We're Debt Free!

... except for the house (don't worry, we're working on it).

Miriam and I paid off our 2005 Toyota Sienna mini van tonight. Miriam and I took a 13 week course called Financial Peace University taught by Dave Ramsey. It really changed our lives. It was and IS a big deal. I have been relatively quiet on this blog about the impact of this stuff but no longer friends.

I could type A LOT about how much the principles taught in this class (it is not difficult stuff) changed our lives but the results are pretty obvious. We bought our mini van used in August of 2007 borrowing $22,000 to help pay for it. In February we owed $19,000. We started FPU (Financial Peace University) in late February and today in late September we owe $0 .... ZERO! That is $19,000 paid off in 7 months.

When we first started I had a goal of getting the van paid off by march of 2009 with a stretch goal of october 2008. We hit it one month early. We tracked our progress and kept our focus by attaching a "Van Debt Is DUMB" countdown sheet to a main door in our house (see picture above). Many times I would walk by that sign and get MAD about our debt and get pumped to pay it off. Debt is dumb!

We had to make some sacrifices and we will have to continue to make some sacrifices but one of the mantras of the class is "Live like no one else now, so you can live like no else later".

Last thing ... these principles, FPU, and the things Dave Ramsey teaches aren't about getting rich. It is about living within one's means, budgeting, working as a team, and making smart financial decisions so that we can give like no one else! I highly recommend this stuff for anyone ... rich, poor, or anyone in between.