If I could shout this from the rooftops I would! But there's a sleeping baby in the other room so sharing it with the internet will have to do;) For those of you who have been reading my blog for the last year or so might remember my financial posts:
My student loan story
Financial Advice
How To Grow Your Savings
We have steadily been paying off debt for the past 6 years that we have been married. We have paid off 2 cars, 1 motorcycle, $18,000 in student loans, $6,000 in medical bills, and around $5,000 in credit card debt. I've already gone in depth of how we paid a lot of that off in the above-mentioned posts. The Lord has definitely been providing for us this past year as usual. I received significant raises at work and Howie started a new job that pays more as well. With Howie going to school full-time he also received more grant money this year. We tend to live beneath our means as much as possible but still do fun things. Using Dave Ramsey's snowball method kickstarted our debt payoff and to see it through to the end feels great!
Even with paying extra on debt, I've still been contributing to my 401(k) at work and been increasing my contribution with raises, I'm excited seeing how much its grown in just 2 years. We've also been able to keep our emergency account healthy.
The main new debt we had was medical bills. First off our insurance was terrible, I had a $3,000 deductible and $6,000 max out-of-pocket. Having a baby can be expensive with crappy insurance. I had to prepay my Dr's office $2,000 before I delivered. Hospital bill was over $3,000 and then the miscellaneous bills that came as well. We just paid off the hospital bill and when I called to pay it off I asked if they offer a discount for paying in full versus payments. Thankfully the hospital I had Westley at offers a 10% discount for paying in full. If I had paid it earlier they could have done 20% but I was waiting on my $1,000 refund from the Dr's office. It still helped save almost $200 on the remaining balance!
We had about a year left on our car loan but decided with our tax return to pay it off. It didn't save us a ton on interest but its less money going out each month. This was especially important because this fall Howie might be in a program at school that wouldn't leave him time to work. Currently working on trusting the Lord to work all of that out because we will still have living expenses.
I write all this not to brag, although I am quite proud, but to show it is possible to be debt-free even while being considered "low-income". We do live very much below our means and sometimes it feels like a sacrifice but for this time in our life it works.
Our next financial goal is to live just on Howie's income and save mine. I only work 1-2 days a week but it should still add up quickly. I would also like to make a little bit of side money with this blog, if anybody has tips on making that happen let me know!
If I have inspired or helped you on your debt-free journey I would love to know your story and please feel free to share any posts!
Financial Advice
How To Grow Your Savings
We have steadily been paying off debt for the past 6 years that we have been married. We have paid off 2 cars, 1 motorcycle, $18,000 in student loans, $6,000 in medical bills, and around $5,000 in credit card debt. I've already gone in depth of how we paid a lot of that off in the above-mentioned posts. The Lord has definitely been providing for us this past year as usual. I received significant raises at work and Howie started a new job that pays more as well. With Howie going to school full-time he also received more grant money this year. We tend to live beneath our means as much as possible but still do fun things. Using Dave Ramsey's snowball method kickstarted our debt payoff and to see it through to the end feels great!
Even with paying extra on debt, I've still been contributing to my 401(k) at work and been increasing my contribution with raises, I'm excited seeing how much its grown in just 2 years. We've also been able to keep our emergency account healthy.
The main new debt we had was medical bills. First off our insurance was terrible, I had a $3,000 deductible and $6,000 max out-of-pocket. Having a baby can be expensive with crappy insurance. I had to prepay my Dr's office $2,000 before I delivered. Hospital bill was over $3,000 and then the miscellaneous bills that came as well. We just paid off the hospital bill and when I called to pay it off I asked if they offer a discount for paying in full versus payments. Thankfully the hospital I had Westley at offers a 10% discount for paying in full. If I had paid it earlier they could have done 20% but I was waiting on my $1,000 refund from the Dr's office. It still helped save almost $200 on the remaining balance!
We had about a year left on our car loan but decided with our tax return to pay it off. It didn't save us a ton on interest but its less money going out each month. This was especially important because this fall Howie might be in a program at school that wouldn't leave him time to work. Currently working on trusting the Lord to work all of that out because we will still have living expenses.
I write all this not to brag, although I am quite proud, but to show it is possible to be debt-free even while being considered "low-income". We do live very much below our means and sometimes it feels like a sacrifice but for this time in our life it works.
Our next financial goal is to live just on Howie's income and save mine. I only work 1-2 days a week but it should still add up quickly. I would also like to make a little bit of side money with this blog, if anybody has tips on making that happen let me know!
If I have inspired or helped you on your debt-free journey I would love to know your story and please feel free to share any posts!
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