"The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender." ~Proverbs 22:7
We just paid off the final credit card debt. About $900 was paid off just yesterday, for a total of over $1000 in the last couple of months. Man, does that feel good. That was almost all money we spent on LAST year's summer vacation! It was a wonderful trip for us, but next vacation we'll pay for only with money we actually have. Promise! Because...
We don't even have credit cards anymore, besides our debit card. That means our never-ending cycle of using the cards, accumulating and carrying a balance, getting disgusted with ourselves and paying off the cards, then ending up using them again, carrying a balance, getting disgusted, paying them down, etc. is finally OVER. We needed, absolutely needed, to break that pattern. Dave Ramsey's advice to just get rid of the cards once and for all is certainly right on and the freedom we feel knowing we will never use credit cards again is a wonderful feeling. The borrower is always, indeed, a slave to the lender and we are no longer slaves!
Our only non-mortgage debt right now is actually our second mortgage. Our balance on that totals about $8589.00. We are going to keep working on getting out of debt and paying that down faster than required, but we're going to first take a little time off baby step 2 "the debt snowball" to accumulate a little more savings. We want a larger emergency fund, not baby step 3's fully funded emergency fund of 3-6 months of expenses yet, but at least double what we currently have if not more. All our debt is, at least, mortgage debt so we feel a little more comfortable having that stay as is for now, with our regular monthly payments of course. Eventually we need and want to get rid of those $186/month payments however, so we'll step up the paydown with everything extra we can throw at it.
For now, we also need/want to buy a second car so we'll be saving up for that. So, our current and primary financial goals are: at least $2000 in our emergency fund, and the purchase of another $2000-3000 car. We should be able to accomplish both of those goals, just with the income we know is coming in from jobs, by Thanksgiving of this year. Lord willing, I should add. :)
I know I haven't been posting much. I'm finding it hard to get into a regular blogging routine, and I feel the need to only blog "without obligation", so for those of you who occasionally stop by, I hope you'll still check in once in a while. But who knows when I'll be inspired to write again? We are really enjoying our summer routine of long walks, gardening, working on house projects, and attending summer festivals. I hope your summer is going great, too!
Oh, before I go, here's an Alternet article that gives a little history of debt in America, and some depressing facts about wage stagnation in this country:
How The Hell Do You Get Out Of Debt If You're Not a CEO Raking In Millions? http://www.alternet.org/story/151448/how_the_hell_do_you_get_out_of_debt_if_you%27re_not_a_ceo_raking_in_millions/?page=1
"Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, and like a bird from the hand of the fowler." ~Proverbs 6:1-5
It's true that it's very, very hard to get out of debt when jobs are scarce and wages and working conditions are getting worse by the day. But I feel that it IS possible to get out of debt and in this current climate, the sooner the better. Gazelle intensity like Dave talks about is needed, as is the willingness to NOT be keeping up with the Joneses. Plan where your money goes, and then make it go there, rather than letting your money walk out the door all over the place.
"You will either learn to manage money, or the lack of it will always manage you." ~Dave Ramsey
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