The Mountains and the Valleys- Financially Speaking (March 2009-Present)

When John and I got married in March 2009, we both were employed and making decent money.   We knew we wanted to combine our finances and work together as a team.  We got combined checking accounts and started working on a budget.  In about April, we started thinking it was time to start getting some more guidance from Dave Ramsey, so we signed up for a Financial Peace University Class at a local church that was hosting it. One week after we signed up, I was working from home, and John came up the stairs to my home office and said,"Did you get my message".  I said, "No, are you not feeling well?"  He replied, "No, I've been laid off."  I was floored... absolutely shocked.  I knew that now, more than ever, we needed a plan.

We started FPU a few weeks later.  I had some savings so we used that as an emergency fund and we started putting as much as we could towards the student loans.  If I got a bonus check, we'd put that towards it too. We had a few bottles of champagne left over from our wedding so we decided every $10,000 we paid off in student loans, we'd pop open a bottle.  In 2009, from June to December, we paid almost $8000 on the principal on the student loans.  We started looking at how we spent money.  I started couponing and trying to cut down on household items and grocery items.  We gave ourselves a limited amount of spending money every month in order to control our expenses.  John was rehired in October, and we were able to start putting more on the student loans at that time.

In 2010, we paid off another $27000.  In June of 2010, I was told that I could either take a significant pay cut or find another job.  I knew it would be harder to make payments on the student loan but we made it work and continue to put as much as we could on the student loans.  One thing we learned through this journey is that a written budget makes your money go farther.  When we hit the bumps in the road, we took a look at our budget and made adjustments.  We found ways to keep pounding out the debt.  We learned that "A Budget is telling your money where to go, rather than wondering where it went." (John Maxwell)

In August 2011, we made our final payment on John's student loans.  We paid off $60,000 in just over two years.  We still have a personal loan that we hope to have paid off next Spring. I tell you our story, not to brag; but as an encouragement for you if you are struggling with what feels like a mountain of debt. You can be free from it. You don't have to live with the feeling that all your hard earned money is going down the drain to pay bills. You can turn it around and start saving for your future...and one day you can Live Like No One Else!