WE'RE DEBT FREEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!

So, after quite a few years of "living like no one else," we have accomplished our first major goal. We have paid off all of our debt! Quite a bit of debt, I must admit. We spent years living beyond our means, ignoring our bad habits and making excuses for why we "needed" to use the credit card yet again for groceries, diapers, or a meal out. Soon after we moved to Columbia we discovered our debt; a chunk of ice that was only sticking out enough to stub our big toe. Once we felt the sting of that, we found out we were moving to Colorado and the iceberg came pushing forcefully out of the ground, revealing the monstrosity we had unintentionally created.

Fast-forward 4 years, one cross-country move, a 15-month deployment, one overseas move, a new baby, and many lessons learned and here we are!

I still listen to the Dave Ramsey Show every day. I am SO excited to be in contact with his assistant who is going to schedule OUR opportunity to scream on-air! I am getting a little nervous and find myself wanting to write down all the questions he asks his callers and answer them ahead of time so that I'll be ready no matter what he asks! I get butterflies every time I lear a new caller say, "I'm calling to tell you that we're debt free!"

The reality hasn't set in just yet. Nothing has changed so far. We haven't yet had our first check that is 100% ours.

"Think about that. Let it sink in," I tell myself. Every single cent of Matt's paycheck is ours. There is no one who has claim to our money anymore! :) We choose to tithe and we choose to have internet/cell phones. Beyond that... AHHH!! NOTHING!

Tuesday I go to get my "out-of-debt" prize: A gorgeous Nikon d300s and a 50mm fixed lens. My beautiful d50 has lasted 5 years and has earned my respect, and Nikon has earned a loyal customer. Matt will inherit my d50. He's more excited, however, about HIS "out-of-debt" prize! You'll never guess what it is... yep. A guitar! To be specific, it's a Taylor T-5 C2 Koa top.

And even after we get our prizes, we won't change much because we have to hit Baby Step 3 hard for the rest of 2011. 2012 will be dedicated to boosting the "replace Matt's car" fund so that when we go back to the US Matt will have the cash to buy a replacement. He won't be able to buy the Defender he really wants but we're both okay with that. One day, maybe!

This is our personal journal of our lives. We share it as a way to share what we are going through. My hopes are that I can encourage anyone reading who has debt to work their way out of it. The simplest, fastest way to do so is through Dave Ramsey's plan, Financial Peace University. I would love to become one of his Financial Counselors someday!

The above picture is of the 'Debtometer' I made as a visual countdown of the last $9700 in our debt. I wanted a way to mark off every last dime we paid off, for myself, but also for the boys. They are SO excited about this and I believe we have changed our family tree for the better as a result of our being transparent with them. Here is a note Hayden wrote in his Math book this week: