Marching To Debt Freedom – Couple #2
Introduction
This couple has announced to their debt that they are breaking up with it. Their friendship with debt has waned and frankly, it's time for them to cut debt out of the picture.
It has now been three months since Couple #2 began their March Toward Debt Freedom! This PUMPS me up! Why? Because I know that the third monthly spending plan is when financial plans really begin to take off!
On to the update.
Here is their updated Debt Freedom Date calculation.
What went well this month …
Great news!! We paid off two credit cards; Belk and Home Depot!!! This will free up $125 to put toward paying off the Providian. We are so excited!! We did not accumulate any new debt this month either. The cash envelopes have really helped us to “live within our means.” We never thought of ourselves as “living above our means” before, but that is exactly what we were doing over the last several months. Thank God for Joe and his plan to help us become debt free. We have a ways to go, but I feel like a different person…like I have more control over our future.
Challenges and struggles for this month …
We had to practice saying NO this month. Both of our envelopes ran out of cash pretty fast, so we had to "just say no." In a way it was nice, but still tough. Sometimes we think we need to do everything just because we are asked, but now we have realized if it is not budgeted, we don't do it. Our family and friends were very understanding. I simply explained to them what we were doing and they were very respectful of our decisions. The cash envelopes take time to get used to, but in the long run we know if we say no today we can say yes in the future. Next month we are going to work on making the cash envelopes last longer.
One more thing…in the beginning, we estimated on how much we owe on our Student Loans and Vehicle One. However, we realized that we estimated a little high on Student Loan Two & Vehicle One and low on Student Loan One. We owe about $900 less on Student Loan 2, $500 less on Vehicle 1 and $400 more on Student Loan 1. Lesson learned…double check everything, even if you think you are correct. Luckily, we owe less than we thought, but it would not have been encouraging to learn we had more debt. This was irresponsible on our part, but I want to tell everyone just in case someone else out there did the same thing.
Sangl says …
I am so PROUD of Couple #2! They have made it through the three most difficult months of developing good spending plans. They are well on their way to Debt Freedom! I think it is awesome to see that the Debt Freedom Date has moved up 1.6 months from last month!
Couple #2 – Make sure that you are preparing for Christmas in your spending plan. You want to make sure that you can pay cash for Christmas and continue your awesome progress!
I am so appreciative that you are willing to share your journey with thousands of others!
Readers …
How has Couple #2 inspired you to take control of your finances? Would you leave a word of encouragement in the comments?
View past updates from Couple #2
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Marching To Debt Freedom – Couple #1
Introduction
Couple #1 has HAD IT with debt! They have been married for many years and have two children.
It has now been two full months since they embarked on their Debt Freedom March!
Here's the update for this month!
What went well this month …
The budget is in effect and being cursed daily.
The debt is being taken out 1 by 1. Two Cards are ZERO and a 3rd will fall this month The emergency fund is funded.
Challenges and struggles for this month …
It is hard because Christmas is coming ,and I have obviously not looked at a calendar. I am going to do the best I can to go without in other areas and cut back on total Chistmas spending. This time next year I will have Christmas already funded.
Here is what their updated Debt Freedom Date calculation looks like.
Great Blogs I’m Reading
I love to learn, and I really love to learn from people I can relate to.
These blogs are ones that I read every single day. The reason I read them? I LEARN from them!
- The Saving Freak – I am not sure "Saving Freak" does this blogger full justice, but this guy can absolutely get you some free stuff and save you some money!
- Lazy Man And Money – This guy is working to build his alternative income streams, and it is just interesting to check in on him everyday and see some of his ideas put into action!
- MyMoneyBlog – Jonathan does some incredibly insightful research into his topics. And, oh yeah, he publishes his net worth. Like ALL of it! It makes me highly uncomfortable to view his personal financial condition, but I can't stop checking in! It also reminds regularly how important is that I remember how sensitive an individuals personal financial situation is to them!
Any other blogs I should be checking in on?
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Another story of life-change was released on the podcast today! Have you listened to the Podcast from Joe? To subscribe to the podcast using iTunes, click HERE. If you do not have iTunes, you can download an mp3 by clicking HERE.
Giving – Part 3
In this series of posts, I am sharing:
- The reasons that Jenn and I give
- How we determine who we give to
- How we decide the amount to give
- The results of our giving
Today's Focus
- The results of our giving
Giving is by far the most rewarding thing that Jenn and I get to do! There is NOTHING like being able to bless someone or an organization with a financial gift or our time.
Here are some of the rewards that we have enjoyed as a result of giving.
- Seeing lives changed at our church. We have seen over 1,000 people commit their lives to Jesus in the past year. We have seen over 1,000 people baptized and publicly proclaim Jesus as their Lord – in just the past year. This happened in part because of our giving. Someone once asked the question, "How much ministry can be accomplished for $100?" The response was so right, "About $100 worth!" God has given a huge vision to NewSpring Church. I LOVE being a part of that!
