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April 2, 2012

Like a Gazelle!!!!!!!

Proverbs 6:4-5 - "4 Give no sleep to your eyes, Nor slumber to your eyelids; 5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hunter’s hand. And like a bird from the hand of the fowler. "












"Gazelle Intensity" - Ryan & I have it!  What does that mean?  It means run...run...run!!  From credit card companies with low-introductory rates & special bonuses - From student loans & car payments - FROM DEBT!  Just as a gazelle has learned to run & flee from its predator - the Cheetah!  Seriously, the fastest animal on earth that also accelerates faster than a sports car & a GAZELLE can out run it?!  How?!  It has learned to run in circles, bob & weave - anything but stay in a straight line since that is the only way a cheetah can keep up its speed - until the cheetah has tired out & gives up.  So, we RUN! (Read more about "Gazelle Intensity" - here)

We are SO over being burdened by our debt.  So. Over. It!  We still have a long way to go but if we stay "Gazelle Intense" it will be over sooner than later.

In my last blog here, I talked about some of the things I have missed out on so far due to our journey to financial peace a.k.a. DEBT FREE!  This past month was no different.  I had to miss out on volunteering at the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships because we would have had to hire a babysitter for a couple of the days & the gas to get downtown from our house would have cost us since gas is $4/gallon now.  We also missed out on Winter Jam which is FULL of Christian bands that rock!  These are minor when it comes to things we are missing out on but they are still things we would have liked to do.  But....it will be worth it.

What you have been waiting for!

At the end of each month we go over everything to see how much under budget we were so we can put that extra $$ towards our debt.  At the end of February, we had a little over $215 extra to put towards our debt reduction.  At the end of March......?!?!?!?!

$430.69!!

This is including our $99 SUV payment we no longer have since it was paid off last month (February).  We put this extra cash towards our lowest student loan which brings it down to about $1700!.  This is so exciting!  I can feel the weight of our debt slowly falling off my shoulders each month.  The burden of being tied down to our debt slowly being cut loose.  Oh to be debt free.  OH TO BE DEBT FREE!  OH TO BE DEBT FREE!!!  To be able to SAVE more.  To be able to GIVE more.  To be able to HELP more.  It's coming...It's coming...It's coming!  AHHH!!!!!

I've been following a couple on facebook along their journey to becoming debt free.  They just recently paid off SIX figures in 4 years - 33 days earlier than they had planned!  You can read some of her blog here.  The King & Queen of Free have done it - you can too!  We can too!  I cannot wait to be able to post something similar. 

The Queen of Free has a great blog about keeping your marriage healthy while paying of debt - you can read it here!  This is SO important.  Money problems can cause huge quarrels between a husband & wife.  Ryan & I had many heated talks when we were trying to figure out our budget.  How much should we budget for clothes each month, how about entertainment, gifts, etc.??  Should we do the cash envelope system?  <---That was a big one.  One of us didn't want cash in our possession - the other thought it would help us out more to stay on our budget & not overspend on groceries or other items.  We decided to do the cash envelope system & WOW - what an eye opener.  To only have X amount of cash to spend on certain things and when it's gone...it's gone, has helped out tremendously.  We have also spent at least $100 less each month on groceries.  Amazing how much the cash envelope system has helped us out.  It is a little annoying but SO worth it!  Try it!!

If you are on this journey with us - KEEP IT UP!  Don't let go of that "Gazelle Intensity!"  Everything we are doing (or not doing) is worth it.

As of right now our running total of debt is about $27,431.17.  (About $1,000 more than the rounded total from my last blog - this number here is more accurate.)

We have paid off $6,627.20 in debt since January 1, 2012!!!

Again, thank you all for your support in all of this.  It has helped out tremendously to have your understanding & kind words.  You all are a part of this journey with us too.  We look forward to celebrating our debt free days with all of you in the future!

2 comments:

  1. Heather that is so awesome!!! Joe and I have been talking about...acutally figuring out where to begin. So any pointers you can pass our way would greatly be apperciated!

    Good Luck!

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    1. I would say start with lots of prayer & go to www.daveramsey.com - check out his quickie budget tool. That was a big start with us. Getting things on paper is a big eye opener! Once you get the quickie budget tool done (you can adjust it to your needs, its just a starter sheet), I would go to Form 5 (you can download it from his website). Its basically your budget broken down into deeper categories. This is the form we use, he has others that may suit your income better so look through them all! We can talk more if you have any questions along the way! You can do it!!!

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