Family Balance Sheet

OCTOBER 18, 2019

Happy New Year’s 2019: In January 2019, we were down to one final non-mortgage loan, so we created just one financial goal for the year—-to pay off that last non-mortgage debt by December. … cue the Jefferson Starship song, “Nothing’s going to stop us now”… Fast forward to September.

Debt 100

Debt 2019 Financial Goals Emergency Fund 100

Family Balance Sheet

OCTOBER 6, 2014

T – time based, tangible, Instead of writing, “I want to pay off debt” or “I don’t want to live paycheck to paycheck”, refer to your recently completed balance sheet and craft S.M.A.R.T. S – specific. M – measurable. A – achievable and agreed upon. R – realistic.

Financial Goals 113

Financial Goals Goals Finance Organic 113

Family Balance Sheet

APRIL 2, 2022

They’re all designed to help you save money, pay off debt, and achieve your financial goals, so please take advantage of them. Join my email community and get access to these summer freebies and more. As an email subscriber, you have access to all of my current free spreadsheets and printables. Share in the comments!

Budgeting 130

Budgeting Budget Friends And Family Sale Home and Garden 130

Family Balance Sheet

NOVEMBER 19, 2014

Is there anything else you’d like to add that you think would help the readers who want to become debt free? Paying off debt can be done! Thank you, Amanda & Daniel, for being so honest with your debt free story. For more stories like theirs, go to Debt Free Stories.

Debt 245

Debt Debt Free Finance Friends And Family Sale 245

Family Balance Sheet

FEBRUARY 23, 2016

Download your FREE Debt Payoff Goal Tracker. Paying off debt is not fun, in fact, it sucks! We built in some celebrations into our Debt Freedom Plan. We keep ours on the refrigerator and it is so stinkin’ fun to color in the blocks as we make payments. Bonus #6 – Celebrate your wins.

Debt 100

Debt Goals 2016 Calculators 100

Family Balance Sheet

FEBRUARY 22, 2011

Which comes first: saving for an emergency OR paying off debt? Many personal finance experts believe in building an emergency fund to $1000 to get started and then pay off consumer debt. Once that debt is paid off then start building up you emergency fund to your desired number.

Emergency Fund 127

Emergency Fund 2007 Personal Finance Debt 127

Family Balance Sheet

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

We had tried other methods in the past, but found this one suited us best since it forced us to focus on one goal at a time, rather than trying to do it all (pay off debt and contribute to savings and retirement). What are the top 3 – 5 ways you found money to put towards debt.

Debt 100

Debt Debt Free Budgeting Budget 100

Family Balance Sheet

AUGUST 5, 2015

We had become so accustomed to living off both incomes that we really had to re-adjust a few lifestyle choices so we could live off just my husbands income. This ultimately is what put us on the fast track for paying off debt in such a quick amount of time. If married, who initiated the debt free goal?

Debt 100

Debt Debt Free Finds Finance 100

Family Balance Sheet

FEBRUARY 2, 2017

Instead of writing, “I want to pay off debt” or “I don’t want to live paycheck to paycheck”, commit to “I want to pay off $X of credit card debt in 201X and I will stop using credit cards from this point forward.” ” Pay off Debt. S = Be SPECIFIC. Save for emergencies.

Financial Goals 100

Financial Goals Goals Debt Budgeting 100

Family Balance Sheet

JUNE 16, 2015

Was there something that you gave up that you will go back to now that you are debt free? When we were paying off debt we chose not to spend money traveling, but honestly our children were also too little to travel. To pay off our home early. Not really. I don’t really miss anything we gave up.

Debt 100

Debt Debt Free Finds Goals 100

Family Balance Sheet

APRIL 9, 2021

Paying off debt is not fun. That’s one reason why we included celebrations in our Debt Freedom Plan. Talk about it, pray about it, and stay focused on your WHY. Celebrate with CASH, not credit! Also, update your Family Balance Sheet every month, so you can see the reductions in your loan balances.

