Inspiration on How To Pay Off Debt

Learning from others on how to pay off debt can be inspiring and encouraging. These are two things my husband and I need in our own debt-free journey right now.

I am bringing in a guest for this post to tell us a little about how they became debt-free as my husband and I decided to do this ourselves recently. My husband of 2 years had two debts and I have a college debt. One day I said what do you think about going through this workbook I got for free from my previous church? It was the Total Money Makeover Workbook by Dave Ramsey. It was already filled out but we just whited out the previous owner’s responses and dove in.

Pretty soon we were watching the live call-in show Dave hosts and finding whatever we could on YouTube to answer our questions. Next, we paid for the Every Dollar app and started a budget. I decided to reach out to a fellow blogger to let her tell you their families story and to encourage my husband and I.

Interview With Jen from Simply Restored

She was born and raised on an 1891 Century Family Farm in Saskatchewan, Canada. Jen, her husband, Tim, and their five sons, put down roots of their own in Southern SK as they restore an abandoned farmyard and repair their old farmhouse bit by bit. Jen is a stay-at-home, homeschooling mama, holding onto the old-fashioned, down-to-earth country lifestyle of her grandparents.

I was encouraged as I read one of her posts recently and I thought, why not do a guest post with her if she accepts my request.

Questions on Becoming Debt-Free

Tell us a little about your journey to becoming debt-free

For most of our marriage, my husband handled our finances. I was more than happy to let him do that! I was frugal myself, so we settled into a comfortable mediocre routine.

Things started to get dicey when we were looking for a country home to settle down in and raise our kids.

We were living in a 680-square-foot house, with no basement, while my husband was in university. We had two little boys, at the time. Over the course of the next six years, we had three more little boys born in that tiny two-bedroom house. Once my husband had a full-time teaching job, we were ready to move out.

We were both raised on the farm and wanted our children to have that same nostalgic childhood. But it was proving to be harder than it looked.

Our house searching was surrounded by disagreements and miscommunication. We were both frustrated and trying to go in different directions. I was willing to do whatever it took to get our country home-unfortunately this meant maxing out every loan and using all the savings we had. My husband, on the other hand, felt paralyzed by the overwhelming debt we would be facing.

Through a series of happen chance (or God ordained direction!), we landed on a podcast about saving money. A light bulb turned on, the angels were singing the hallelujah chorus! We didn’t have to go into to debt up to our eyeballs, there was another way!

From then on, we were extremely motivated to reach our goal of moving out of the city. We had an extremely detailed way to get there. Our goal suddenly felt much more simple and attainable, even though it would take a lot of work and patience to get there. It was happening. There was hope. We were making progress.

What kept you going towards your debt-free goal even when it was hard and you wanted to give up? Did you have friends encouraging you? Was it the goal itself?

We were very motivated by pain! We were desperate to change our situation: we had some questionable neighbours move in next door, the city was loud, and our house was extremely tiny. We were ready to do whatever it took. It was more than, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if…’ We wanted to change our lifestyle. We wanted our children to live differently.

The goal and the reason ‘why’ were ingrained in our identity. It felt like the ‘right’ thing to do. We wanted to be slow, intentional, country folk, who grow their own food, spend time in nature, and work the land together as a family. We wanted to be financially free so that our decisions would not be based on dollars but rather on desires. It’s an ongoing process; and an uphill climb. We are in for the long haul.

Most of our friends and family admired our desire to be debt-free. I would say many of them admired it from the outside, but would never choose it for themselves. it’s a battle against comfort, and we can live comfortably in our modern Western culture, with heavy mortgages, car payments, and credit cards.

However, we do have one family that is equally as crazy as us, if not more. 🙂 We have good-natured competitions with one another: who can pay off their house first; whoever reaches Everyday Millionaire status first buys supper. We share goals and milestones, hopes and struggles. They keep us accountable. They have been a great encouragement.

Can you give us an example of using a sinking fund in your budget each month? My husband and I are a little confused about them.

A sinking fund refers to saving money for something you know will occur in the future. We typically have 5 sinking funds going at the same time! For us, it has been things like saving to buy a whole beef from the local farmer, the property tax bill that comes once a year, having a little pile of money aside for potential car repairs, anticipating renovations in the house (cupboard doors and new flooring, please!)

Most of our sinking funds occur every year, so they have become automatic withdrawals from our account. They are deposited into a separate savings account. Yes, we have 5 separate savings accounts! These have all been free accounts within our local bank or online savings platform.

It was so frustrating to be progressing financially only to have a setback on something that wasn’t even a surprise… think Christmas gifts, taxes, car insurance. Boring things that need to happen.

How long did it take from your decision to become debt-free until you reached your goal?