- Having a great spending plan that works! "What?!!!". you might ask. Listen, Jenn and I could not give like we do without having a great spending plan that follows the magic formula INCOME – OUTGO = EXACTLY ZERO. By having a great spending plan, we are able to KNOW that we can give AND save AND spend money. It is awesome!!! Don't have a good spending plan? You can start yours right now by clicking TOOLS at the top of the page!
- Seeing Purdue University grow. I spent four years there having my world rocked! Jenn spent five years there. It is awesome to go back and see all of the new buildings and KNOW that they are grooming phenomenal talent for generations to come!
- Seeing the reports from the missionaries. I actually place their reports in my investing binder. Why? Because this is our investment into leaving a legacy that will last far beyond us!
- Teaching our daughter the power of giving! This is an awesome way to teach your children a lifetime of learning! Melea clearly understands that we are giving to causes that we really believe in.
- Knowing that we have been a part of something great. NewSpring Church, Nappanee Missionary Church, Purdue University, Missionaries … The list goes on. We have been a part of some great things! What better way to live life? To be able to GIVE, SAVE, and SPEND is to be live a FULL, RICH LIFE!!!
What can I say? We love giving to worthy causes! When you have been as blessed as Jenn and I have been, you can't help but be compelled to give!
Giving – Part 2
In this series of posts, I am sharing:
- The reasons that Jenn and I give
- How we determine who we give to
- How we decide the amount to give
- The results of our giving
Today's Focus
- How we decided the amount to give
For Jenn and me, this is extremely relevant right now. Our church is taking a HUGE STEP to reach more people with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ. By HUGE, I mean $20,000,000. Yes, that is a "20" with SIX zeros behind it!
Let me put this in perspective. Jenn and I were part of the original group of 15 who launched NewSpring. That is "15" with NO zeros behind it! 🙂 That was only 7 years ago! Now, we are in a great facility that has allowed us to grow to over 8,000 in attendance and fill up four services per Sunday! BUT, our children's area is overloaded. The Youth have met in multiple off-campus locations for seven years. It is time that they had a state-of-the-art facility on campus. It is time to grow to Greenville.
God is moving, and it is TIME to act. It only takes $20,000,000 to make the vision a reality. It takes a BIG GOD to make this happen, and we are confident that HE will make it happen!
So Jenn and I are convinced that we must STEP UP and give above and beyond our normal giving of tithes and offering.
This is the first time that we will be a part of such a thing. It has been a very interesting conversation for Jenn and me!
Let me share some thoughts that I have had as we went through the process of determining our gift to this effort (NOTE: SOME of these thoughts are extremely selfish!)
- I LOVE being a part of a church with HUGE vision and a passion 100% directed toward Jesus Christ.
- I already tithe, why should I have to give even more?!
- I want to pay off my house NOW. Not tomorrow and not in three years and not in five years. NOW!
- My daughter will grow up in the new children's facility and youth building! How awesome it will be to see her grow up in these facilities! She will have a church that she will LOVE to invite friends to. I never invited friends to my church when I was growing up!
- God is in control. I am not. He is the owner. I am the manager. A good manager seeks to reap a profit for his manager! I want to reap a record crop!
- There are people who do not even give one dime to our church. If they all gave as the Bible commands Christ-followers to, there would be no need for a capital campaign.
- I want my gift to make a difference.
- My gift will be a very small percentage of the $20,000,000. I pray that some day I will have the ability to give a large percentage gift toward God's vision.
At the end of the day, here is how we decided how much to give to NewSpring's GameTime.
- We sought God through much prayer. In Exodus 25:2, it says that the offering is to be given by each man whose heart prompts him to give.
- Jenn and I had countless conversations about the gift. I believe that this discussion helped cement our commitment to the vision God has given to NewSpring. It also involved discussions with our daughter. She understands clearly that we are making a financial gift to this ministry!
- We both have a peace about the financial gift we are making. Now, I am a finance guy. I love seeing how numbers fit in the budget. This number does NOT fit into the budget! INCOME – OUTGO does NOT equal EXACTLY ZERO if we make this a monthly contribution! That might scare you to death, but it does not scare me. Why? I know that God will provide the money. He has in the past, and He will now. Do you know why I know this? Because if HE gave me the number to commit to, He will provide the necessary resources for my to fulfill my commitment.
So, this coming Sunday, Jenn and I will make our commitment. We can't wait to see the entire church come forward (by the thousands) and commit TOGETHER as a unified body of Christ to be a part of God's vision for NewSpring.
This Sunday … LIVES WILL BE CHANGED.