Debt 130

Debt Emergency Fund 2019 Debt Free 130

Family Balance Sheet

AUGUST 4, 2014

When Jon and I were married, we acknowledged that high paying careers were not on the docket for us, knowing that we wanted to have both comfortable and generous lives we decided that we would have to be incredibly diligent with our resources. The first step in this diligence was paying off debt.

Debt Free 243

Debt Free Debt Goals Student 243

Family Balance Sheet

AUGUST 11, 2016

We charted out our course of action to pay off debts and start saving for retirement. (If you’re married, you MUST do this with your spouse.) Write these dreams down on paper. Years ago, my husband and I sat down and created our life plan. We still refer to it often to remind ourselves of our goals and objectives.

Emergency Fund 100

Emergency Fund Money Finance Debt 100

Family Balance Sheet

FEBRUARY 3, 2016

However, since paying off our debt, I have become a much bigger fan of the baby steps laid out by Dave Ramsey and really see the wisdom in paying off debt in that fashion. What are the top 3 – 5 ways you found money to put towards debt. I initiated paying off the debt.

Debt 100

Debt Debt Free College Finds 100

Family Balance Sheet

JULY 2, 2015

We have been given money ourselves during our process of paying off debt and try to remain grateful and giving. If married, who initiated the debt free goal? Were there arguments during the time you were working on your debt? Not to say that we are unwise with our money.

Student 100

Student Debt Debt Free Finds 100

Family Balance Sheet

MAY 27, 2015

We made sure we could afford the monthly payments on a 15 year mortgage, with the mindset that we would pay more each month. What inspired you to get debt free? There were two things that inspired us to pay off debt. I talk a lot about this in my post “Top 4 Ways to Pay Off Debt” but they include: 1.

Debt 100

Debt Debt Free Pay Off Debt Finds 100

Family Balance Sheet

JANUARY 20, 2017

you are debt free? When we first started paying off debt we really didn’t have anything to. It isn’t even a lot of money, but it has been a game changer. Was there something that you gave up that you will go back to now that. cut out because things were already so bad! One thing I would like to.

Debt 100

Debt Debt Free Friends And Family Sale Budgeting 100

Family Balance Sheet

JUNE 2, 2016

In general though, the process of paying off debt has taught me a lot of things, and its a lifestyle I continue to this day. Was there something that you gave up that you will go back to now that you are debt free? Paying off debt and growing savings is a means to an end. Yes, but not yet!

Debt 100

Debt Finds Debt Free Pay Off Debt 100

Family Balance Sheet

JUNE 22, 2020

Living a life focused on paying off debt is not always easy. There were months we were able to send a lot of money to our debts and then there were months where we could only make our minimum payments. So my husband set up an antenna and we walked away from cable completely, saving us about $50 a month. We said NO a lot.

Debt 130

Debt Health Insurance Insurance Budgeting 130

Family Balance Sheet

DECEMBER 10, 2014

I only pay for Netflix and Hulu Plus, which is around $18 a month — a far cry from my $90+ satellite TV bill. On the flip side, I ate a lot of cheap food while I was paying off debt, and definitely don’t do that now.

Debt 227

Debt Debt Free Financial Goals Goals 227

Family Balance Sheet

JUNE 8, 2018

I came up with strategies to help us pay for yearly bills, large expenses, and we were able to pay off debts. During that time, I started to budget for everything. Every aspect of our lives was included in our budget. We got back on track with planning our spending and we were able to breathe again.

Budgeting 133

Budgeting Budget Financial Goals Goals 133

Family Balance Sheet

APRIL 12, 2016

And most importantly, find a community of others who are in the debt payoff process to help encourage and motivate you when you want to give up and throw in the towel. And finally, paying off debt is completely and totally possible. Thank you, Jessica, for sharing your Debt Free Story.

Credit Cards 100

Credit Cards Debt Debt Free Student 100

Family Balance Sheet

JANUARY 7, 2015

We quit when we were paying off debt. Honestly, that’s the best part. To be able to give to people freely – because as God has blessed us, so we want to be able to bless others. Oh and toilet paper. I might buy it again…I’M TOTALLY KIDDING! And deodorant. Don’t be afraid to be around us.

Debt Free 100

Debt Free Debt Budgeting Budget 100