How many of you have a plan you consistently follow each month to pay off debt?

Based on my own experience (before my wife and I got our financial heads together), I’d guess that many of you do not. I know the drill. You pay off a little debt here and a little debt there but it’s random and not based on any kind of written (or visual) plan. You make some progress and take a few steps forward but then suddenly find yourself taking a few more steps back.

Some of you may even be paying just the minimum payments thinking that eventually its got to get paid off. My wife and I have done that too.

None of that works in the long run. You need a plan!

The fact is that you are more likely to pay off your debt if you have a plan to guide you through the mud. Let’s face it. We need to see and visualize what we’re doing and how long it will take. If we say we want to pay off our debt but have no idea when it will happen, chances are we won’t make much progress towards reaching that goal.

Today I want to introduce you to a way for you to organize your debt free plan.

The site is called SavvyMoney and it’s designed to help you develop a plan and get out of debt.

So What is SavvyMoney?

SavvyMoney is an online debt management tool where you develop a plan that helps you pay off your debt five times faster than if you were doing it yourself. It is a complete organizational tool that allows you to set payment goals, customize and compare different payment methods, track your progress, and if you’re “gazelle intense” like me — it provides a way for you to accelerate your plan.

From what I’ve seen so far it is the complete package but one thing that I absolutely love is that it has the debt snowball as an option. You can compare a debt stacking plan (which targets highest interest rate) with a debt snowball (which targets smallest balance) payoff plan to see which one you like better.

Another thing I like is that instead of lowering the amount you pay towards your debt (as your minimum payments are reduced), SavvyMoney encourages you to keep paying what you were paying from day one until your debt is paid off. No need to play the psychological game creditors hope you’ll play so you end up paying them tons more interest.

I’m not being paid to recommend this awesome service to you either. The folks at Savvy Money have the same passion for helping you become debt free as I do and they were kind enough to let me try out this service for a few months so I could evaluate it and share my thoughts with you.

The rest is up to you.

How Much Debt Can I Pay Off in 6 Months?

Yeah — you’re right, I’m already debt free so what do I mean?

Since I will be trying out the service I thought it would be fun to simulate a debt free plan that shows you real numbers. I will be using real life scenarios that are consistent with what my wife and I were dealing with when we started our journey.

So just like in 2007 “we decided” that we are sick and tired of debt controlling our lives so we made it our New Years Resolution to get serious about eliminating our debt in 2012. January 1st was the first day of this journey and so we’re already one month in. Please assume that we’ve already saved our emergency fund of at least $1,000 to prepare us for radical debt elimination.

This is a snapshot of us at the starting line. We have $26,550 (11 accounts) in debt and we’re MAD AS HELL! Our minimum monthly payments equal $669 and we have committed to paying an extra $1,000 every month when possible towards our debt. When we first started our journey we both worked and had approximately that much extra to pay off debt each month. I will be using real life scenarios to make that number go up and down each month depending on different circumstances. In fact, just like back in 2008, we’re going to be super weird and sell our $8,000 car eliminating a $300 payment right away. Get ready to relive our intensity for debt elimination all over again!

**The image below shows 26,201 in total debt but only because I was messing around with the “record payment” feature and forgot to change it back before taking this screen shot.

This is a comparison of no plan, the debt snowball, and the debt stacking plans. I will be choosing the debt snowball method and I want you to pay close attention to the difference in interest paid using the three methods as well as the pay off dates.

• Using no plan at all making ONLY our minimum payments AND without adding a single dollar more of debt to our name, we’ll be in debt until December 2026. By using a plan, at best we’ll save $8136 in interest payments! That’s a long time and and a lot of money but for most of us it would be much worse since the debt cycle usually has us adding to our debt. That was definitely my wife and I prior to 2008!
• The debt snowball has us getting out of debt in May of 2013 which sounds super awesome to me and we also save $7886 in interest payments. We’re getting out of debt more than 13 years earlier using the debt snowball method as opposed to the debt cycle method of stress, frustration, and a mailbox full of minimum payments. Gazelle intensity is looking pretty good don’t you think?
• The debt stacking method has us getting out of debt the same month as the debt snowball (May 2013) but we would save $251 more in interest with this plan. This method would save us $8137 in interest and we’d get out of debt by May of 2013. (same as debt snowball)

As you can see the debt snowball and debt stacking methods are very similar. You may be wondering why I would choose to go with the debt snowball method since it would cause me to have to pay $251 more in interest.

To me it boils down to Motivation Versus Mathematics.

Debt Snowball = Motivation

The debt snowball prioritizes our debt from smallest to largest. Many people argue that paying off the highest interest rate debt first is the smartest because you pay less in interest. They do have a point but they’re not taking one very important factor into account. MOTIVATION. Not to mention that we’re only paying $251 more using this method over the debt stacking method.

Looking at the above chart you can see that in 6 months (if everything goes according to plan) we will have annihilated 6 out of 11 debt accounts — three of which have the highest interest rates on the list. (your results will vary depending on your interest rate)

The motivation you receive from eliminating half of your individual debt accounts is EXTREMELY SATISFYING!! There is absolutely nothing like looking down at your debt list and seeing 6 debts crossed off that fast!

I think it is essential to stay motivated especially in the beginning when you’re likely dealing with the behavior changes and the lifestyle adjustment that come with your new plan. If you lose motivation in the beginning you’re more likely to attach failure to that plan which could keep you from getting back on the wagon once you fall off.

To me motivation is worth $251 and debt freedom!

Bottomline:
Debt Free May 2013
Difference in interest paid: -$251

Start your 7-Day FREE TRIAL and get 20% off subscription!

Debt Stacking = Mathematics

Debt stacking prioritizes our debt by paying off the highest interest rates first. This is not a bad plan at all but if you look you’ll see that it takes you 4 months to pay off your very first debt. This is a critical time period in your new lifestyle and though it may not seem like much, MOTIVATION IS EVERYTHING! Keep in mind you’ll only save more in interest if you stay motivated and stick to your plan!

Bottomline:
Debt Free May 2013
Difference in interest saved: +$251

Start your 7-Day FREE TRIAL and get 20% off subscription!

How Do They Compare?

Ultimately I say go with the one you feel most comfortable with. That’s why they call it personal finance and what motivates me might be different from what motivates you. You will become debt free on the same month of the same year but maybe that $251 is what motivates you more. So pick one and GO FOR IT!

The important thing is that you get out of debt!