For a number of years, we had a very casual relationship with debt. We didn’t like it, but we used it when it felt necessary or convenient. We had a car loan and a family loan but we paid them off. Would use our line of credit (for things we should have had a sinking fund for!), then pay it off. It was an awkward slow dance-trying to keep our distance, but feeling like we had no other choice.

When we finally committed to being debt-free, and never going into debt again- ever, we turned up the heat. It was no longer a game. We took two years to save up money to buy our acreage. The next three years to pay off our mortgage fully! We can now celebrate being 100% debt-free, mortgage, and everything!

What is the hardest thing you had to say no to during your debt-free journey? What about your husband? What about your kids?

For me I would say the hardest part was saying no when someone asked us to do something, maybe it was family suggesting a trip or a girl’s weekend getaway. I didn’t like disappointing others, or feeling like we were too intense or too weird! Suck it up, buttercup. We had more important things to do.

My husband, Tim said that the hardest things to say no to were shrimp rings… He missed splurging at the grocery store. He says, battling against instant gratification was hard at times.

My kids were ages 10 and under. They were very involved in the process. We talked about why we were sacrificing and what the end result would be. This created excitement and ownership. They would add coins from their piggy bank and now they say, “We helped buy our farm!” I honestly don’t remember them complaining about anything that we may have had to decline.

When I asked them what was hard, one of my sons said, “Well, we couldn’t buy a Nintendo Switch.” (Spoiler: We still aren’t buying one-it’s not about the money!)

What led you to the decision to become debt-free?

We came across a speaker and author named Dave Ramsey. This was the first time it ever occurred to me that we could live debt-free and thrive. I began to really believe it was possible, not just wishful thinking. The book The Total Money Makeover laid out clear steps on how to become debt-free and habits to implement and build wealth. We just had to follow the steps-put the sweat band on our forehead, lace up the shoes, and just do it! It’s so hard to have measurable momentum when you don’t have a clear goal and way to get there. The Ramsey plan helped us so much.

Deep down our decision to become debt free was about freedom. We desired freedom to live the life we wanted. Debt was holding us back. By being debt-free and living simply, I have been able to stay home with our five sons. We enjoy a large garden and a few small animals on our little homestead. My husband doesn’t have to work overtime anymore. In our season of life, we have to be patient and save up for many of the things we want, but it forces us to evaluate our purchases and the true cost of time and maintenance.

Did you find that creating a budget made it easier or harder day to day to get out of debt? How so?

The budget is very necessary because it is your road map; what you can spend or not spend. Without a budget you are in the dark, driven by impulse, The budget is a long-term plan, so get used to it! It is a key communication point with your spouse. I’ve heard it said, the budget is permission to spend. It’s not restrictive, it’s intentional.

In the past when I didn’t pay much attention to our finances, I would put all of my purchases on the credit card. When I wanted to buy anything; such as new towels or picture frames, I never took the time to learn how to check our balance. I figured I would deal with it later. I always felt anxious because I never knew exactly where we were at. This was all my own fault; my own laziness. My husband never kept anything from me or restricted my spending.

Today with the budget and using our debit card, it forces me to be aware and be intentional.

The budget can still be hard for me. Not because I don’t want to stick to it, but because we can get our the habit of looking at it and discussing it. When this happens, I find myself in an awkward limbo of not feeling like I can spend any money, because I can’t remember if the balance is already allotted for other things! It’s frustrating and annoying, and we can end up overspending.

Having the budget makes us feel more in control and peaceful. It allows both my husband and myself, to feel heard and have a say in what we want to do with our funds.

Is there any advice you can give someone just starting out on the debt-free journey?

Get really clear on why you want to be debt-free because when things get hard you need to care more about your dream and goal, rather than the opportunity that is screaming at you!

Know it’s not forever. There will be a day when you reach the other side, when you can begin building wealth, rather than paying off debt. Where you can have some wiggle room in your budget.

Work really hard for a shorter period of time. The time is going to pass anyway. You won’t regret it

Jen

Encouragement I need

I needed to hear this. I am discouraged right now because I have a seasonal job at a garden center. I know it will be ending sometime this summer. Meanwhile, my blog is suffering. I don’t have much time to work on any of the usual things like adding pins and sending out emails. When I get home I am so wiped out from being on my feet and ringing up customers’ plants that I don’t want to do anything. I feel like working at a place that is temporary is not to my benefit and isn’t fulfilling.

But I know that working at places that I don’t enjoy is only for a season. Because I am trying to get out of debt. We’ve decided getting out of debt is a priority right now. So, that means my blog has to take a back seat.

Have you recently paid off a debt or are you in the process? Leave some comments below so we can share our experiences.

Blessings!

Kimberlee