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No longer worried about mailbox monsters

May 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment
residential mailbox, United States

residential mailbox, United States (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Financial hardships can affect anyone no matter who they are, what they do for a living, and/or what their zip code is.

When we hit our tipping point of heading towards financial disaster just a few short years ago, we were devasted to find ourselves not being able to afford our monthly bills.

It got so bad with our bills coming in, that we actually would get a physical reaction when we opened our mailbox each day. The amount of bills rolling in was terrifying.

It was during this dark time in our lives, that everything debt-related got tossed into a stack of mail that was banished to a table in the garage. We would stop at our mailbox, park in the garage, do a quick shuffle-through to see what would make it to the trash and what could be tossed on the pile as we scurried into the house. It was as if closing the garage door on debts would make them go away (and we could pretend a little longer). Surely this would protect us from any “bill monsters” that were trying to creep into our lives!

Wow, how our lives have changed since then. Except for our house, we are totally debt free. We no longer have credit card statements, car bills, and/or non-mortgage loan statements hitting our mailbox. The first month we stopped getting our non-mortgage bills felt rather strange. Even today, I sometimes “look” for bills that are no longer exist.

How many people are facing fear in reaching for their bills today? Is this happening to loved ones, neighbors, and/or to your own family?

With over 30% of people today not having an emergency fund and/or savings, it is no wonder that it is common to find people in the same boat we once were.

We’ve been there and can relate.

If you are living this way today, know that there is HOPE!

With faith, perseverance, and a plan to action, people can get out of debt.We were a family that never thought it were possible. If this is you or someone you know, sign up with us at our blog, join our future podcasts, and/or join up with me at one of my future speaking events. Visit our website for some awesome resources and look for our Living Beyond Rich book that is bound to give hope and inspiration to many.

Come join in the Live Beyond Awesome journey by joining our blog and watching for our upcoming newsletter sign ups and future podcasts – be prepared most of all to experience your life transform.

Live Beyond Awesome!

Jen

Motivational Storyteller, Live Beyond Awesome

Author, Living Beyond Awesome  & soon to be Living Beyond Rich (Due out June 2012) – Look for us through Amazon or through our website:

www.fieldofdebt.com – Please consider subscribing to our blog.

Attention Event Planners: Looking for a motivational storyteller?  I would LOVE to serve your needs.

 

 

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Filed Under: Advice on starting out, Attitude, Blog, Hard times, Who We Are Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Hills and Valleys We ALL Go Through In Our Lifetime – Turning Valleys Into Blessings

January 20, 2012 By 2 Comments

Robbie and Jen - 1st day of diagnosis January 12, 2009

January 12, 2012 marked our 3 year anniversary when our lives changed forever.  It was the day our Robbie was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was 7 years old. A day that we celebrate as it was a major turning point in our lives…one that turned out to be a huge blessing to our whole family, however, one of those blessings that didn’t “feel” like a blessing at the time.

Before this day, life is overall pretty darn awesome as I had just finished up completing my first Ironman Triathlon 2 months earlier (our story on that journey is now available in our newest book Living Beyond Awesome which dipped into the Top 100 Books under Amazon’s Transformation category last month). We literally woke up one morning feeling great and by that evening, our world had been turned upside down.

Throughout the next several weeks, it would be some of the hardest times in our lives. We would not only be emotionally devastated, but financially devastated at well.

In our newest book that is due out this year, Living Beyond Rich, we share our journey in the hopes that 70% of Americans who are currently living paycheck to paycheck will gain inspiration, motivation, and hope. Here is a excerpt from the book…a story our pastor told that rings true for all of us:

Our pastor did a sermon that put it in perspective for us when it came to emergencies. He talked about the hills and valleys in our lifetime. It centered bible verse that refers to “WHEN trouble comes your way” NOT “IF trouble comes your way.” He went on to clarify that God never promised that we wouldn’t have troubles, God clearly states that WHEN trouble comes our way to rely on Him.

What? I must have skipped over that part in the bible. I thought if we were faithful followers and did good things, we could avoid pain in our lives…wasn’t that right?

Our pastor illustrated that there were three phases in EVERYONE’S path that centered around where we were at when it came to storms hitting our lives. 

  1. We were either getting ready to head into a storm.
  2. We were in a storm.
  3. We were coming out of a storm.

What an incredible illustration of what our troubles in life really look like. We had never looked at it this way before and therefore felt cheated when emergencies did come our way.

We were letting life happen to us versus us happening to life.

Rather than being intentionally prepared for those storms in life, we were unprepared and our poorly built foundation was now being ripped apart. 