From what I’ve seen and experienced so far, SavvyMoney provides a very valuable service to help you get out of debt. I highly recommend starting the 7-day free trial to see how they can help you. Follow SavvyMoneycom. Be sure to follow @SavvyMoneyTip on twitter because you could win $100 for retweeting a money tip!

If you decide to try the 7-day free trial and want to continue using SavvyMoney, you will get 20% off your monthly subscription of $14.95. So for what it would cost to visit Starbucks a couple of times (Discount price comes to $11.95) you can have access to this great financial tool, save thousands of dollars in interest, and ultimately get out of debt sooner.

That’s a great investment and I wish it were available when my wife and I were paying off debt!

**IMPORTANT NOTE: If you signed up for the free trial prior to 2-3-12, please contact me if you choose to extend your subscription past the trial so I can make sure you get your 20% off.  The discount link was not yet set up prior to that date. Thanks!

Stay tuned each month to see my results based on real life circumstances! Good luck!

Do you want your 2 year old “learning” to swipe a credit card?

This Christmas Noah (our 2 year old) was given a Shop and Learn Cash Register.

At first I was excited.

The nerd in me eagerly opened it up and secretly drooled over the idea that Noah was going to start learning about money. It had buttons, sounds, lights, a working coin drawer, a scanner and groceries to ring up. Perfect fun right?

Then I noticed it also came with a credit card.

I’d rather it not have a card at all — debit or credit — but still I wasn’t bothered at first because I figured I could just refer to it as a debit card and explain things as needed or just throw the toy plastic away.

Then I heard the register give the option to “scan the credit card or insert coins.”

To some people this may come as no surprise and to others it may not even matter but I find it extremely inappropriate for a “learning company” to promote the use of credit cards in kids toys.

I don’t care what side of the credit card debate you find yourself on — my question is this — is it really necessary to plant things such as this in the mind of a child? Aren’t credit cards and the responsibility that comes with them something a little more appropriate for high school students? Regardless of how you personally feel about credit cards I think that kids toys — especially ones in the “learning and development” category — should be more age appropriate.

The box says “Play and Learn”. Yeah…learn how to swipe a stupid credit card.

Not in our house!

Why is it necessary to have a credit card with a kids cash register — especially for a 2 year old?

Why not just have a register that allows your toddler to learn about coins, counting, and paying for groceries?

If the card or the toy would have promoted Visa or any brand of credit card I would have thrown it right in the trash and thankfully it didn’t. Noah loved it and I certainly didn’t want to hurt the feelings of the gift giver who already felt bad when she realized the part about the credit card.

I doubt many people think twice about this kind of thing but I think they should. Americans now owe 798 billion dollars in credit card debt so it’s safe to say we have a problem with the concept. Kids don’t need to be bombarded by something adults can’t even handle responsibly.

Kids are young and impressionable. To know that companies out there feel the need to even try marketing the idea of credit to a 2 year old is disgusting!

I wonder how many little girls had a “Cool Shopping Barbie” — that came with a Visa credit card and said “credit approved” when the card was swiped — and grew up thinking it was cool to swipe a credit card. ($798 BILLION…HELLO!)

Credit companies know what they are doing. They are trying to put the idea of credit in kids minds to secure their crappy financial products (and profits) for years to come.

I’m sure some will say I’m overreacting and maybe even a tad paranoid but I know millions of dollars are spent on marketing to children.

They don’t spend that much because they hope it works. They spend that much because IT DOES WORK!

What are your thoughts about this? Do you think I’m being ridiculous or do I have a legitimate gripe? Should 2 year old kids be “taught” about credit cards? We protect them from other things we feel they shouldn’t be introduced to at such early stages of development. Why is this different?

Photo Credit

In an article sent to me by my friends over at Impulse Save, consumers racked up 5.6 billion dollars in credit card debt in November alone. Judging by the shape of the economy (specifically unemployment) one would expect these numbers to be down so this is an astonishing statistic. The Time Moneyland article also shared Federal Reserve data that shows consumer borrowing skyrocketed by 20.4 billion and is the highest month-over-month increase in the past 10 years

As if the 5.6 billion dollar increase wasn’t scary enough you should see the total debt load Americans now carry — excluding mortgages. It’s now a whopping 2.5 TRILLION DOLLARS!! Americans should really be ashamed of these numbers because there’s no excuse for it!

Am I off my rocker here or is this data disturbing you just as much?

For a while I was excited about what appeared to be a drop in overall debt. It seemed people were borrowing less and paying off more so why the sudden surge? Has Christmas spending become so important that we flush our futures down the toilet to fund it?

Retailers brought you the Black Friday circus and credit card companies provided the guillotine but the American consumer acted as the executioner-in-chief!

This is what I see happening in this country right now.

Americans are irresponsibly taking on more debt and spending more than they make while the Occupy Wall Street crowd protested economic inequality claiming to be the 99% who do not have the same opportunity to build wealth as “greedy rich” people in this country. They expect the ones whom have worked hard and created the quality of life they have by making responsible financial decisions to make up for their own irresponsible choices.

The opportunity is there. It never left.

The American Dream has never abandoned America; if anything it’s become easier to live the life you want. The only thing standing in our way is debt — 2.5 trillion dollars of it! If you look real closely at the Statue of Liberty you’ll notice she’s carrying a torch not a credit card.

America is not where it is because the 1% don’t pay enough taxes or because the opportunity does not exist. America is where it is because the 99% continue to outsource personal responsibility by increasing their debt! This is just my observation and you may disagree, so let’s have a mature conversation in the comment section shall we?

Thank God for those of you who have already rejected this American disaster and have started taking responsibility for your own financial lives. To those of you who have stopped borrowing money and have taken an active approach in paying off debt:

You should be applauded!

You should be congratulated!

You should be looked up to and admired!

Because YOU get it!

You understand that the life you lead is the life you receive and the only person that can rob you of that is you!

It’s days like this that make me truly question whether or not I’m doing enough to spread the debt free message. Perhaps I can do more.

My Message to You

If there is an underlying message to be taken away from this post, it’s that if you are one of the ones who piled up more debt over the holidays it’s not too late to turn things around. Your debt is controlling your ability to take advantage of the American Dream — whatever that dream means to you. So do something about it!

This is not me judging you. I used to be a part of these statistics and it wasn’t until I decided to never borrow again that my life started heading in a more meaningful and exciting direction. I’m not special nor have I had anything handed to me to make these changes possible. My wife and I simply stopped borrowing money.

