Debtors Anonymous

This is something that I sometimes keep quiet about. It can be a touchy subject for many. And it's something people don't usually openly talk about. I'm talking about $MONEY$...debt in particular.

I'm very open about our financial situation. In fact, I'll tell you all, my good friends, what our debts are. Here we go:

Number 1. Our home

Number 2. That's it......

Really.....

No credit cards. No loans. No gas cards. No store cards. No car payments.

God dealt with mine and Alex's heart about debt a few years back. I started listening to Dave Ramsey on the radio, and we went to see him at a seminar in Houston. What he teaches is almost exact to Crown Financial, only "he sinks his teeth in" is what I've heard quoted. His daily radio show helped keep us on track. We slowly began paying off credit cards, loans...even sold a car for less than what was owed on it, and paid off the difference... just to get rid of that payment. We lived on beans and rice {wrapped in a tortilla of course!} to pay off those bills. A treat to my kids during those times was a 99 cent burger at Jack in the Box, no fries, and water to drink. {water is good for their brains anyway} Every extra dollar went towards debt. We were intense. We wanted out of those bills.

At one time our mortgage person told us that there where very few people that applied with home loans that didn't have debt.

Really? So she was telling us we weren't normal.

Here's normal:
*52% of Americans don't have retirement savings at all.

*The average family's consumer debt is: $35,154. (car loans, credit cards) This does not include the mortgage.

*The average American saves less than 1% of their income (into savings accounts) with most saving 0%.

* Over 40% of households spend more than they earn each year.

I don't want to be normal.

A few more statistics:
*About 60 percent of active credit card accounts are not paid off monthly.
*Last year the credit card industry took in $43 billion in card fees.
*The average graduate student has six credit cards and one in seven owes more than $15,000.
*People using credit cards in fast food restaurants spend up to 50 percent more than when they pay cash.
*Studies show on average you spend 15% more anywhere else when you use a credit card than with cash

And here's a big one: Some 2.7 million U.S. households -- one of every 73 -- filed for bankruptcy in 2007.

WOW

I hate those Visa commercials that portray the guy paying with cash as "slow". Not in the loop. That's the smartest guy of the bunch.

Now I don't think all debt is bad. If we didn't have a loan for our home we wouldn't be living here. Our current vehicle we had to pull out a small loan that we paid off in 2 1/2 years, finishing just recently. But we went over a year and a half with absolutely no car payment when we started getting control of our finances, driving around a 10 yr old yukon with 170,000 miles. Proudly.

Having no debt has given us a freedom that I wasn't sure even existed. I thought debt was a way of life. You just have to have a car payment. Credit card debt? Everyone has it. Savings? Would be nice, but we need our money now, not later.

Take a moment....and imagine....dream if you will.....that you had no car payment......no credit card payments.....no student loans........you actually have money left over at the end of the month....you know where your money is instead of wondering where it went.....you have a nice size emergency fund in the bank....your retirement fund is looking good....kids have college funds....you fill up your gas tank with cash.......you buy that new furniture cash....you vacation on cash....washing machine go out? No problem, you go buy one cash....car needs a new transmission? Cash baby!

It's a dream that's real. We don't have to be slaves. Breath the sweet air of freedom my friends.

"The borrower is slave to the lender..." Proverbs 22:7

Want more information on becoming debt free? Listen to Dave Ramsey on 550 am daily from 10am-12pm, or on 1010 am daily from 1-4pm. Or go to www.daveramsey.com