It isn’t fair we wanted to yell! We didn’t ask for our son to develop a lifetime disease. If only this wouldn’t have happened to us, we would be okay.

Throughout the years we seemed to always be waiting on something to fix our problem such as a raise at work, a tax return, some unexpected windfall of money. When we got that promotion, tax return, new job, when we could take out another loan, etc. then we would be okay. 

70% of us have built our financial foundations on poor soil by living paycheck to paycheck. Rather than looking to us as the solution, we are waiting for some lottery type event to happen in our lives. If and when that lottery happens to us we tell ourselves, things will be better. 

We definitely lived with this type of attitude for the first 17+ years of our marriage. Always waiting, but never hitting that lottery. When would it come? We were just sure we would “catch a break” someday. 

The lottery did come our way, but certainly not how we pictured it would come.

If you are waiting on that lottery in your life to happen, join our blog and follow along our journey. We were once in the shoes of the 70% of Americans that live paycheck to paycheck. If getting personal finances in order seems impossible, you are visiting the right blog!

Many blessings and remember to sign up to receive our blogs as they post.

Live Beyond Awesome.

Jen

Field of Debt

Living Beyond Awesome

Author, Debt Elimination Coach, and Inspirational Storyteller

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Filed Under: Attitude, Blog, Hard times, Ironman, Perception, Who We Are Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Desperately Broke and Being Ashamed – School Comes Through With An A+

January 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Being in debt can feel like you are living on the edge sometimes. It is a lonely, shameful, and scary place to be for some.

It use to be very humiliating and embarrassing when we first started on our journey to admit we were broke. We were $100,000+ in debt and trying to pay for our son’s medical research visits to help find a cure for his type 1 diabetes. During our first month on our budget, we were $1,000 behind after things were cut out – it made our tight budget even tighter. In addition, we would come to have medical related expenses that were running ~$15,000 a year.

During this dark time in our lives, any little extra out of the ordinary things that came up would sometimes set us over the edge. One example of this was special events.

Dress clothes was were considered frivolous on our priority list…food, shelter, paying off debt, and medical care were our focus. I use to cringe when events such as weddings, school concerts, etc. would come up that required nice clothes. The line of not going into debt had been drawn and nothing was going to make us go over it. The feelings of  embarrassment, guilt, and stress over it many times made us say just forget it, we are not going.

I am not writing this blog today to make you feel sorry for us. I wanted to write this blog because many times we don’t always know what people are facing in their lives. Sometimes realizing that people are under extremely stressful situations can help paint a picture as to why people act and look the way they do.

Knowing what it “feels” like to be in a desperate situation, it made me all the more prouder to brag on what the kids school did recently. Here is a recent quote taken out of their upcoming announcement:

On the night of the concert, remember one thing: Comfort is key. Students should wear nice clothes they already own. Don’t feel the need to go out and buy an outfit. Clean tennis shoes are fine. This is a change from years past for economical reasons.

The note ended with “I can’t wait to see all of you at the concert.”

I think of the families that are struggling right now and  it almost makes me cry reading this kind and thoughtful note. To know that places like our wonderful school are going out of their way to ensure all are welcome no matter what is just heart warming.

So great job out there to all the other schools, churches, etc. that are following suit by welcoming all, no matter what.

Thanks for reading and God Bless.

Live Beyond Awesome,

Jen

 

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Wishing We Did Things Differently in Life

January 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Sometimes do you ever wonder what it would be like if you did things differently in life?I think we all have had that thought at one time or another.

With our finances, it is something that has crossed our minds once or twice these past 3 years. What if we would have done this or that where would be today?

This past week our 12-year-old daughter brought her spending money to school to buy from the book fair (each of our kids has a spending, charity, and savings envelope that they divide their earned money into). She ran into our younger 10-year-old brother at lunch and found out he had a negative balance on his lunch account (this was totally my fault for not getting our budgeted money in the account at the beginning of the month).

Do you know what she did? She pulled out a $20 bill and asked the lunchroom staff to please put it to his account. Then she inquired about her other brother’s account as well just in case money was needed for him too.

When she told us later that night what she did, we were a bit stunned. This wasn’t money that was just laying around…it was her EARNED spending money that she used. When we went to pay her back, she waved her hand  no and said, “that is okay mom, I got his lunch money, I don’t need the money back.” She sincerely meant it. We of course paid her back, but the experience made our hearts swell.

So if you are in one of those times in your life wishing you had done something differently, keep this in mind:

God can take our mistakes and turn them into something good when we are willing to take ACTION to change.

