Debt Free! (How I became debt-free and you can, too)

Wreath lovingly made by my Sis-In-Law, Janet Lawrence

I updated my Facebook status yesterday and it has caused quite a commotion...I have never received so many "likes" and comments before...not to anything.  Not to surviving Cancer, not to one of these carefully crafted blog posts, not to a clever video re posted...NOTHING has garnered the attention of yesterday's status for me.  As I type this, it has 101 likes!  

What is it?

"Just wired my final mortgage payment!  Debt free in every way!  Praise God, my Provider and Sustainer.  Now...to find a job..."

Thank you for celebrating with me.  I am touched by the support.  I am feeling celebratory and grateful. It's almost like I won the lottery.  But it's really not like that at all.  I didn't "win" anything.  I didn't luck into my home...this was a slow and steady process...this was twenty years in the making...this was the culmination of hard work, restraint, patience, and trust.  This day was the harvest of a twenty-year journey.  

Some are expressing envy.  Some who completed this journey before me are giving good advice (don't forget about saving for annual property taxes and insurance which were formerly taken out of escrow). It's true that even though I own my house, clear of debt, it can still be taken from me.  If I fail to pay the annual property taxes, the government can take it and kick me out!  For this reason alone, I am grateful that I chose to stay in my "starter" home. The property taxes are based on the value of the home.  The lower the home value, the lower the taxes.

When I bought this house at twenty-nine years old, my realtor said I should get a balloon loan because I would not still be in it in five years time.  (This is a loan with lower payments but then you have to pay the whole thing off in a specific time, like five years.  At the pay-off, you fund it by getting another loan).

Being a fiscal conservative, I chose to get a conventional 30-year loan.  I am so glad that I did.  When interest rates fell, I refinanced and chose a 15-year loan.  

Would you like to know my secrets?   Would you like to be debt-free, too?

This is my best advice:

1.  Give money away: You cannot outgive God.  I know that probably wasn't what you were expecting.  I gave my life to Christ at nine years old.  When I was in the membership class at my Baptist Church, it was designed for adults.  I didn't understand much about the class but the one thing I heard and understood was the principle of tithing.  This is the only only place I know of in Scripture where God says "test me in this."  (Malachi 3:10-11).  I took it to heart.  In fact, it irritated my mother, who would have preferred that I not tithe the money I earned waitressing that was earmarked for college tuition. But I fought her on this.  My form of rebellion was tithing!  I have tested God and he has ALWAYS met my financial needs...through unemployment (4 times now), through Cancer treatments (2 times now) and I never missed a mortgage payment in twenty years.

2.  Buy a house worth less that "they" say you can afford.  When I bought my house, I was told that I could afford a home worth 40 to 50% more than the one I chose.  I knew that if I bought that much house, I would not have money for other things I needed and some other things I enjoyed.  I chose a small "starter" home.  It doesn't have some things that I would like...it's not a "dream-home" but it is my home and I love it. 

3.  Fight the urge to Trade Up.  My income nearly doubled over the course of the twenty years it took to pay-off my home.  I was tempted for a brief season to consider trading up to a larger home or a home in a location more central to town.  I fought the urge and I am so glad that I did.  Instead, I chose to stay put and make my home as beautiful as I could...I made it "mine" and I settled in.  This enabled me to do some travelling and never miss a payment, even when I was out of a job or undergoing chemotherapy.

4.  Pay extra every month.  After I refinanced at a lower interest rate, I chose to continue to pay the higher monthly payment and even added some to it.  I paid $200 extra principal for a couple of years.  I stopped when I lost my job but when I regained employment, I paid $100 extra or sometimes just $50 extra.  This shaved years off of my loan.  What really helped me was designing a table in Microsoft Excel whereby I was able to calculate how much time I could shave off my loan depending on how much extra I paid.  It was fun to dream and see how fast I could finish.  I wish I had done this sooner and I wish I had been even more disciplined.  


I need to confess...I have been blessed and I have not always been a great steward of money.  I love pretty things, nice jewelry and clothes, and I have wasted money over the years.  I have medicated pain in my life through spending money.  God has worked on my heart and I have had to learn some things the hard way.   

I wish I had learned sooner.  Don't we all?  But I am a work in progress and so are you!  It is never too late to take steps, even baby steps, towards financial freedom.

(I would be remiss if I didn't add one more thing...the best way to be debt-free is to accept God's gift of His son, Jesus, the One who died for all of our debts...great and small).  John 3:16...Timeless Truth! My biggest debts can't be reduced to dollars and cents...my biggest debts were wiped free at Calvary.

Father, I thank You today for providing a beautiful home for me...far beyond what I ever imagined I would have as a single woman.  Thank you for this gift  of a place of peace, of hope, of ministry, and rest to call my own for this season of my life.  Thank You for a tangible reminder of your provision in my life.






I had help decorating from Elle Westover...so Gifted, and such an inspriration in every way!  Thank you, Elle!  See her website HERE.  Or check out her facebook page HERE.