Debt Free Scream
Better Than I Deserve
Saturday, August 9th, 2008Hello everyone! I have another introduction to make. Her name is Mikki, and she is on fire! To give you a little history, Mikki and I are accountability buddies. We connected in the FPU Forums and have been great friends ever since. We are two Gazelles grazing in the field weary of the Cheetah in the distance. Our attention is intense as we pay off our debt, and deal with life’s little problems. We support, encourage, and inspire each other on a road that is very hard to travel alone. Our families and our future are at stake and we both understand the importance of continuing on. We often refer to a day when her family and my family are vacationing together sipping on drinks on some distant island. No debt, no payments, no regret, just financial peace and happiness. That day will come, and we will be excited to celebrate it.
Mikki wrote an awesome blog about what her debt free call to The Dave Ramsey Show would be like. She did a very good job of expressing the excitement of such a tremendous achievement. I am very blessed to have such a motivated and hardworking accountability buddy, and it is what made me decide to ask Mikki to be a contributor on Enemy of Debt. (EOD)
Now there are three of us. Me, Chuck, and Mikki. There will be no more additions to the EOD Team. As three gazelle intense individuals come together we hope to spice up EOD in just the right way. I hope you enjoy, and as always please tell a friend about this debt free blog!
Better Than I Deserve
by Mikki
Last night I was laying in bed, thinking about the day I could call the Dave Ramsey show and scream “I’m Debt Freeeeee!!”. I started to wonder what I might say to Dave when he goes through his normal questionnaire and it went something like this…..
Dave: We have Mikki from Detroit on the line, what’s up Mikki?
Me: Hi Dave, how are you?
Dave: Better Than I Deserve. How can I help?
Me: Well Dave I am calling to let you know I’m debt free!
Dave: Alrightttttttt!!! How much have you paid off?
Me: $35,000 In 18 months
Dave: Wow making what kind of money??
Me: I started out at $35k a year. I picked up a part-time job and also started working my real estate business and now I am half way through the year at $55k!
Dave: Wow, thats amazing! So what made you decide to get out of debt a year and a half ago?
Me: Umm well, I had just turned 25 and had just purchased a house. I was driving a $20,000 car making about $28,000 at the time. In December I got into a car accident and smashed the front end of my car, thankfully no one was hurt but, the car had no insurance on it. At the time I was driving an hour each way to work and one thing after another started to happen. I almost lost my job, and the car ended up being taken from me because I couldn’t afford the payments. I was so overwhelmed with the new house and bills that I thought about taking my life. So I was sitting at work one morning and my mom called me, she told me they were offering FPU at a local church in Detroit, maybe I should check into classes in Lansing (Which is where I work). I was like ok here she goes with this Dave talk stuff again! But at that point I pretty much had nothing more to lose. I really did feel like Job in the bible and that I couldn’t lose any more than I had already. So I searched for my zip code and found a class at a church that actually started the very next day Dave.
Dave: Wow thats amazing!
Me: Yeah so I called the coordinator and shared my story and he said the class would be perfect for me, and since then I have never looked back.
Me: And Dave you know how you say Murphy moves in right when you start the program, well he did because about 3 months later I was forced to move out of an apartment that I was living in with a friend of mine, I had been saving for BS1 and I had to use that money to find a place. Had I not started the program I would have been a total wreck when all that happened.
Dave: Wow what an amazing story Mikki, so what would you say the hardest part of it was??
Me: I would say being made fun of but after a while It didn’t bother me anymore.
Dave: So what was the last thing you paid off?
Me: Sallie Mae.
Dave: Ahhh, good ole Sallie getting kicked out of the spare bedroom.
Me: Yup!
Dave: So now that you have been through the process, what do you say the key to success is?
Me: The key is have an accountability partner, and being Gazelle intense. I became friends with someone on MyTMMO, his name is Brad. “Hi Brad!!” We have become really good friends and I think having someone to share that experience with you is the greatest thing, but it doesn’t work if they aren’t as Gazelle intense, and Brad is the poster child for the Gazelle. Also Dave I want to thank my FPU coordinator and everybody on the Total Money Makeover forums, Those are the coolest people around!!!
Dave: Hahahaha, thats awesome Mikki, so your 27 now with out a payment in the world except for the house. You are so weird now!
Me: Yep I know I feel weird!
Dave: Hahaha, so what do you say to those 25-30 year olds struggling to make it?
Me: I would say they should know they are not alone and to pray as much as you can. God doesn’t put more on us than we can bear, and you have to put your trust in God 100%. The program gave me hope for my future because before I didn’t see my life being anything, but now I see a bright future and I can show others that they can do it to. Its important to have friends and family around you that love you because if it would not have been for my mom, and my best friend I would not be here today.
Dave: Mikki thats great advice, so are you ready to count it down?
Me: Yeah! 3…2…1… I’M DEBT FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!
Dave: Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! That is how it’s done folks!!!
(insert tears)
Have you thought about how your debt free call would sound?
The Five Million Dollar Blog
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008These videos are the very definition of inspiration! Share this blog with your friends and family so they can become debt free too. Help change peoples lives! Do you want to scream, “We’re Debt Free!”? Do you have a debt free video you’d like to share on my blog? If so, email me at brad.chaffee@enemyofdebt.com!
I plan on posting my own debt free scream around September via video! Visit again SOON! To those of you who feel cheated because of the title, let me explain. TO ME and MANY OTHERS each one of these videos is worth a million dollars. If you disagree then you may be pleased to know that there is a credit card application in your mail box as you read this. For the rest of you, watch these videos and feel the emotion behind becoming debt free!! Join the DEBT FREE Revolution, and be WEIRD because NORMAL is, YEP you guessed it……B.R.O.K.E.!!!
What would being debt free mean to you and your family?
The Debt Free Scream!
Monday, April 21st, 2008Hello everyone and welcome! I was reflecting on what gives me the most inspiration and encouragement to complete our Total Money Makeover, and I realized that the most emotional feeling derives from people calling in to the Dave Ramsey Show to scream they’re debt free!! Every time I hear a caller scream these 3 very powerful words it makes me imagine being there and what it feels like! Sometimes this means the eyes water up!
Imagine with me for a second and think about screaming these three words. “WE’RE DEBT FREEEEEEEEEEE!” Imagine that is you! How do you feel? GREAT right? Does it give you a stronger desire and motivation to accomplish this goal? It fires me up, and sometimes it can be very emotional since my entire adult life has been apparently devoted to living in debt. This one phrase gives me focus and extra determination to reach this pinnacle of freedom!!
With my blog, I want to help others like me, get out of debt forever. I would like this blog to be about inspiration! I would like this blog to be about giving people the same inspiration that Dave Ramsey’s radio show gives it’s listeners! I want this blog to lift up! I want this blog to reach the person that is just beginning the debt free process, and I want it to provide HOPE! I want it to reach the person who has never even thought about what debt freedom means, but happens to run in to this blog! Inspire, encourage, motivate, and support! That is what my mission is about!
In order to do this I need for people who are becoming debt free, or are already debt free to participate! Here’s how it will work.
Consider answering these questions in your post:
- How much debt have you paid off in total?
- How long did it take you to do this?
- How has this freedom changed your life?
- What was the hardest part about your journey?
- How much debt have you paid/how much you have left?
- What is your projected goal for becoming debt free?
- How is this new journey changing your life?
- What are some of your struggles along the way?
I hope that you see just how important and essential something like this can be to people who are struggling! Please help me lift those folks up so that they do not feel alone! Let’s show them that the path to freedom is there, they just have to keep walking! Help give them the hope that you once experienced!