You can do this too but only you can make it happen! No one can do it for you.

You can start by checking out my free email course on Getting out of Debt. (see banner below) Let’s reverse these statistics. Good luck!

Photo Credit

Anyone can say they want to become debt free but it’s our emotionally-driven behaviors and attitudes that will grant us final passage into the world of financial freedom.

Math is only a very small component in the game of debt yet it’s common for us to give it more importance. It’s true that without the mathematical principle that says we should spend less than we make the rest simply won’t work but it’s also important to point out that this principle relies heavily on our actions.

You can know you need to spend less than you make but if you don’t address the root cause of your debt you will never do anything more than just tread water. Many have been caught in the cycle of debt but it’s important you realize only you have the power to get out.

How Important is Your Freedom?

One of the most important questions you should answer before starting your debt free journey is WHY DO YOU WANT TO GET OUT OF DEBT? Figuring out the answer to this question should give you a sense of urgency but only if your reasons are important enough to inspire action. It goes without saying that if your reasons for getting out of debt aren’t emotional or important to you it is very unlikely that you’ll ever be motivated enough to pull the plug on your debt.

Getting out of debt must become a priority in your life and it should be something you think about daily. As soon as you take your eye off the prize you will lose interest and eventually fall right back into your old habits and behaviors. I can give you a very good example of how this happened to me. As some of you know I had a goal to lose weight in 2011 and in the middle of February I made it a priority.

• I started doing P90X.
• I started counting calories.
• I started eating healthier.
• I started writing regularly on Enemy of Fat.
• I started losing weight.

Then it happened.

I became complacent and the little things I was doing that were making the biggest impact slowly started to become less and less important. As this happened, I began to go right back to my old ways of eating poorly, not working out, and of course I started writing less. My priority was no longer losing weight no matter what I tried to tell myself.

The same thing will happen to you in your debt elimination plan if you lose sight of why you wanted to get out of debt in the first place. First you will make excuses as to why you must slow your roll, but ultimately they’re just excuses. It’s our way of feeling better about the failure to come. When your momentum begins to fade that is when you must STEP IT UP the most!

Your Behaviors Must Change

Our behaviors are by far one of the most challenging aspects of debt elimination. It means we have to look ourselves in the mirror and face the truth that we have not been acting in our best interests financially. The key to a successful debt free plan is your ability to be willing to change the behaviors that got you into debt.

The obvious answer is to stop spending less than you make and start saving money for emergencies but it’s the individual behaviors and habits that keep us from doing both. We say things like life is too short and convince ourselves that making better decisions will rob us of something fun and exciting.

Since becoming debt free, I’m having way more fun than I was when I was having money fights with my wife, constantly stressed out, and trying to live paycheck to paycheck. No one enjoys change especially when it comes to how we spend money. But in order for you to truly enjoy your “short life” you must be willing to sacrifice something now to receive greater rewards later.

You’ll notice that as you start changing your behaviors taking action will become much easier. Your motivation will skyrocket and as a result the things you thought you would miss out on will suddenly seem less important.

The main take away would be to NEVER stop taking action towards what’s important to you. Your actions will determine your success or failure so keep reminding yourself of why you want debt freedom so badly. My wife and I had a few rocky moments when we were paying off our debt but ultimately we never stopped wanting to feel the plush greener grass on the other side. By the way, IT FEELS GREAT!

Our debt freedom has made our life so much more meaningful and freed us up to do things we used to only dream about. Don’t give up on your freedom! It is worth every effort you invest!

photo credit – karmin photography

Happy New Year everyone!

I hope you’ve already thought about what you want to accomplish in 2012 with your finances. Are you going to get out of debt in 2012? Regardless of what your financial goals are for this year I want to kick things off with a challenge.

When it comes to managing money successfully people have more excuses than they have solutions. Whether it be saving for a rainy day, paying off debt or building retirement there’s always an excuse as to why we can’t do this or that.

Usually those excuses have to do with income so I thought it would be appropriate to challenge you to take $100 and turn it into a profit. I believe most people can find $100 in their budget but just in case it truly is a problem for some of you I’m going to extend the challenge to include ANY AMOUNT OF MONEY.

Can you take $5, $10, $20, $50, or $100 and turn it into a profit?

I think you can. Actually I know you can! How do I know that?

Because my wife does it monthly. She buys items she finds at Goodwill, yard sales, and auctions and then sells them on eBay, craigslist, and consignment sales. She’s purchased many items for less than $5.00 and has turned them into more than a $50 profit. It takes a little work but it’s not hard to do. She didn’t go to eBay college or get a degree in sales so I’m confident you can do it too!

The point of this challenge isn’t to make you a millionaire. The point is to get you thinking about how YOU can reject the notion that one income is all you have to rely on to reach your financial goals. Creating multiple sources of income is a great way to bring in extra money to help accelerate your financial plan. (How do you think the idea of me starting a printing company came to be?)

Most of you know my wife is the true brains behind making money on eBay so to make things interesting I’m going to do the challenge myself without her help. I’m going to join you to prove anyone can do it. Remember, my wife had to start somewhere too.

At the end of the month I will share with you my results. For this challenge I would like to use THIS POST (the comment section) to discuss anything related to this challenge. Ask questions, share your purchases and ideas, or anything else you feel is relevant. There are no winners or losers just a group of people interested in making extra money.

Let’s do this!

$100 Challenge Guidelines

You do not have to buy items to sell on eBay but you MUST have something invested. The idea is turn that investment into a profit. For instance, if you like to make/sew blankets then you could make some to sell and record a profit.

Items that you have at home do not count towards this challenge though I highly recommend that if you have anything at home to sell then sell it! Anything to get that debt paid off!

Have fun and be creative with the process. Think outside of the box and teach yourself how to expand your income without relying solely on a raise or a bonus from work.

You may use more than one method to earn your profit.

Please ask any questions you may have in the comments section. My wife and I would be more than happy to assist you.

Tips for Success

• Research an item before you buy it (eBay is a great place to search for items that have already sold and for how much.)
• Know the risk factor. (Don’t take huge risks while you’re learning the process. A $5 risk for one item is much better than a $100 risk if you’re unsure you can recoup what you paid. Start with low dollar purchases.)
• Look for quality well made items
• Look for “like new” items with little defects unless vintage or antique. (No one wants a pair of shoes with scuffs on them but they might be willing to overlook quality on a vintage G.I. Joe figure collection.)
• Name brand items have a better resale value
• Think seasonal. (For example; boots and jackets sell better in winter than in summer.)
• Avoid large bulky items unless you plan to sell them locally on craigslist
• Use shipping calculator to estimate shipping costs when listing on eBay
• Watch Pawn Stars, American Pickers, or Storage Wars to get an idea on how to value items.

