How to Get out of debt! Part 2 of 3

How to Get out of debt!

Staying out of debt is the best thing that can happen in your life.

Make sure you read our first post How to get out of debt! Part 1 of 3

Well I wish we did a budget. Our way of budget is in our head… We think we have so much until we look at our account once a week. We talk about it together, and both know how much money is going out or coming in.   We sit down and do it together as a team!  What is weird about it is that we have spent way less in every aspect of our life now that we run this site. I’m not sure if it’s just that being “Thrifty” is on our mind even more now, or that we are just too busy to go and do more shopping for things other than groceries.

I have to fess up that when we first got married 9 years ago I brought in more then $10,000 in credit card debt to our marriage. Sarah was so good about accepting me for me, and teaching me her thrifty ways way back then. I knew some simple budget rules, and simple ways to get out of debt, so I applied what I knew.

I sat down on a 4×5 inch note pad and made a chart.  On top was our tithe to our church. Next was the bills like mortgage, then car payment, and utilities in that order. I figured that I could do with out the phone or do with out cable if it came down to us not having money to pay all of the bills. I placed everything in order of importance. Below those bills came the dreaded credit cards. The one with the highest interest came first. Next to the name I wrote down minimum monthly payment / credit card balance. Then I continued until I had every debt written down. At first I had to write pretty small.

So my plan was that when ever I got a check I wrote down the gross and the net payment on the very top of each 4×5 note pad. I paid my tithe, my mortgage on and on down the list till my credit cards. They say to always pay off the credit card with the highest interest first. So what I did was figured out the minimum payment for all the cards, and the remaining balance I lumped into the one with the highest interest.

I rewrote every card every 2 weeks along with my pay checks. I stapled them together after making all the checks out to my debts. I had a huge stack. But you know what, we paid each one off in only a year and a half. I am not sure how we did it now that I look back. I was a car salesman. One month I would make two or three thousand, and the next 5 months I would make minimum wage. At that time Sarah was working at the dealership too (that’s how we met and is a whole different story). She was barely making over minimum wage too. To give you an idea we spent $15 per week on groceries for 3 people (even when Matthew was born)

By the time Matthew came along, 1 and 1/2 years after we were married, we were out of debt and had 6 months of our mortgage paid in advance. Yeah I am amazed even now. Now that we are out of debt, there has been a huge burden lifted from us. People always say money is the root for a lot of divorces. The stress from bills, credit cards, and collectors can split even the best of marriages. Don’t let that happen to you.

I’m so thankful to my wife when I hear people tell us of how much money they have saved by following what my wife tells them. We both truly do this site for you and your family. Financial stress can be taken away or maybe even lifted by following the tips she shares. We just want to help anyone willing to take time and learn how to use coupons a new and different way. We want to show people how to be thrifty and independent from creditors. Pass what you have learned on to your friends. Being thrifty doesn’t mean having to live like a street person. We are not telling you to buy that 1972 Datsun, or to sit on milk crates in your family room. But what we can show you is how to save money on groceries, or save money on other shopping purchases. So that you can go get that nice car or nice house, and still live with in your means. Just yesterday we were talking to an owner of a business and he stated that driving a Ford Excursion is kind of funny while being thrifty. I chuckled and said, yeah when you can buy them at a government auction for under $5000 its being real thrifty. The largest SUV  for that price is like getting your groceries for free. We buy all of our vehicles at the GSA auctions. To find one near you click here

Anyways, thank you for following our site. Hopefuly we have saved you money. Hopefully you and your spouse have smiles on your face when you come home shopping. That is why we do this, to make families happier by saving money and becoming A Thrifty Mom.

More to come Tomorrow….