So tonight is a big night for us. Doug will be paying off his car. We paid off my car and credit cards this summer, leaving his student loans as our only debt. I guess that makes us not really out of debt…but that’s our only debt which we will work our butts off to see it gone as well. I wanted to share with anyone who is interested our journey of paying off the bills and also my advice to anyone who has the desire to do the same.
I’ll start by saying I am so thankful that Chuck Booher taught on money at church a while back because it really showed me how much we need to be out of debt, especially as Christians. I heard on the radio that using credit cards is assuming that God will provide for something that He has not yet provided for. Almost as if we are telling God He should have or will give us the money to buy something. That thought scared me along with the thought of being under the pressure of debt. So our journey began… I will let you know a few things that we do not. We do not live in a house we can not afford. We live in a tiny (very tiny two bedroom, 1 bath house) we do not have above average cars. Our cars are a Mazda mini van and a Toyota Camry that Doug’s parents sold to us for the trade in value they would have got at a dealership. We do not have a lot of new toys (other than my cameras which are work related) We do not have an Ipod, our phones are not set up to use the Internet, our TV is not flat screen, our furniture is definitely not the nicest. All of these things I would love to have!!! On the top of my list being a bigger home. We do not go out to eat very often, maybe once a month? I make almost every meal at home. We eat simple meals (I wrote a blog about that already) We do not go out to the movies. Our kids do not have the newest toys. We do not own a Wii or a bunch of video games. We have not gone on a vacation since Doug’s parents took us to San Diego last year. Although we have been saving all of our Christmas and bday money for years to go on a vacation and we might be able to afford a 3 or 4 day cruise to Mexico (in the off season) with the kids. I figure when we can afford it without using a credit card we will really appreciate it. I am a believer that vacations are a luxury not something that I deserve because I am tired. Basically we live a very strange life compared to most americans. To be honest sometimes I don’t know if it is better. I want so badly to have a nice home for our kids and for them to have the “new” stuff. I want to be in a house that gets cooler than 80 degrees with the air on in the summer time. I want a garbage disposal!!! I see the cute moms in their cute clothes and I want to be one of them! But for tonight I am happy to be here. I am happy that we have accomplished something huge that took a lot of sacrifice. I so badly want to please God with how we handle our money. I hope that as times goes on I will get better at it. I know there is so much I can still change and do much better…but that’s for another blog.
I love this skit from SNL it fits with this blog
http://consumerist.com/consumer/clips/snl-skit-dont-buy-stuff-you-cant-afford-252491.php
ETA: I do not think it is bad to have nice things if you can afford them. I hope to be able to afford some nice things in the future 
We are working hard for it!
First off… Congratulations on a job well done! It’s not easy task, but a doable one. We know because we did it too. When we sold our house in CA we paid off all our debt. We purchased a house in TX that cost LESS than what we originally paid for our home in CA. When Soowan would get a pay increase, we put it into saving plans (college, retirement) and invested a percentage in the stock market. When Soowan lost his job this past May and found a new job, our income was cut in half. We are still able to stay afloat because our living expenses were half of what he was making in the first place.
We have several of friends who have lost their jobs as well and are upside down in debt. It’s hard to see what their families are going through. They live in expensive houses and have a lot of stuff, and they are on the verge of bankruptcy. We live in one of the wealthiest counties in the nation (per capita), but also have one of the largest foreclosure rates and bankruptcy rates in the nation per capita as well. The one thing I don’t like about Dallas (at least the area we live in) is that it is very vain. Perception is EVERYTHING and reality is OBSOLETE! Truly sad.
Sixteen year old kids have Audi A8′s, BMW’s and a few even drive a Bentley. The local high school’s parking lot looks like an import dealership. Parents live vicariously through their children and what their children have and wear is a reflection of their wealth. It’s rather disgusting the amount of money people have (or don’t have) in our area.
I too get caught up in the wanting to have some of the things other people have. I think that’s normal. What I strive for is to be content with what we do have and be thankful we never ‘gave in’ to the pressure of having more just because we could afford it.