting out of debt. Unfortunately, we didn't even know about Dave Ramsey's Baby Step Plan until December, but starting his plan January 2017 made a huge difference in how we paid down debt, however, I digress. 

While sitting down to write this blog post I took a moment and reviewed all the credit card bills from  May 2016 until September 2017 adding up the interest as I went. My guess was we had racked up $700 and Chris' guess was $1,200 of interest. Boy, we were both wrong! $1,682.24! 

Can you imagine? That's just free money! Free money to the credit card company for what, letting us borrow money we don't really even have? Holy shitake mushrooms!!! Never again! Our credit card should only be used if we already have the money and pay it off immediately after use! (Some online purchases still cannot be transacted by Visa Debit and so we've decided to keep the credit card for very specific purchases.) It was a big shock.... but so eye-opening..... It really taught us what we're putting our money towards really should be for the benefit of God and His plan for our lives, not for a company's benefit and promotion to just get us deeper and deeper into debt. 

Thank God.... Thank God for Dave Ramsey's plan and all his eye-opening and insightful logic. 

Think about it the next time you use your credit to buy someone a "nice little gift" or a book you really want. Pay cash! Pay cash or wait until you can pay cash. That good friend would rather spend time with you than get that nice little gift you so carefully picked out for them. That book you want to read may be available at the library. (I always look at the library first)

Somethings are worth buying, yes, I completely agree with you but do not buy it with a credit card! I urge you to be smarter than me. Yes, I'm dumb. I'm very dumb. I will admit it. Admit it with both shame and without shame. Shame that I did it, and without shame that I will no longer do it ever again. But now that you know that getting out of debt can be done, be smarter than I was and stop using your credit card like it's free money! Please...just think on it... No judgment here.... I just want you to do better than I ever did. I want you to win at this.... for God and for your family... 

I love you guys... pray for you often and only hope you gain a little more knowledge about budgeting. :) Chris and I talk about what we want to teach our children (yes, we're still praying for them!) and we hope that we can teach them the value of hard work and budgeting. ]I can only imagine what it'll be like when my kid gets that lesson before she or he even gets a credit card application in the mail during their college years. God willing they do this thing called life better than we will ever do...