I recently confessed to being in debt. You may remember. (If you don’t, or if you’ve only happened upon this blog recently, you can catch up here.) I started a second blog called The Great Debt Payoff to chronicle our journey to pay it off, as the name so obviously suggests. (Go ahead. Call me brilliant.)
Well, the other blog is cramping my style and now I’ve changed my mind about it—I think I’m gonna pull the plug. (This is not surprising since I change my mind like I change my underwear.)
Basically, I can hardly keep up with my first blog (i.e. the one you are reading now), so why in tar nation did I think I was going to be able to keep up with 2 blogs. Not to mention the fact that I will be giving birth to a third child in a little less than 2 months (if everything goes according to plan) and I’m beginning to suspect that a newborn (plus two kids, plus another that I take care of 20+ hours a week…all under the age of 6) does not mix very well with 1 blog, let alone 2. At least not in my case. Now, if I was blessed with the ability to write a post as quick as I’m able to down 8 Fudge Striped cookies, well, then, 2 blogs might not be such a problem. But, the fact is, I’m so much more of a cookie type, not a posting type, so 1 blog is probably about all I can handle. But I digress.
So as I said, since I’ve been particularly lame at posting to The Great Debt Payoff, I think I’m gonna kill it. I initially started that blog because it didn’t seem like the topic of paying off debt was particularly related to being a pastor’s wife. And now I’ve changed my mind about that too. Because why? BECAUSE I AM A PASTOR’S WIFE AND WE ARE IN DEBT. In other words, they go together because THIS IS MY LIFE. And this is my blog so I can write about whatever I want. That’s the beauty of it being my blog.
Besides, what started out as just a totally financial approach to working ourselves out of debt, has now become something much more huge.
In a nutshell, our lives have completely changed in the last month.
No, someone did not die and we did not inherit $284,945. No, we were not one of the 6 in Nebraska who recently won the lottery. No, our church did not suddenly decide to double my husband’s salary. No, we did not sell one of the children. And no, I did not kill my husband in order to get his life insurance policy. No. No. No.
Two things have changed: I’ve got a plan and another man.
The new plan, which basically translates into a budget, is the suggestion of the other man, Dave Ramsey. Dave Ramsey is affectionately referred to as DR around here and I am convinced every American should know him as well. He wrote a great book, The Total Money Makeover
I’m also TOTALLY ADDICTED to his radio show, The Dave Ramsey Show. It’s not broadcast in our area but I have listened to every single archive online.
(I know this is the hugest, most shameless plug ever and I promise the guy is not paying me to say it. The whole thing totally trips me out. It’s all about delayed gratification, rice and beans, beans and rice and saying no to debt. Simple concept but hard to achieve.)
DR is totally about getting out of debt. The guy does not own a credit card. People call into his show every day with all kinds of financial woes, some small, some gargantuan. There are also those who call in to scream “WE ARE DEBT FREE” (after having worked themselves out of it, one dollar at a time). Yes, they scream it and DR plays this clip from Braveheart where Mel Gibson yells, “FREEDOM!!!!!!!” at the top of his lungs and it may sound extraordinarily cheesy, but I tell you, it is so STINKING INSPIRING. In fact, a family—husband, wife, three kids—called in just today, to scream “WE. ARE. DEBT. FREEEEEEEEE!!!!!” and I cried. Yes, I did. I CRIED. Tears and everything.
The thing that totally sold me on DR was the last chapter of his book
I am so done with being a slave.
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Hi there. I'm Amy. I write here about my life and my issues. I also design blogs and websites at 
Yes, it’s nice to be debt free. Does he have suggestions on how to manage the new-found freedom and your money once you are debt free?
I will be out of debt some day…
Love Dave! We’re not debt free (mostly just student loans left), but we have friends who got that way using his ideas. They have 3 kids, he works nights at UPS and goes to school full time, she stays home, and they live in a two bedroom apartment. They are the most financially fit, disclipined people i know with their money.
I am SO about Dave. Have you been to one of the live events? well worth it.. I have even called in to the live radio show. We are debt-free except for the mortgage— it feels good.
Just yesterday i realized that we should live on rental rest of our lives in stead of taking loan for our own. It keeps us free to leave quickly if needed and free. It also gives more options many ways. Why it’s so important to own our homes while they are temporary anyway? I felt somehow reliefed with this idea.
Very, very cool. Anita, the only thing I know Dave talks about for sure after being debt free is to do three things: invest, spend and give. Other than that, I’m not sure about the specifics. Does anyone else know? Otherwise, you might want to email him. It’s so nice there are others I know on this journey too!
I love Dave too. I have set a goal to get out of debt in the next 24 months. We’ll see…………..
I listen to Dave as well and I have to admit my husband and I are in over our heads. We just started the ideal of rewarding ourselves after we pay off each bill. The reward has to be something that does not require borrowing money, i.e. credit. So far, we have not had to chance to reward ourselves but it is a motivator! Dave’s plan could really work if implemented but nwe need the strength to do it and stop procrastinating.