Examples of items that sell well are:

• Name brand purses (be wary of knock-offs)
• Vintage toys and dolls
• China
• Porcelain figurines
• Lady’s shoes and Cowboy boots
• Old items that may have sentimental value

GOOD LUCK!

Photo Credit

This inspiration is as much for me as it is for you, because let’s face it, most of us set goals and abandon them a few weeks in. In fact, one of the only new years resolutions I’ve ever stuck to is the one my wife and I made for 2008 to GET OUT OF DEBT! While I’m super pumped that of all the resolutions we’ve made over the years one as important as becoming debt free was the one we stuck with, it’s also kind of sad.

In this post I want to speak to those of you who have yet to make the decision to experience freedom for yourself but also those of you who have already started your journey and want to be reminded of why you started it.

For those that are searching for a place to start, I recently contributed to Perkstreet’s StreetSense Project by writing an email-based course about Getting Out of Debt. This course is delivered to your inbox in a series of three emails that teaches you how to get out of debt by taking actionable steps. There are currently only two courses but expect more courses on a variety of topics from my friends at Perkstreet!

DO YOU WANT FREEDOM?

A few nights ago, I watched one of the most inspiring videos I’ve ever watched about FREEDOM put together by Adam Baker of Man vs Debt. What makes this video even more relevant to making new years resolutions is that just a few years ago I remember Adam posting a video up on his blog admitting he didn’t have a very good video presence but that he wanted to change that.

After watching his video I’d say he accomplished that and then some because he seemed perfectly comfortable standing in front of the crowd pressing them to think about what freedom meant to them. He talks about what freedom means to him and his wife and how they overcame the normal cycle we tend to follow without questioning what we really want.

I couldn’t help but think back to the day my wife and I decided to become debt free. As I did so I compared where we were to where we are now. My wife and I have taken our debt freedom and turned it on it’s head. We never expected our freedom to give us so much when we first began our overwhelming journey to break the chains we’d lived with for too many years.

It’s critical that you realize and understand that debt freedom is more than financial freedom! It’s much more than that and has a much greater impact on your life than you’d ever expect.

When we started that journey we had one child at home. Since becoming debt free we’ve had two more, I’ve quit my job, started a business, started homeschooling my 5 year old, and now we’re putting the rest of our plan into motion by transitioning to a point where my wife will also quit her job. In my mind, what Baker is talking about has been proven by our real life example.We are living the life we want because we defined what freedom meant to us.

In 2012 you have a chance to follow freedom or continue to feed and prolong not only your financial suffering but your inability to live the life you want. It’s up to you and only you can make the choice to break the mold.

What does 2012 look like for you?

Is it filled with reality television and unimportant celebrities or will you make a difference in your life? Remaining apathetic will only give you more of what you’ve been getting. You deserve a life that allows you to make the greatest impact on your children, your family, and society and you’ll never do so without taking a nice hard look at your life and contemplating what freedom means to you.

Do you like the life you have or do you want more? Now’s your chance! 2012 is your clean slate and it’s waiting for you to plot your next move. It should be to watch this amazing video of Adam Baker on freedom.

FREEDOM IS NEAR DON’T STOP NOW!

This morning I read one of the most inspiring “getting out of debt” posts I’ve ever read. It comes from Travis Pizel, a member of Team EOD, and someone I truly admire. Travis is an example of great strength and determination and I always enjoy reading his perspective on the very overwhelming process of paying off debt. His family had more debt than most of us and one thing that impresses me most about their situation is that they didn’t choose the easy way out.

I’m of course speaking of bankruptcy, something I’ve refered to as the morning after pill of personal finance. I’ve known people with much less debt claim they had no other way out while Travis and his family looked for one instead.

His post talks about the struggle people face when getting out of debt by comparing it to running a marathon. Many people have made the comparison and even if you’ve never run a marathon it’s easy to see the similarities. Both are hard, take extreme amounts of dedication and willpower, and both are worth all of the pain and effort.

Travis is at the halfway point in his journey and reminds himself that much like a marathon, the next part might not be so easy. He may struggle. He may want to quit. He may experience a little pain.

His point is to inspire you to keep moving and dig deep. You are capable of more than you know and now it’s your chance to prove to yourself that you have what it takes to overcome adversity.

With every step you take you are putting yourself and your family one step closer to the freedom that you want so badly.

Good luck in 2012!

FREEDOM ANYONE??

Photo Credit

The benefits of paying your debt off are enormous. The changes we have been able to make because of our debt freedom have been both surprising and very exciting. It was surprising because although I knew getting out of debt would be awesome and beneficial I hardly expected for it to change our lives the way it has.

We recently began looking at how we could further mold our life into one that best fits our wants and desires. That’s the inspiration for me finally writing this post. I’ve wanted to write this for a while and now seemed like the perfect opportunity to share how debt freedom has blessed our lives.

The following timeline will give you the basics of our journey leading up to our bold but exciting new decision to expand our horizons.

In the Beginning There Was Debt

It was the end of 2007 and we were completely sick and tired of the debt cycle we had been living. We would hit our max, then pay it down, hit our max, and pay it down on multiple credit cards and lines of credit. We had a stupid car loan, credit cards, and student loans, not to mention our bad decision to consolidate our cards then refinance our house borrowing up to the worth of it so we could have extra money. STUPID!

We had accumulated approximately $26K of debt. It really bothered us that we had a child — Bradley Isaac Chaffee (we call him Isaac) — but were living paycheck to paycheck. How could we teach him to be responsible in life when we weren’t? How could we expect his financial life to be any different if we didn’t get control of our own?

We concluded that we couldn’t. We decided we’d had enough.

Debt had proven to be a dead end street and we wanted to make a serious detour. At that time I decided to pick up and re-read The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. (I highly recommend this book) I had read it before and really liked it but this time I was determined to “go by the book”! We decided to do The Total Money Makeover exactly as it was meant to be done. No shortcuts. No more doing it “our way”.

