After reading another blog post about the couple digging their way out of consumer (credit card) debt, I realized I never shared the amazingly awesome incredible news. Drum roll please……
brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr………….
We are officially and completely FREE OF DEBT!!
Yahooooooo!!
Midway through the summer, we started having to make monthly payments on Kevin’s college loans. He had been out of grad school long enough that we couldn’t defer payment any longer. Besides that, his two loans had been accruing interest for years. Not cool. We signed up to make double payments each month, hoping to put a dent in the principle. One of the loans was a third of the size of the larger one, so we wrote a painfully large check and paid that one off up front.
We’ve had money set aside in a low-interest (really, really low interest) cd for the past couple of years, thanks to the fellowship he received in grad school. We didn’t want to be left with no money in the bank in case of a major emergency–namely, Melanie gets some crazy illness and has no insurance coverage. OR one of our two 1990s vehicles bites the dust.
But about a month ago, we did some number crunching (or Melanie watched as Kevin did math in his head) and realized paying off the second loan was a definite reality. The next day we went to the bank, closed our cd and transferred the money to our checking account. We drove home, logged onto the Sallie Mae website and clicked “submit payment.” It was a scary moment, but it was SO FREEING.
We were both blessed to be raised by parents with insanely solid money management skills centered around Scripture. We have never had credit card debt even for a month, and thanks to Kevin’s dad’s employee tuition discount and my mom’s hard work, we graduated from college with very low loan amounts (me=$0, Kevin=$9k). And now, we have no unpaid debt. We’re debt free. It’s a beautiful thing.
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Congratulations!!! WHat an awesome accomplishment! That is something to be proud of!we just finished paying off mine from grad school ($54,00!!), and are working on finishing my husband's undergrad ($30,000). We will hopefully be done in 3 months!!! I cannot wait! :)
oh and about the ozarks… they are beautiful in the spring and fall… devils den is a great place to hike and camp and Mount Magazine is amazing too… http://www.mountmagazinestatepark.com/lodge-cabin-rest/lodge/The lodge is beautiful. We have only been hiking there but it is great! Hope you enjoy you're trip!
that is awesome!!!! we are paying ours down now too, cant wait to say we are debt free too!! :)thanks for stopping by my blog, id love to have you as a reader!! im following yours now too!
Hey! You visited my blog and asked about camping in the Ozarks. I'm not much for camping, but I can tel you about the area, I'm sure you won't camp out the whole time.First off, go to Eureka Springs. Eat dinner at Ermilio's. Best Italian, ever. http://www.ermilios.com/Also, go to one of the two glass chapels in our area, one in Eureka Springs, and one in Bella Vista. Thorncrown Chapel and Cooper Chapel, respectively. They are beautiful and built by a native Arkansan engineer/architect who is famous in our parts.Devil's Den has great hiking and such (and probably camping, too). http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/devilsden/If you want a taste of a fun little city, downtown Fayetteville (Dickson Street area, namely) is full of funky charm. We love the Hog Haus brewery for great grub and homemade beer (if you are into that).Not sure what specific part of the Ozarks you will be traveling to, but any of those spots are sure not to disappoint.
Never mind… Apparently one month showed interest and principal numbers switched causing me to freak out… ill still try a little harder to repay more quickly!
Whoa! I was never that concerned about my student loans… Ive been out of college for 8 years but with my 2.65% interest I had no worries… until I looked more closely. Read my blog and check it out. Thanks for your post!!!
Thanks so much everyone for the encouragement!
So HAPPY for you! This is our goal within the next 5 years! Wish we would have been as blessed with all the management skills but we are trusting The Lord to help us get debt free as well! Thanks for sharing :)
Congratulations!!! We're celebrating with you :) Just over a year and a half ago, we accomplished the same thing – it's so wonderful.
I'm amazed at how fast Nicks is going down, but there is still a lot! That sucks! But way to go!! I know I already told you my congrats a long time ago….
that is great!!! good job guys!
Congratulations!! What a wonderful and freeing moment . . . We're in a similar boat–I graduated with no debt and my husband with a nice chunk of it, but since he did a 3 year Masters program and is now in a 5-6 year PhD program we're deferring. I'm excited for the moment when that debt is gone for good!
That's awesome you have no debt! Congrats!
I can't even imagine what that moment must have been like. :) Unfortunately, from SAU and USC, where I transferred halfway through (and lost a bunch of credits.. ugh), I have a mountain of student loan debt that we are just barely scraping the surface of so far. I can't wait to get to the point where we can say we are debt free. Way to go!
Thank you SO much, Lisa!!! :D
That is truly an accomplishment and cause for much praise & thanksgiving…congratulations! Lisa