In our case, even though we were irresponsible with our resources (really His resources) by mismanaging our money (really His money) when we were younger, God let us see firsthand through His grace and mercy that it is not too late to change. He can take something that is painful in our lives and let it be used for good. Pretty amazing.

God bless and thanks for reading.

Jen

www.livingbeyondawesome.com

www.fieldofdebt.com

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7 Out of 10 American’s Live Paycheck to Paycheck

November 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Money

Image by Mait Jüriado via Flickr

The statistic that 70% of American’s live paycheck to paycheck always makes me sad. We use to be a part of that 70% not long ago.

When we hear of our neighbors, friends, and colleagues struggling with debt, it breaks my heart, but doesn’t surprise me as 7 out of 10 people nowadays live this way. It has just become the norm for our society. We were in those same shoes not long ago and know how hopeless it can feel. When you are in it, it can feel like you are the ONLY ones in this situation. Debt can bring so much pain, shame, embarrassment, and stress.

For those that are struggling with debt, know that you are not alone and that we all need to just start where we are in life. Most of all, there is HOPE!!!!

We hope you subscribe to our blog and follow along with us as we continue our journey of paying off debt.

God bless and thanks for reading!

Jen

www.fieldofdebt.com

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A Debters Legacy

October 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

As we get older in life, sometimes we wonder what legacy we will leave behind.  Most of us in this world I think would like to leave something good. 

We were recently interviewed by KSTP, our local news station, http://kstp.com/article/stories/S2349537.shtml?cat=0.  What  a wonderful experience to share our story.  In the interview, Bob reflected on where we would have ended up eventually had we not faced our personal finance issues.  As a mom, it scares the heck out of me to think what legacy we would have left our children had we continued on this path of destruction.  Not only the financial legacy of debt we would have left, but more importantly, the wrong lessons they would have learned along the way. 

The memories of the last 2 1/2 years have held painful flashbacks, however, the amount of life lessons we have ALL learned as a family has been simply incredible. 

If you are living paycheck to paycheck like 7 out of 10 Americans, what legacy are you leaving for your kids? 

God bless and thanks for reading.

Jen

www.fieldofdebt.com

 

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Some Day When I am “Rich” I Will Be a Good Giver

October 24, 2011 By 3 Comments
Fields of Gold

Image by Son of Groucho via Flickr

Eagle Brook Church is the AWESOME church we are blessed enough to attend.  Recently, they did a great series on giving and being sacrificial (click on the watch now videos on this link if interested – http://www.eaglebrookchurch.com/pages/page.asp?page_id=38656).

The messages from 10/8/11 and 10/15/11 really made us think a lot about where we were, where we are, and where we want to be in life.  It is funny…before we started our personal finance journey, we thought we were pretty darn good givers.  Having become extremely intentional with our budget, we have become the givers we never thought we could be.  3 years before, we always thought it could be for someone else to give a certain percentage of their income or to give their time so freely.  We always thought “some day when we are rich, we will do that”.

That day would have never come if we would have continued on the path of living paycheck to paycheck. There is always something or someone that will snatch your money and/or your time  if you are not intentional.  For us, it would have been a “reliable new car”, that pontoon boat we “needed”, etc.

We have certainly come a long ways from where we were when it comes to charity.  We still have a ways we know we can go though. As far as giving our time, we know we have a ways to go, but that doesn’t deter us from starting to make strides to get there.

If you are still waiting for that someday…when will that someday be?  Be intentional and pick a number – being great givers has to start somewhere and sometime.

God bless and thanks for reading,

Jen

www.fieldofdebt.com

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Being in Debt is Like the Frog in a Frying Pan

October 13, 2011 By 1 Comment
The Red-eyed Tree Frog (Litoria chloris) found...

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Being in debt for us was much like the frog in the frying pan story.  The frog starts off in a cold pan of water that is slowly heated up. To an outsider, it is obvious what is coming. To the frog, he doesn’t know enough to jump out because the pain is so slow coming on.

In our society where 70% of american’s live paycheck to paycheck, we have a lot of frogs  in the frying pan. Many times we don’t know we are at a boiling point until it ”feels” too late (I have hope that it is never too late for any of us!).  Speaking from experience, when you are that frog in the frying pan, it is hard to see your way out sometimes.