In 2008, on January 1st, we started our New Years Resolution to get out of debt once and for all. This time we were ready but we had no idea how it would go. We became financially RADICAL and used that intensity to reach our financial goal of becoming debt free. At this time we both worked.

Years of Bondage Ended

20 months after beginning our debt free journey we had made it. DEBT FREEDOM AT LAST!

This was such an exciting time. I can’t adequately express to you just how wonderful it felt to know we owed no one a dime (well…except for the house which we would later sell to be completely debt free.)

What we did know was that we would never have a credit card or borrow money for any reason ever again. What we didn’t know was just how far reaching the benefits of our new found freedom would be. We seriously had no idea, but cutting the chains of bondage was good enough for us not to mention perfect timing for our new bundle of joy to arrive — Joseph Noah Chaffee! (we call him Noah)

A New Baby and the Stay At Home Dad

2010 was upon us and so was the very real  fact that we both had to go back to work. The first thing our debt freedom gave us was the opportunity for both of us to take off for 3 months. My wife was a nurse and got paid for a portion of her maternity leave but I delivered pizzas for Papa John’s and got paid nothing for my time off.

Getting out of debt meant we had much less monthly expenses to worry about, making it possible to take more than a 50% cut in take home pay during that time. Those 3 months were a little tight at times but that period provided new insight into what was possible. That led to us making a very big decision for our family in terms of how we would manage now having two children.

Do we want our kids in daycare? Is it possible to permanently eliminate one of our incomes?

We have nothing against daycare or people who must send their kids to daycare but we knew it wasn’t for us. If it were possible to avoid daycare we would. The added benefit of our kids being raised by one of us was our primary reason but the money we wouldn’t have to pay someone else helped us with our decision.

To some our decision was unconventional since it made more sense for me to stay at home with the kids but I was up for it. At the time I made slightly less than my wife but the biggest difference was that she had great health insurance through her work and I had none.

I was now a stay-at-home dad and it has been a wonderful blessing in my life as well as our family.

A New Baby, A New Commitment, and a New Business

Fast-forward to the summer of 2011 and things are going great! Isaac is 5, Noah is about to turn 2, and we are about to welcome Hannah Rose Chaffee into our lives. Oh the adventure it will be! I was about to be a stay-at-home dad with 3 kids at home to care for. All kinds of things raced through my head but ultimately I knew I could handle it. Bring the circus to daddy…I got this!

About this same time, we were preparing for Isaac to start Kindergarten. Though the public schools here in Charlottesville aren’t the worst I personally had a strong conviction to avoid Government schools like the plague. This is a touchy subject for some especially to those who feel they have no choice but for us the facts were clear.

American public schools in America are rated very poorly. Kids in private schools and homeschooled kids receive a much better education. We understand that some people have no choice and have to use the public school system so our decision isn’t a judgment on others. If anything it’s only making my point as to how debt freedom can give you more choices. If you use public schools and like them then fine, but if you don’t, debt freedom would give you many more academic options.

With all of that said, I am now homeschooling Isaac this year. He is doing so well and it has done wonders for both of us. He is learning to read and write cursive, add and subtract, and I am learning how to be more patient! It’s been so wonderful and I’m really glad we weren’t led by our fears of not knowing how it would go. It was a scary decision to make!

As if a new baby and a commitment to homeschool Isaac wasn’t enough for me to handle, I also started a new business recently.

Not only that but I started this business with NO DEBT at all. My initial investment for equipment and start up costs was about $5,000. I didn’t have that money when I decided to start the company so because I knew I wanted to do it debt free, I knew I had to start planning and saving — just like we did when we were paying off debt. Starting a business is hard enough but when you start it with debt obligations it makes it even harder.

I’m running my business like we run our personal finances using Total Money Makeover principles. I’m confident that I’ll have the same opportunities to manage my business the way I want, the same way we have been able to manage our family without debt.

A Bold New Transition Begins

Looking back I can only feel thankful for all that we have accomplished since that cold December in 2007. Who knew that our experience would be about more than just paying off our debt? As it turns out there’s so much more that comes with that freedom than we expected.

So here we are in December of 2011 — 4 years later — still making bold choices that enable us to have more control over our life. I am SUPER EXCITED about what we’re doing now.

My wife has begun her transition to also be a stay-at-home parent. We are eventually both going to be staying home with our kids! What a dream!! Starting at the beginning of January 2012 my wife will be cutting her hours back to only 2 -12 hour shifts a week as a nurse.

I never in a million years ever imagined we’d both be able to stay at home with our kids but it’s about to happen. Our goals are simple. We’re going to save up for our first six months of health insurance premiums to prepare for the day she quits and no longer receives benefits from the hospital. We’re going to double our efforts to grow Virginia Printing Company into a solid income. My wife is also going to use her passion for buying stuff from yard sales and auctions to sell them on eBay to bring in some extra income as well.

We will soon be living the life we want and our debt freedom was essential in making it all happen! Becoming debt free has surpassed all of our expectations. It’s true what they say, “You don’t ave to make as much when you don’t have debt payments!”

The purpose in writing this very long post was to hopefully inspire you to dream big! Nothing is impossible but especially when you have no debt holding you back. If you haven’t yet made the decision to get out of debt I hope this post gives you a reason to seriously consider it. Make it your 2012 resolution!

If you’re currently on your own debt free journey I hope this post gets you excited about what’s to come in your own life.

Getting out of debt was the very best thing my wife and I have ever done! It has changed our lives completely!! It can change yours too!

Another Christmas Stimulus in the books!

Something else that I noticed was that we have lots and lots of weddings in 2012! Congratulations to all of you either getting married or that have a child getting married! Lots of love in 2012!

I can’t tell you just how much I enjoyed reading all of your financial resolutions for 2012! Some of you even helped me add a couple more to my list!I liked them so much in fact that I decided to share my 15 most favorite resolutions!

Not only that I decided to choose my favorite resolution for one of the $50 winners. The other two were selected randomly via random.org.

The Winners of Brad & J’s Christmas Stimulus 2011

John: My goal is to finally have an 8 month emergency fund. – Good luck reaching your goals in 2012 John and congratulations on winning $50!

Jackie: My most important financial resolution of 2012 is to knock out my $1500 in credit card debt while saving at least $3,000. I’ve been working for two years and always look at my pay stubs and wonder where all that money went. Money equals freedom, so I guess it’s time to start saving. – It disappears so fast when we don’t tell it where to go. Good luck in 2012 Jackie and congrats on winning $50!

