The following story is not for the faint of heart. It is a story of bondage; and of freedom. It is a story of despair; and of hope. It is a story of normalcy; and true, unadulterated weirdness. It is a story of one family’s journey through the dark forests of MasterCard while battling the Vikings of Capitol One. It is a story of how that family Discovered a new way to Chase the American Dream, and how they built a new future for their family and left FICO way, way behind.
The story began with the first car loan, acquired 15 years ago, and the student loans for college. It continues with more car loans, credit cards the family “just had to have for emergencies” that became, “we can make the payments!” Always asking, “How much down? How much a month.” Instead of asking simply, “How much.” This family wandered into $160,891 of debt, not counting their house! We played the “credit card shell game” for a while and transferred balances from one card to another and looked for new, low rates. We locked in a few rates and called ourselves smart; but the debt remained.
On a warm, sunny day in June, 2008, we decided that we had had enough. We were sick of making good money, but always being broke. We were sick of the mental gymnastics that were required to keep shuffling the debt. We were sick of random fees charged by banks and credit cards just to see if we were paying attention. That June, we decided to take action. We set our sights on the card with the lowest balance; a First National Bank of Omaha Visa card with $3,072 on it and pulled the trigger. By September it was gone. We took aim next at one of our vehicles. In January 2009, both of us had stumbled across the same book on same day; one from the local library, the other an audio download. We began to read/listen to the book on the same day and began discussing it when we were just halfway through, shocked that the other had been reading/listening to the book at the same time. The book: Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover. All of the information in the book was common sense. None of it was new. However, it was presented in such a way that it motivated us to step up to the next level. We followed the book for about a year and then decided to take the full plunge and attend “Financial Peace University.” Convinced that “Dave” wasn’t going to teach me anything I didn’t already know, I was shocked to find out how off base I really was!
We are now 48 months into our “Total Money Makeover.” We are budgeting every month before the month begins. In the past, we never really talked about money. We didn’t fight, but we didn’t talk either. Now we are talking about money and planning the month ahead because WE are now in control. In the past 48 months, we have paid off $141,601. At the rate we are going, we expect to be debt free (not counting the house) by before the end of this year!
In a country of 609.8 million credit cards, and 3.5 cards per cardholder, and a credit card revolving debt of $852.6 Billion, we are a family striving for total weirdness! Less than 25% of the American population does not have a credit card, and we intend to join them. The average FICO score in America is 769, and yet our goal is FICO = ZERO. The bottom line is, who gets the money? Our family or the bank? Embrace weirdness! Live for your family and your future!
Written by my Husband <3
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