Debt Free {A Milestone In Life}

Roughly ten minutes ago I reached a huge milestone in life.

At the age of 28, I am completely debt free.

There is the exception of my home, of course.

I have never once owned a major credit card. The only time I was close was when I had an Express card, but quickly paid it off.

I had two debts to my name: 1) my car, which was due to payoff in November and 2) my last student loan that I have been working to pay off for two years now {college is expensive stuff, my friends}.

Today I am proud to say that I paid both of them off, and I am now essentially debt free. I even splurged a bit and paid things in advance, like the next six months of our car insurance and phone minutes {we have straight talk}.

In doing this, I have eliminated $736.81 in bills each month {yes, I added up the numbers}. Wow.

This is such a big milestone and I am so happy and relived that I've met this goal. I am thankful that I never found myself caught up in thousands of dollars in credit card debt. My husband and I have always had the motto "If we can't pay for it, we don't need it" and that has helped keep us from piling on unnecessary debt.

As you all know, our house is on the market. I didn't realize this until a few minutes ago, but once our house sells we will not owe anyone a single penny. I can't help but think of Paul's words in the book of Romans:

This is a milestone that deserves a bit of celebration. My sweet friend, T, and I are taking a small shopping trip to Tuscaloosa next week so I can splurge a little on new, longer shorts and lightweight tees for the upcoming mission trip.

I hope I'm not coming across as boastful, but I think this deserves as little spotlight.

Back in January of 2011 my husband and I committed our finances to God and studied the Dave Ramsey Financial University. While some aspects of the program worked better for us than others, we realized the importance of being good stewards with our money. That was the year that I decided to commit fully to being faithful in my tithing. My husband has always been a faithful tither, and I'm so thankful that I have him as an example to follow.

If you are in your first year of college, filling out FAFSA forms and taking on student loans, wondering if that degree is really worth the cost, always remember that "education will never be as expensive as ignorance" {The day I considered dropping out of college, I ate lunch with a friend to discuss my decision. That was the quote my fortune cookie held- no joke. Needless to day, I didn't drop out.}

If you're starting your first job post college and are intimidated by the enormity of living costs and paying off debts, remember that it's possible. The day will come when you make that final loan payment.

If you're fresh out of high school, working, and wondering how you will make ends meet, remember to entrust your finances to the One who will always guide you in the right direction.

Here's to being debt free!