My Favorite Resolution

Kelli wrote: My financial resolution for 2012 is to stop using my credit cards once and for all! I’ve paid off all my credit card debt a few times over only to rack up more by using them again for non-emergency purchases. I would like to stop incurring new debt so I can FINALLY pay off the existing balances and never be in that terrible position of owing the credit card companies again. – Give them up! I love it! Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need them. I’ve lived without them since the end of 2007 and haven’t regretted it once. Congratulations on winning $50!

 14 More Great Resolutions

Donna wrote: My most important resolution is to honor my mother’s request. Before she passed in June she asked that I pay off my home with my inheritance. In March I will receive the last installment which will be enough to do so. I will be entirely debt free! No house, car or credit card bills/payments. My parents always lived debt free, now, through their legacy I will too. – Thanks for the face full of tears Donna! Haha! seriously though that is awesome that you honored your mother’s wishes! It sounds like you had wonderful parents!

Mike the Red wrote: 2009 was the year I got out of debt. 2010 was the year I paid for a wedding and honeymoon in cash
2011 was the year I built a 1 year emergency fund (for two people!) and began to build wealth towards multiple goals. 2012 is going to be the year I save enough for a down payment to purchase our first home. – Love your accomplishments Mike!! Here’s to your first home in 2012!

The Happy Homeowner wrote: Kicking my mortgage’s a$$ to the curb! – I LOVE the way you think!

Carrie at Careful Cents wrote: My 2012 resolution is to become completely DEBT FREE by paying off my last debt. My auto loan. I have a plan in place and am on schedule to no longer be “slave to the lender” by the end of 2012! - Complete debt freedom rules! 2012 is YOURS!

Ryan wrote: 2012 financial resolution: Digitize all of my financial documents (and other personal documents such as medical records, insurance, business docs, etc.), encrypt them, and back them up to the cloud. I’m doing OK in the financial realm, but I’m not the most organized person in the world. That is something I’m definitely working on. – Organization isn’t my strong point either.

Betty wrote: Seriously save so I can purchase the house in the retirement community I want to move to. I’d like to own it before I retire. Renting now. Thanks, and happy holidays! – We rent too and will until we save up enough to buy our next home. Good luck Betty!

Dustin wrote: For us, it will be saving up and taking a nice Disney vacation with the whole family (with CASH of course!) – despite our reduced income since my wife started staying home. We can do it! – Awesome Dustin! What a great vacation for the family especially when it’s paid for in cash.

Balanced Life wrote: The biggest struggle in my attempt for budget awesomeness is food! I don’t like cooking and eating out is heavenly. SOOO, my resolution is cook and actually eat the food I cook at home, work and anywhere else I might find myself! – Great resolution and I’ll be joining you! We eat out way too much!

Kay Lynn wrote: My most important resolution is to become non-mortgage debt-free and remain that way. – Pay that house off Kay Lynn! Yeah!!

Kelly wrote: This year, I paid off the last of my debt (WOOO!!!!) and it was incredible! My financial resolutions for 2012 are to fully flesh out my emergency fund so I don’t have to go into debt again, and to begin saving for a wedding! – Congratulations and never go back!

Amanda wrote: I will pay off my student loans! – With that determination, YES YOU WILL!

Chris wrote: My most important resolution is to stay out of debt. We just paid off $100k worth of debt and I’d like to never be there again! – Congratulations! WOW! Awesome job!

Lynda wrote: This year we will have ALL consumer debt PAID IN FULL !! Then the work will begin in earnest to pay off the house. There’s light and the end of this tunnel and I’m really beginning to see all our efforts are worth it !!! – Your effort will be rewarded a million times over and in more areas of your life than just financial! Keep rocking it!

Gina M Maddox wrote: I resolve to stop using credit for daily expenses and switch to debit, despite the “rewards” that our credit card offers! Thanks for the chance to win! – That’s what we do too. You should look at Perkstreet Checking. They offer Perks and I love them!

That’s all folks! Thanks for a terrific year and I look forward to seeing you all in 2012!

On the first day of Christmas my habits gave to me: One Empty Wallet

On the second day of Christmas my habits gave to me: Two-hundred Sales

And one empty wallet.

On the third day of Christmas my habits gave to me: Three Reasons to Shop

Two-hundred Sales
And One Empty Wallet.

On the fourth day of Christmas my habits gave to me: Four Credit Offers

Three Reasons to Shop
Two-hundred Sales
and One Empty Wallet.

On the fifth day of Christmas my habits gave to me: Five New Credit Cards

Four Credit Offers
Three Reasons to Shop
Two-hundred Sales
and One Empty Wallet.

On the sixth day of Christmas my habits gave to me: Six Needs a Wanting

Five New Credit Cards
Four Credit Offers
Three Reasons to Shop
Two-hundred Sales
and One Empty Wallet.

On the seventh day of Christmas my habits gave to me: Seven Days a Shopping

Six Needs a Wanting
Five New Credit Cards
Four Credit Offers
Three Reasons to Shop
Two-hundred Sales
and One Empty Wallet.

On the eighth day of Christmas my habits gave to me: Eight Impressed Neighbors

Seven Days a Shopping
Six Needs a Wanting
Five New Credit Cards
Four Credit Offers
Three Reasons to Shop
Two-hundred Sales
and One Empty Wallet.

On the ninth day of Christmas my habits gave to me: Nine Minimum Payments

Eight Impressed Neighbors
Seven Days a Shopping
Six New Needs a Wanting
Five New Credit Cards
Four Credit Offers
Three Reasons to Shop
Two-hundred Sales
and One Empty Wallet.

On the tenth day of Christmas my habits gave to me: Ten Exceeded Limits

Nine Minimum Payments
Eight Impressed Neighbors
Seven Days a Shopping
Six Needs a Wanting
Five New Credit Cards
Four Credit Offers
Three Reasons to Shop
Two-hundred Sales
and One Empty Wallet.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my habits gave to me: Eleven Money Fights

Ten Exceeded Limits
Nine Minimum Payments
Eight Impressed Neighbors
Seven Days a Shopping
Six Needs a Wanting
Five New Credit Cards
Four Credit Offers
Three Reasons to Shop
Two-hundred Sales
and One Empty Wallet.

On the twelfth day of Christmas my habits gave to me: 12 Months of Debt

Eleven Money Fights
Ten Exceeded Limits
Nine Minimum Payments
Eight Impressed Neighbors
Seven Days a Shopping
Six Needs a Wanting
Five New Credit Cards
Four Credit Offers
Three Reasons to Shop
Two-hundred Sales
and One Empty Wallet.

