Tag Archives: debt free

Day 3196 – Debt Free Since 2013!

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Like my sobriety, it now feels like I’ve always been debt free. The good times of finally getting out of the debt trap have been outshined by the debt-free days.

What’s funny though, is that we are in the process of looking for a new to us car, and potentially a car loan….as well as purchasing our first house. But having had our current car for almost 13 years and that was bought new, and knowing that by purchasing a home, we are building equity, it’s a different view.

I’ve talked about how we paid off our debt of $30,000 a number of times, the best post is this one. I talk about our budgeting methods and how we were able to pay down that debt.

One thing I’ve been learning recently is how messed up my mindset has been with money. From “I’ll worry about it later” to “there isn’t enough to go around” to “I don’t deserve more money.” It’s crazy how much our mindset impacts our lives. So I am purposing to reshape my thoughts.

What about you? Are you working on paying down a debt? Do you have a bad mindset about money?

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Did you like what you read? Here’s some ways you can support us and this blog!
Join our Facebook group, Planning an Epic Road Trip on Any Budget
Join the Journey With The G’s email list (bonus – you get my Epic Road Trip Budget spreadsheet)
Buy my book, Planning an Epic Road Trip on any Budget.
Buy my book, Trusting God With 2 Cents: 22 Days To Becoming A Successful Christian Business Owner.
Shop on Amazon (no additional cost to you, this gives us a percentage of what you order).
Check out our resources page.
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Day 3053 – How To Take Control Of Your Finances

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One thing that Bret and I have started to be really aware of is our budget. We’ve used Mint (totally free and amazing for budgeting and goals) for about 3 years. It’s helped us have a good picture of what we’re actually spending, not what we think we’re spending. As Bret has been growing his real estate investing business, there have been a whole lot of mindset shifts, growth, and thinking about things differently (for both of us). One thing we’ve started to do is have a weekly “finances meeting.” We look at our budgets, how close we are to going over, and looking at our net worth. We’ve started to keep our “envelope accounts” (one for taxes, one for bills, one for real estate, etc) as Capital One 360 savings accounts. What’s great about that is we’re earning interest on them every month. It’s great seeing our passive income grow, just by keeping our money there. I added a section to our spreadsheet that now lists all of those envelope accounts and our Roth IRA accounts. It’s awesome seeing our total net worth going up. I’ve found keeping a weekly eye on our budgets has been helpful. It lets us see if we have room to add in something fun or not. It also lets us know if we won’t meet our budget for something, and quickly see where we’ll have to move money from another category (basically, it’s less going to savings).

So what used to give me major anxiety, guilt, and shame (because of our debt), now brings encouragement, and accuracy.

What do you do to keep track of your finances?

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Did you like what you read? Here’s some ways you can support us and this blog!
Join our Facebook group, Planning an Epic Road Trip on Any Budget
Join the Journey With The G’s email list (bonus – you get my Epic Road Trip Budget spreadsheet)
Buy my book, Planning an Epic Road Trip on any Budget
Buy my book, Trusting God With 2 Cents: 22 Days To Becoming A Successful Christian Business Owner.
Shop on Amazon (no additional cost to you, this gives us a percentage of what you order).
Check out our resources page.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Day 2469 – Another Anniversary Passed That I Missed – Debt Free For THREE Years!

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I’ve blogged a lot about getting out to debt (Tips For Saving Money And Paying Off Your Debt and How We Paid Off 30K In 3.5 Years OR I Can’t Believe Bret Tweeted How Much Debt We Had!, to name a few.) On Monday, we celebrated officially being out of debt for three years. There have been a few times we’ve had to carry a balance on our credit card, but never more than a month or two.

Take us as an example, it’s possible, it can happen AND it can last! We’re just a little excited about it…

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Day 1370 – Wow, It’s So Unreal

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Today, I paid the last payment on our debt. We have no loans, no credit card balances. I have been in debt for almost half my life. To say this is a happy day is an understatement. I’ve been trying not to cry for a while.

To also realize that as of right now, I’m 2/3 of the way to making what I made last year in my business….To further realize that I have 9 weddings in 2013, the most I’ve ever had in one year, and know that I will more than likely still book more…

To know that my husband is willing to sacrifice so much that I can pursue my photography career….From moving in with my parents, to working 5 jobs, to telling me the things I NEED to hear about my business and not the things I WANT to hear.

Well, I’m completely undone.

Thank you to all of you who have supported me, whether through being my client, sharing hard advice, encouraging me when I’m down or just being an ear.

This isn’t an easy career (despite what some may think) but I wouldn’t have it any other way. 🙂

Since I can’t really take a picture of the $0.00 on things….I figured I’d share a few pictures that capture how we’re feeling right now…

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