The Enemy of Debt Questionnaire – Congratulations to Jeff Lundberg!
How much debt did you have and how long did it take you to pay it off?
We paid off over $65,000 in 22 months.
How does becoming debt free actually feel? Does it feel better than you imagined it would?
We paid off our last debt (besides the mortgage) last month. It feels great! We’re very excited to start building wealth and being able to give!?
What were some of the struggles that you had to deal with along the way? Was there ever a time where you almost gave up?
The hardest part was sticking with a written budget and staying motivated. There were a few times where we wanted to give up, but we stuck to our goals and pushed through.
What would you consider to be the most important key to becoming debt free? What helped you the most?
Learning to say “No” to yourself is essential. We posted charts and debt “thermometers” on the bathroom mirror. Every time we met our goal for the month, we would cross it off.
It’s important to actually have a plan. Figure out how much debt you have, and how quickly you want to pay it off. Then, determine how much you’ll need to budget each month for debt payments in order to meet your goal. Write it down. Every month, physically cross it off. Put it someplace visual where you can see it every day.
It’s also important to visualize why you want to become debt free in the first place. Think of how much extra money it frees up each month. What would you do with that extra money?
It seems a lot of people have bought into the idea that debt is essential in order to prosper, what do you have to say to those people?
Banks and creditors are really good at pushing their product: debt. It is one of the most marketed products in history. Especially in Western societies, it has been woven into the culture.
Your grandparents didn’t have credit cards. They didn’t even exist. People still pay cash for cars and even homes. Normal people.
What was the biggest sacrifice you would say you made in order to become debt free? What about you changed the most?
We cut back in pretty much every area of our budget. For me, the biggest thing was not eating out.
Did your friends and family give you a hard time about your new mission to eliminate the debt from your life? If so how did you deal with it? Do you think you inspired others by your journey
Most of my friends and family were supportive. One of my co-workers balked whenever the subject came up, though. He felt that you would always have a car payment, and always have debt.
He congratulated me on becoming debt free, but somehow I still don’t think he was convinced.
What is next for you? What financial goals do you plan to accomplish?
We’re working the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps.
1 – $1,000 cash in the bank (done)
2 – Debt Free except the house (done)
3 – Emergency fund of 3-6 months expenses (almost done)
4 – Save 15% towards retirement (starting in June)
5 – Save for kids college fund (starting in June)
6 – Payoff house early (we refinanced to a 15 year fixed, will pay off sooner)
7 – Become wealthy and GIVE
This story was submitted by Jeff Lundberg of www..jefflundberg.com. Jeff is a web developer out of Detroit, MI. His wife is an attorney. They both decided to follow Dave Ramsey’s plan and get out of debt!
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More to come…but only if I get some new submissions! 😀
if im not mistaken thats roughly forking out $5,500 every month on debt payments. Thats a lot more more than people make in 2 months not including having to pay their bills and such.
For the normal person this is not an achievable goal. unless they are making 10k a month.
But more power to Jeff if he indeed actually do this.
Ryan that’s not necessarily true. What if Jeff and his family had 2 cars w/ payments and decided to sell them? We sold our car payment which cleared $8,000 from our debt pretty fast.
Plus it doesn’t matter how much money someone makes. Anyone can get out of debt regardless of their income. Just because Jeff may make more than the average person, doesn’t make his story any less inspiring. It is true that some people have an advantage when it comes to income but the behaviors that needed to be changed are still the same. The hard part is the behavior changes. The easy part is paying it off no matter what your income is.
Congratulations Jeff! Welcome to FREEDOM! 😀
Brad,
This is very true. Regardless of how much one makes it doesn’t mean they cant dig themselves in a hole of debt. It would seem it requires lots of sacrifice. With the selling of a car or two cars you are now affecting ones ability to be mobile and get to work, etc.
Those care payments and expenses can totally be a monkey off your back once paid off or the car is no longer part of the equation.