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Guess who’s back with my very favorite giveaway of the year?

That’s right, this is when we dig into our own pockets to show our appreciation for all of you! No sponsors here, just two guys who enjoy what we do and want to say THANK YOU for making it possible!

YOU GUYS ROCK! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Here’s how it works.

I’m going to be giving $150 and J Money (aka J DINERO) will be giving $150 on Budgets Are Sexy. (CLICK HERE TO ENTER  J’s giveaway)

We will be giving more of you a chance to win by splitting up the prizes into $50 “gift baskets”. That’s right, 6 of you will be randomly chosen to win $50 via random.org. (get paid via Paypal, Amazon, and if you live in the States a Visa Gift Card.) It’s up to you!

All you have to do to enter is answer one simple question:

What is your most important financial resolution for 2012?

With 2011 coming to an end and  that “New Year Resolution” adrenaline starting to pump you up about what you’re going to do in 2012, it’s time to start thinking about it.

Leave a comment below with your most important financial resolution to be entered for this giveaway. Once you enter here be sure to visit J Money’s Blog to give yourself 3 more chances to win. You could win twice!

Winners will be announced Sunday December 18th. You will have until midnight December 17th to enter this giveaway.

Merry Christmas everyone and THANKS FOR READING year after year!

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We did learn some things and feel very blessed to have been able to share that time together. For starters it inspired and motivated us to develop a plan to bring my wife home so we’re both stay-at-home parents.

My wife is a great nurse and loves her job but who wouldn’t want to make that happen if they could. We do and we will and because we’re debt free…it’s more than possible.

Now for the results of my second annual No Restaurants in November.

As I stated in my last post we did perfectly. We ate out ZERO times and really didn’t miss it all that much. I even went out to a place called Beer Run with some fellow bloggers and didn’t order anything but water. I made up for it recently as Jacob from My Personal Finance Journey and my friend from Well Heeled Blog met for dinner. We chose a nice local pizza place and it was definitely a novelty.

So here is what we spent in November on groceries. I mentioned in my last post that we spent $137.05 right at the very end of October to prepare for November’s challenge. I was surprised to learn we only spent another $285.69 the rest of the month. Our grocery budget is usually about $450 each month. So to spend almost $1000 on eating out and grocery store trips one month and then spend less than budgeted the next is pretty awesome!

October – we spent $995.55 (652.26 eating out and $343.29 on groceries)

November – we spent $422.74 (groceries only)

We saved $572.81 in the month of November by NOT EATING OUT.

As I stated in some of the comments during November we plan to continue the savings through December. With our new goal of bringing my wife home we’ll need to save hardcore to make it happen faster. Of course it also means I need to build my new company Virginia Printing Company to replace her income and we have a plan to make extra money by buying from auctions and yard sales ad reselling on eBay.

Some people say “we can’t, it’s not possible”, we’re saying try and stop us!

Stay tuned in January for my $100 challenge where I will challenge you to turn $100 into a profit. For those of you who can’t quite afford to do it with $100 I am going to offer smaller challenges too. My wife and I are going to be doing this on a much bigger scale and it’s going to be fun. I will be sharing articles about the process my wife uses to make a profit each month to earn us extra income.

It’s true, she’s a rock star but you can be to. Tomorrow I’ll be posting about our latest auction experience and why we think we’ll easily double our investment. Like money? for the last two years my man J Dinero and I have been doing Brad & J’s Christmas Stimulus. This week I’ll also be posting our third giveaway and we’ll both be giving away $100 each!

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Tired of flushing money down the toilet...

Well the month has almost come and gone and I cant say I’ve really missed going out to eat all that much.

For the most part it has given our family extra time in the kitchen to bond. My wife and I have tag teamed the meals as well as taken turns cooking meals individually. When it’s time to do dishes Isaac has enthusiastically helped clear the table and load the dishwasher. So we have saved money but also created a fine little helper in the process.

Isaac helped in more ways than one too. We really only had a couple of times where we really wanted to break the No Restaurants challenge but were never really in any danger of doing so. We were quick to point out the times when we normally would have eaten out though and even though we were just discussing it Isaac was very quick to say, “No Daddy. No Restaurants in November remember?”

This caused me to test him on a couple of occasions too.

I’d say alright gang, let’s head to McDonald’s, knowing full well it was Isaac’s favorite place. (not because the food is great but because of the cheap toys) Even at those moments our 5 year old son stood firm and quickly reminded us that we couldn’t eat out. I love that little boy!

If absolutely no one at all read my blog but I was able to have the same affect on our children as I’ve had on Isaac, it would be totally worth it. My son is learning through our personal finance experience.

I swear one day soon I’m going to interview him and post it here. Our experience with Isaac (our other kids are too young) has proven just how much children pay attention. They are absorbent little sponges and if you are making an effort to take advantage of as many teachable moments you can it will pay off.

I intended on posting about all this last week but preparing for my wife to return to work among other things rocked our schedule last week. My world has completely changed too now that she’s finally back to work. We already miss her but we thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to have her home for 3 long months.

I told you I would share my food costs for the month of October so here goes. I think I may be more embarrassed than I was at last years October confession.

In October we spent a whopping $21 a day eating out for a total cost of $652.26. That alone gave us the strength to say no with great ease this time around. We actually spent $480.34 on groceries in October with $137.05 of that preparing for the first part of November. Still, $343.29 in groceries is a lot when you spend almost $700 on restaurants.

These figures have convinced my wife and I that we NEED to carry on the challenge into December as well. We will probably go out to eat once  in December but that’s it. We are more determined than ever to make sure we stop the out of control spending in the food department. I hate thinking about how much money we wasted BUT COULD HAVE SAVED had we had a little more control. The truth is we were absolutely careless and spent irresponsibly each and every month.

NO MORE!!

That’s it for me today but get ready for a new challenge in January. This new challenge was partly inspired by my wife who happens to have made thousands of dollars over her 3 month maternity leave by buying items at yard sales, thrift stores, and auctions and then turning around and selling them on eBay and Craigslist for a great profit. The other part of this challenge was inspired by a reader who mentioned something about it in the comments section.

January Challenge: Take $100 and see how much you can turn it into. Stay tuned!

