I have been enjoying visiting blogs and decided to start my own, even though I don't know what I am doing or if anyone will even be interested in reading what I have to say. I am a 50 year old management consultant who has been married to the the love of my life for 30 years and have two grown daughters and a son-in-law who we are very proud of. We are blessed to live in Scottsdale Arizona and are enjoying getting out and experiencing it in our RV! Thanks for stopping by our blog and please consider joining us, who knows where we will go...Kevin & Tracy.

Sunday, December 21, 2014

We're Debt Free!

We have been following Dave Ramsey for the last three or so years and wish we would have found him twenty years ago.  I have listened to many couples either call into Dave’s radio show or visit him in person to share their debt free screams.  I have to admit that I get a lump in my throat and become a little misty eyed when I hear people share their accomplishments. 

Many people share the mental change they have made identifying “needs” versus “wants”, naming every dollar by creating budgets, holding budget meetings and becoming gazelle intense to accomplish their goal of not being a slave to a lender. 

Well I have to admit that Tracy has always been the saver and I have always been the spender in our family.  My spending temptation has always been cars and Tracy and I counted 20 of them in the last 32 years that I just had to have.  My thought was that if I could afford the minimum payment, I could afford the car….wrong!

I know that many of you reading this post are debt free as well and that is what attracts me to the RV lifestyle in particular. Not having a lot of stuff and only having those things which a person absolutely needs is a great way to live, especially to those of us who desire to yell that we are debt free.

Dave Ramsey walks followers through a series of seven “Baby Steps” which enable people to acquire their emergency fund, pay off debt using the Debt Snowball, save 3 to 6 months of expenses, invest 15% for retirement, fund their children’s education, pay off their house and live and give like no one else.

We started this process over three years ago and through God's blessings, I am happy to report that we too are debt free.  I would like to say that it was easy or that we found a shortcut to Dave’s process, but I can’t.  What I can say is that although we have sacrificed significantly over the last three years, Dave’s Baby Steps really work, I just wish that we had found them twenty years earlier. 

When Tracy and I went into our local credit union to pay off our home mortgage 16 years early, the teller said that no one had ever done that in his four years of employment and he wasn’t sure what to do.  We were glad that with a few phone calls that he figured it out and we were off to lunch to celebrate the accomplishment of our goal!

So although we won’t be joining those who shout “we are debt free” standing just outside Dave’s radio studio in Brentwood Tennessee, we will  be celebrating our new freedom by working on Baby Step Seven so that we can live and give like no one else in 2015 and beyond!

18 comments:

  1. Congratulations, no more beans and rice. Live large. There is no feeling like it.

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  2. Congradulations. We are debt free too, but it took selling our house. We could buy a smaller one for cash and still make it, but for now we are enjoying the full time RV life and trying to keep our nest egg sound. We never did overspend very often.

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    1. Thanks Merikay, it is such a good feeling and now we too can build up our retirement and enjoy RVing.

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  3. Congratulations, debt free is such a wonderful feeling, enabling us to enjoy this amazing lifestyle, this baby steps will take you a long way.

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    1. George I agree and we have admired your lifestyle for a long time.

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  4. you shouted loud enough, I head it! Congrats! There is no better feeling...

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  5. Where else to shout but to your blogger friends.....! We are with you 100 percent... It will be amazing how there will be money for almost everything once those payments are gone.... And you can save up and get that new car too.... Congratulations....!

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    1. Rod, I agree. I know that it is like preaching to the choir because most of you are debt free too, but many of you were my source of motivation for the last three years. Hope you have a very Merry Christmas with your family and stay warm!

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  6. What a perfect Christmas gift to yourselves! Mortgage free is a big accomplishment.

    Merry Christmas and may your future dreams be fulfilled in 2015, going forwards.

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    1. Thanks Rene, it sure is a great feeling and it definitely gives us more to celebrate this Christmas.

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  7. Congratulations! Being debt-free is one of my personal goals for 2015. We incurred a large amount of debt in 2012 with my fall (and no insurance) and two rental properties that didn't pay rent for months. Do you know how hard it is to get renters out of a rental even though they haven't paid their rent? Horrible. Anyway, you are to be commended for your persistence. Job well done.

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    1. Susan - Thanks and we do know. We had a renter in our home in LA who did not pay rent and filed Bankruptcy in my name when we tried to evict her, fortunately she didn't know my SS number. Keep up the great work and you too will be debt free. Merry Christmas.

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  8. Fantastic - one of the best Christmas presents ever. Being debt free is not so rare in the RV world, but it is rare in the rest of the world. Way to go.

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  9. Well done! Being debt free is the best feeling! So liberating. Another great feeling is liberating yourself from all your stuff!

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  10. Wow, congratulations! Being debt-free is definitely a goal we have too. Still have two loans that we are paying off but one day we will get there. :)

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  11. Just catching up on the blogs I missed. Good for you guys! We love Dave Ramsey as well, and like you guys, I'm the saver and George is the spender. We do follow a fairly strict budget, which is almost a must living in an RV. We still owe a bit on the RV, but other than that, NO DEBT. We couldn't do this lifestyle with it. Hope you'll be able to live the dream someday.

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