become debt free

S – specific
– Is this goal specific? This is not quite specific enough. Let me specify that I would like to owe no money to anyone on anything—no student loans, no mortgage, no car loans, no credit cards.

M – measurable
– Is this goal measurable? Yes, this is fairly easily measured.

A – attainable
– Is this goal attainable? Yes, with hard work and time.

R – realistic
– Is this goal realistic? Yes, with hard work and time.

T – timeline
– What is the timeline for finishing this goal? Seven years from now—April 2014.

Today I put all our extra cash onto our first item in the debt snowball. This feels like a big step because prior to this we didn’t really have it all together so that we had money to put into the snowball, and I wasn’t organized enough so that I made the payment when I had the money. Now when we get my husband’s paycheck in a week and a half, that will all go straight towards this debt. It really feels like we’re in the debt snowball now!

Plus, it looks like the massage table might sell. If so, there’s another $500 to put on the snowball! Yay!

With our tax return we paid off the dentist and the chiropractor. The chiropractor was much more expensive than I expected, so we had to scrounge for the money I was going to use to pay for DH’s life insurance.

So the ONLY things we owe in life are student loans and the house. I am determined to see that it doesn’t grow any.

Forever in Credit Opression

Debt, n. An ingenious substitute for the chain and whip of the slavedriver. ~Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary, 1911

My employer reimburses classes for my MLIS (please see my ‘get my MLIS degree’ goal) based on grades. 90% for an A or B, 75% for a C, 60% for a D, and 50% for an F. One class costs $2,750. Last semester (my first) I took one class and got an A (woohoo!). But the whole time I was taking the class I was fearful that I would get a much lower grade, or somehow get fired and get stuck with the whole bill myself. I was all set to do the same this semester (classes start Monday) but I’ve decided to drop the classes and save up the full money for a course. Hopefully I’ll be able to do it before the next round of classes start.

This is a big step for me because I think it means I’m internalizing some of the abhorrence of debt that I should have. I was allowing myself to rationalize this debt as not really being debt, because my employer would pay most of it back. But if Murphy (of Murphy’s Law fame) showed up (and he will sometime, won’t he?), we would have been putting that amount on our credit card. What idiots! Instead, when I resume taking classes, my peace of mind should be so much increased.

(cross-posted to my other goal)

My husband and I estimate our starting debt at about $165,000. We’re down to $144,000. That was on one income—my DH now has a full time job so we’re expecting to speed through the rest of it.

It’s important to record the starting number so we can say how much we paid off when we’re DEBT FREE :)

I just love this line about our attachment to debt:

Debt is like sitting in a poopy diaper saying, “I know it smells bad, but it’s warm and it’s mine!”

I’ve started listening to Dave Ramsey’s radio show through streaming audio (http://daveramsey.com/radio/home/). It’s definitely addicting :)

It’s also emotional. He periodically has people call into the show to report that they’ve become debt free, and they get a chance to yell that out loud. I had tears in my eyes listening to them in their joy. What a great blessing!

We are following Dave Ramsey’s advice for getting rid of our debts and getting our money back on track. Thankfully our only debts are the student loans and the mortgage.

Today I subscribed to his podcast and listened to the 01/04 show. Great stuff, helpful for keeping up enthusiasm towards reaching this goal.

www.daveramsey.com