Here are some useful keys to getting your frog legs out of the frying pan:

  • Get on a written budget
  • Learn to live beneath your means
  • Learn to HATE debt
  • Quit borrowing
  • Surround yourself with encouraging people/mentors
  • Get on a finance plan (see our resource page)
  • Consider hiring a financial coach
  • Stay away from debt consolidation companies
  • Don’t fall for get rich schemes – go for the crock pot method versus the microwave method
  • Remember to keep God in the picture – have faith and pray – it is amazing what He can do

See our website at www.fieldofdebt.com or visit our resource page for good areas on where to get more info.

God bless and thanks for reading.

Jen

www.fieldofdebt.com

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168 hours per week – how do you spend your time, talents, and energies within these 168 precious hours each week?

October 6, 2011 By 1 Comment

We all have 168 hours in a week.  How do we choose to use them? 

When one focuses their time, talents and energies into a goal it is amazing what can be accomplished.  Ordinary people CAN do extraordinary things. 

The concept of budgeting our time, talents, and energies can be used in so many aspects in our life including personal finance. 

Don’t settle for being ordinary, be extraordinary and use your 168 hours wisely.

God bless and thanks for reading.

Jen McDonough

www.fieldofdebt.com

The following is an example taken from my latest book soon to be released of how my hours were spent training for my Ironman triathlon journey An Ironman triathlon consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, and a 26.2 mile run.  It starts at 7am and ends at midnight. Most people train for over a year to complete an Ironman. 

There are 168 hours in a week. How we choose to utilize these precious hours is up to us. My overall 30 week training program consisted of 6 days of working out followed by 1 full day of rest.  At first, it was hard not to feel guilty about taking a whole day off.  I remained faithful to my plan and, although sometimes difficult, I didn’t  give into  temptation by doing a training session on my day off.  After a few months, I learned that these rest days were just as important as my training days.  My body needed time to recover. The bulk of my plan called for twice a day workouts.  It averaged 12 hours a week over the 30 weeks but in the final weeks, it gradually increased to 20 hours per week.   

My 168 hours a week went like this towards the end:

20 hours training

5 hours of travel, prep time (getting equipment ready, etc.) and wrap up time (showered, dressed, etc.)

40 hours at work

12 hours of commute time

49 hours of sleep (7 hours a night)

10 hours of movies with the family (No TV shows allowed)

2 hours for church

This left me with about 30 hours if everything went as planned to spend with my family, get our grocery shopping done, do some general house chores, etc.  This sounds like a lot of time to spare, but really, it isn’t. It takes serious discipline not to whittle these valuable hours away on useless things that added no value to my family, work, or training life.   TV is a prime example of what I stayed away from….it’s basically one of those mindless (non)activities that only serves to rob you of valuable time.

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Words of Advice for those just starting on their personal finance journey.

October 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Starting line of the 2007 LOTOJA bicycle race....

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Some words of advice for those that are on the starting line to paying off debt:

Commitment – Pick a plan and commit to it!  So many times when we started we had to keep reminding ourselves of the “rules” of our plan. It seemed like we had the “yea but” attitude.  Yea, we can’t do that because ______, etc.  Believe me, we all think “our case” is special.  Your case is special because of _______ (you fill in the blank).  Recognize whatever it is and don’t let it stop you from reaching your goal.

Forgiveness – Forgive yourself if you do slip up once in a while. We can all be our own worst critic at times.  Not one of us was born a financial genius.  This stuff is a process, so be kind to yourself.

Discipline - The first few months you may feel like there are times it is hard.  Stay disciplined in sticking to your plan and  know it gets easier to do as time goes on.

Patience - Know that you WILL do this. Sometimes, we just need to take it day by day and other days will need to just be taken hour by hour.

Peperseverance - STICK WITH IT no matter what.  Remember why you started and remember your goal.  The turtle wins the race every time!

Good luck on your journey.  We hope you subscribe to our blog and follow us on our journey.

Thanks for reading and God bless!

Jen McDonough

www.fieldofdebt.com

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Learning to be good stewards – hard sometimes to learn, but when you do, so rewarding! Hear our podcast interview with Glen Steinson from Stewardship Weekly

September 27, 2011 By 3 Comments
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We were recently interviewed by Glen Steinson from Stewardship weekly.  Glen has a heart of gold and enjoys passing on the joys of being great stewards for God with not only money, but also one’s time and talents. 

Learning how to be good stewards isn’t always easy at first, but when you start to figure this stuff out, it is beyond rewarding! 

The following is from our book that is soon to be released in late 2011:

We have found we want nothing materially in this world that would make us go into debt again.  Things we use to cherish have become just “stuff”. Stuff we thought we couldn’t live without is now just stuff we don’t need. It’s almost like God used this experience to shove our noses into the ground until we said, we give up, and it is all Yours.  The things we own and the money we have is not “ours”, we are simply stewards for God. The freedom we feel from having learned this is immeasurable. 

