Big news! Exciting news (well, to us! Ha!)!
Yesterday, Michael and I made our LAST and FINAL payment that completely paid off ALL of our credit card debt!!!
I mean, that alone is a huge thing, but when I think about our current situation and how far we've come... It kind of blows my mind.
I don't know if you remember, but late last Fall, Mike lost his job. It was devastating on so many levels, and one of those levels was that we had really just started making headway on paying down our credit card debt.
Which, by the way, was not our "norm."
I guess you have to go back several years, to our separation. Those months crushed us emotionally, mentally, and financially. Through an enormous amount of grace, we rebounded, rebuilt, and recovered... emotionally and mentally, that is. The financial part was a little trickier.
We had never had debt before our separation. Never. In fact, when we bought our home in our early 20s, lenders told us we actually had to open more lines of credit because neither of us preferred that mode of payment and had always shied away from it.
But, when you compound attorney fees, separate lives, and then a reunification... The debt mounted.
And for quite a while, we let it build. We were just so thankful to be together and our focus was solely on our family. When you're on the brink of losing the life you loved, the financial side just didn't hold as much importance to either of us.
So we lived our life and praised God for the blessings that neither Mike nor myself could have ever imagined. And once we found such a beautiful peace in that, we started talking about paying down our debt. Which we started to tackle.
And then, in the blink of an eye, we were unemployed. Our healthy savings had been completely deflated by the separation and we were in a position that had us both terrified.
I remember telling close friends, through tears, what this would mean for our finances. I did not grow up in a home of debt. Mike and I are both savers and "big picture" people. How in the world could we stay afloat??
My answer: I'm still not sure.
I think, okay I know, that the glory is all God's.
Because still, to this day, Mike does not have his teaching job. I have no regular income.
But God has met us in every point of our need and in fact, He knows our need so much better and so much sooner than we could ever imagine.
I mean, the blessings that have been bestowed upon us are truly awe-inspiring. A non-profit organization picked up our mortgage payment for nine months, allowing us to roll over what we would've put toward that payment and onto our credit cards.
Seriously, that still blows my mind.
We would hit points where I just knew we'd have to charge something. A broken tooth and no dental insurance? Amazing friends stepped up and gifted us the exact amount of money needed to cover the cost. Back to school clothes for Maddie or diapers for Grayson? My parents and mother-in-law have graciously opened their hearts to us and lifted us up to support all four of us.
We have worked hard, too. You know the furniture refinishing we do on the side? That money went to the credit cards. Anything I earn from Time for Tots? Straight to the credit cards. Nothing was predictable but when it came, we immediately paid extra on our cards.
And we cut back. Way back. My couponing went from "fun" to practically a side job. As we drastically slashed grocery bills, our new norm became eating at home. A lot. Trips to Target were paid for in cash and there was no fluff to be bought. Mike called around and got everything from internet to electric to gas reduced. Just by asking.
In November 2011, we were facing about $17,000 in debt on two different cards.
And now, in August of 2012, we can say...
We have NO CREDIT CARD DEBT!
Of course, we are still on our journey. Both Mike and I have our Masters degrees, which carry student loans that we need to pay off completely. We are a one car family so eventually, we'll need to buy a second car (though we definitely intend to buy used and pay CASH, as we haven't had any car payments in years).
But we know that we can do it. There is great joy in working toward a goal together and even greater joy once it's been accomplished.
So we're keeping our eyes on tackling student loan debt, celebrating the success of defeating the credit card debt, and praising God for these unbelievable blessings!!
EDITED TO ADD: In response to some comments and emails I've received, no, we have not followed Dave Ramsey in that we have yet to read any of his books (though we'd like to and now have one!). We basically used the principal idea of, "Let's get this gone." Haha. Our goal we kept envisioning was life before debt, which was the majority of our relationship anyway. We were ALWAYS on the same page; I'm incredibly thankful to have Mike as a partner!!
Want to read another amazing story of financial freedom from one of my closest friends and biggest cheerleaders? Check out Rachel's journey HERE!