Our "I'm debt free" Story

 

In March of 2004 we were invited to be a part of a Financial Peace University small group at our church presented by Jon & Jodie Wersinger.  Jon was a devoted listener to Dave Ramsey's radio show and believed this class would give my wife and I the education desperately needed as a young married couple with $30, 000 of consumer debt.  Our debt was no different than the next person's.  We had recently purchased a 2000 Ford Expedition at $13.000, and had a car payment on our second vehicle, and credit card debt for furniture and home improvement projects.  We viewed life as normal with debt & believed we would always have some sort of debt, but Dave taught us to go against the norm, and "Live like no one else, so later we would LIVE like no one else". We destroyed all of our credit cards, funded our emergency fund, and paid off our debt with gazelle intensity. We lived on beans and rice and were practical with our date nights and weekends. We traded in the Ford Expedition and bought an older SUV with better gas mileage and cashed in stock to pay off the rest of debt.  Within 13 months, we had our debt paid off and now we are living DEBT FREE!

Being debt free has now allowed us to do more with our lives than we ever thought imagined. My wife was able to quit her job and now stays home with our 2 children. Our business isn't shackled with the chains of debt, which allows us to make better decisions without having to worry about how it may affect a monthly payment. We thank the Lord for putting the Wersingers in our path and telling us about Dave Ramsey.

If our testimony has inspired you to look into getting debt free check with your church to see if Dave's class is being offered or visit DaveRamsey.com to check where classes are available in your area.

 

Jeff and Kristin Etem