For the challenge I will be keeping track of everything my wife spends in January on items for resale. (not just the $100) At the end of the month I will report how much she turned it into. I’m excited about it!

P.S. The last No Restaurants in November post will be posted on Friday!

So how did you do in November? Did you stick to your plan to avoid restaurants? Was it hard? How much money did you save?

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You may love it and you may hate it but I wanted to share my submission to the Turkey Talks Writing Contest hosted by Impulse Save. We were supposed to tell our financial story and since I’ve told my story a gazillion times I thought it would be more interesting if I shook things up a bit. I would LOVE to hear what you think so please leave a comment below.

As I sat on the park bench watching other families laugh and play, I couldn’t help but feel resentment. That was supposed to be me and my family, but recent events would clearly make that impossible. How could my wife do this to me?

What did she do? Only the worst thing a wife could do to her passionate husband dedicated to ridding the world of debt that’s all. I checked the mail and found out that my wife racked up almost $2,000 on a credit card she had been hiding from me for over a year.

Imagine the look on my face – THE Enemy of Debt – as I peeled open the envelope to reveal such news.

We’ve been through so much together financially and I thought we were on the same team.

It was only four years ago that we pledged to eradicate our debt together once and for all. At that time we were like everyone else — broke, living paycheck to paycheck, and seriously on edge about our finances.

Where do I start? We got married in 2004 and got the deal of a lifetime on our first home. Then we ruined it all by turning around and refinancing it adding an additional $30,000 onto our mortgage. As if that wasn’t bad enough, we consolidated all of our maxed out credit cards and lines of credit into the refinance giving us the “sweet opportunity” to pay on those loans for 30 years. (Note my sarcasm)

On top of that we had a car payment, an addiction to spending, and a proclivity to buy anything we wanted on impulse whether we needed it or not. We had no budget, no communication, and no emergency fund to speak of.

We argued and pointed fingers but it didn’t stop us from burying ourselves in about $26,000 of debt.

Then at the end of 2007 we took the plunge. We decided (together) that we were going to start our Total Money Makeover as our 2008 New Year’s resolution. We sacrificed and eliminated so much; sold things we forgot we had and got rid of our car payment. I even sold my beloved Xbox 360 and for the first time ever we had an emergency fund of $2,000 that wasn’t earmarked for the pizza man.

We were on a roll and our road to freedom was rocketing full steam ahead. 20 months after starting our resolution to eliminate our debt it happened – we were debt free!! The journey was tough but it was totally worth it. We learned so much, or so I thought.

Looking back though, I can see all of the red flags and clues staring me right in the face. I feel like such a turkey! How could I be so naïve? All I could think about was where I went wrong. Could I have done something differently? Was I too hardcore about our finances?

That night I slept on the couch in a fetal position and tried to hold back the tears. Then I heard her voice, hopefully ready to apologize for her crimes of mass destruction.

“Brad! Brad! Are you okay? Brad!”

As I opened my eyes I realized something. The worst moment of my life suddenly became the best. As I wiped the sleep from my eyes it hit me. I had just had a nightmare.

Whew!

I hugged my wife so tight and said “I love you!” She had a puzzled look on her face as she wondered what was going on. I explained everything and she struggled to keep from rolling on the floor.

I have a lot to be thankful for and one of them is having a wife who supports and is dedicated to staying debt free. After all we’ve been through it’s absolutely awesome to know we’re still walking hand-in-hand towards our financial dreams.

In case you’re wondering, I actually had this dream and man did it SUCK! It was so vivid and I just knew it was real!

My wife is still an ENEMY OF DEBT! Life is good!

This post was originally published here.
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If you’ve been a reader for more than a year you probably know I hate Black Friday. There are many reasons for this and I won’t go into it again but I really have a problem with what the Christmas season has become. Really what we have let it become but I digress.

Gobble up your turkey and say bye to your family because you have early sales to hit up! (Yes, this is sarcasm.)

This year I wanted to provide a checklist of questions to ask yourself to make sure you are getting the most out of your hassle. If there was only one reason to avoid Black Friday for me, it would be because of the animalistic crowds bent on the destruction of civility once an item on their Christmas list is almost out of stock.

Here are 18 very important questions to ask yourself to ensure you’ve thought of everything.

1. Is Black Friday a gimmick to get more of my money?
2. Should I spend time with my family on Thanksgiving or bounce to go shopping?
3. Can I wait for Cyber Monday?
4. Am I insane for camping out in front of the store at 3 a.m.?
5. Do I have a Christmas budget in place to avoid overspending?
6. Is my purse/wallet secure from the grasp of thieves?
7. Is this parking spot well lit and does it provide extra security measures?
8. Is a sale worth fighting with this disgruntled shopper over?
9. Is this purchase a need, a want, or a gift?
10. How much Christmas Debt am I accumulating?
11. How long will it take me to pay off my Christmas debt?
12. Is the interest I’ll pay on this purchase more than the discount itself?
13. Should I use my Perkstreet Rewards Debit Card instead of this lame credit card?
14. Is this item truly on sale or was it marked up before it was marked down?
15. Can I get this item online for a better price?
16. Can the person I’m buying this gift for truly use it?
17. Am I buying this gift only because it’s “on sale”?
18. Am I spending way too much money this Christmas?
19. How come I didn’t save up for Christmas throughout the year?

There you have it. I’m sure you could add more possible questions to ask so feel free to add your two cents in the comments section. If you do decide to brave the crowds I hope you stay safe and truly benefit from your experience. Me? I’m staying home with my wife and we’re going to start a fire, have a glass of wine and enjoy a good movie.

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3 loooooooong weeks ago I posted the Kill Off Your Debt $500 giveaway.

Hopefully you entered to win! If not, keep your eyes peeled open for my next giveaway in December. Then I will be co-hosting the 3rd annual Brad & J’s Christmas Stimulus 2011, where we show our appreciation for all of you.

The giveaway went great and it was really fun to read all of the great things you would do once you’re debt free. Thank you all for participating!!

After 533 entries — including 19 blog post entries and approximately 144 tweets — a winner has been selected via random.org.

Thanks to Life Insurance Finder for sponsoring this awesome giveaway — THE BEST GIVEAWAY ON ENEMY OF DEBT EVER! You guys will forever ROCK!

Today’s lucky winner of $500 is:

SAMMI

I’d quit my job – I’m just waiting until I can make it without it!”

Congratulations Sammi! I hope this $500 gets you a little bit closer to quitting your job!

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