The most important decision we’ve made.

One year ago, we made our final payment towards debt. 

On January 1, 2018, my husband and I made a decision to live debt-free. When we started, we had a car loan and 10 student loans which totaled over $83,000. Even though we were both earning more than we ever had, we were spending all of it easily and without much thought. We were a year and a half out of graduate school and we worried that if we continued on the path we were on, we might wake up in a few years with a lot of stuff, but nothing important to show for our hard work. 

We had this idea that, without our debt, we wouldn’t need as much money to live on. We would be able to make choices that were more meaningful to us. We wouldn’t have to worry about whether or not we could pay our bills. We’d have a sense of comfort and security. 

At the time, this seemed like a radical idea. I saw my graduate school debt as an investment for a job that would make a lot of money and I would pay it off quickly when I made the big bucks. But I was wrong. We both made much less money than I expected, and I couldn’t see myself in the same career for a lifetime and taking 20 to 30 years to pay off the loans. 

In 25 months, we paid off all of our debt (which grew to over $88,000 including the interest). We learned through this process, that we didn’t have to sacrifice a fulfilling lifestyle to get to this point. During those 25 months, we paid for our wedding, went on a honeymoon abroad, remodeled a bathroom, bought a new mattress, took a vacation, and switched jobs three times! By being mindful about how we spent our money, we were able to make huge progress towards our goal of living debt-free. 

What does it mean to live debt free? Everything we earn we use mindfully — for investing in our future; things that we value in our present. We no longer worry about whether we can pay our bills. We decide how to use our income to stand for our values. For us, that means eating good food, spending quality time together as a family (my husband has become a stay at home dad), and planning for a future of abundance and certainty.

Are you here because you want to make this same decision?