We hope you have a chance to tune to Glen’s podcasts.  Click on the link below to hear our story.

http://www.stewardshipweekly.com/15

God bless and thanks for reading.

Jen

p.s. Glen is also a GREAT dad – listen as he even interviews our 2 oldest kiddos (Maggie and Robbie) towards the end of the podcast.

www.fieldofdebt.com

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Help! I want to quit because my Scarlett O’Hara syndrome is kicking in. How does one stay motivated?

September 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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Recently, I responded to a person who posted a question about how to stay motivated when you are new to getting your personal finances in order.  It is hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when you are first starting out. 

Here was my reply back that I hope will give encouragement to some of you:

How to stay motivated, especially when you are first starting out? 

hmm…good question. How to feel motivated.

If you just started a few months ago, I will tell you from our experience, it gets easier.  It is almost like your “want” gland is working at high-speed when you first start. It is hard to turn it off sometimes.

For us, we were literally forced because of needing to take care of medical related issues. Each time I would start my Scarlett O’Hara syndrome of wanting something, I would remind myself why I was doing this. Having a journal helps too.

  • Nice to look back and remember what you were feeling, why you started, etc.
  • Celebrate the little victories, take it day by day and don’t look at the overall mountain you have to climb.
  • One step at a time.
  • Just get through that “one” time when you get a case of the “wants”. 

Remember, if this was easy to do, then we wouldn’t have 70% of American’s living paycheck to paycheck.

Thanks for reading and God bless,
Jen

www.fieldofdebt.com

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How does this budget thing work if I don’t get paid until the middle or end of the month?

September 13, 2011 By 6 Comments
Budgeting

If 70% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, a good guess is that most don’t do a budget.  We were certainly among those 70% just a few years ago. 

A budget can be intimidating to some people when first starting. to take control of their personal finances. I get it. It can seem overwhelming, but I promise you, it will be worth the effort over time.  You will be able to tell your money what to do versus having your life controlled by out of control spending habits that can lead to many emergencies – I can say this as I speak from firsthand experience (see our story at www.fieldofdebt.com).

Some people have asked how do they “start” a budget if they don’t get paid until the middle or the end of the month. Great question!

I recently posted this question to Dave Ramsey fans and as usual, they had some great advice.

  • Start your budget on pay-day
  • Go on a week to week budget at first.
  • Payday to payday the budget. (i.e. instead of 9/1-9/30, budget could be 8/26 – 9/8 and 9/9 – 9/22)

The main thing is to START.   Don’t allow your doubts to delay you from starting.  Use your own method or start with one of the great suggestions above. 

For those that have advice or suggestions of what worked for them, please share them by adding a comment below. 

Thanks for reading and God bless!

Jen

www.fieldofdebt.com

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Who is richer? The one who earns less with no debt or the one who earns a good income but has debt?

September 9, 2011 By 1 Comment
house 01

Image by Chris Pederick via Flickr

Steve Stewart, a financial coach, from MoneyPlan SOS recently posted the following:. 

A renter with no debt & earns less than $25k has a greater net worth than a guy earning $100k with a $200k mortgage & $30k student loan debt.

Read the above statement again. 

In our society where debt has become the norm for many, it would seem we would naturally assume the one making $100k was better off than the one earning $25k.

Pretty interesting isn’t it?  What was your first  impression when you read that statement?

God bless and thanks for reading.

Jen

www.fieldofdebt.com

Steve’s podcast can be found at:  http://www.moneyplansos.com/sos031-house-poor-are-you/

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Rebellious adult stomps back to Weightwatchers – same attitude as when she started finances!

September 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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With crossed arms and a chip on my shoulder I made my way back to our Weightwatchers group last week.  What a brat I was being. I didn’t even want to sit down until the meeting started.  I wanted to prolong my rebellious way of living right up until the last second! 

219 the scale rang up at (thankfully no sirens went off).  Wow, I was back at my starting weight a few years ago before Remy was born.

This rebellious immature attitude was similar to the attitude I had we  started our finances 2 1/2 years ago.  Arms crossed, don’t tell me what to do, I am already an “expert” attitude.  Seeing that scale ring up at 219 reminded me of when we first added up our debt – it felt like it was a mountain we had to climb that was near impossible. 

It was very inspiring to see many familiar faces that had been in Weightwatchers when we stopped attending.  Most of them had lost a considerable amount of weight and said they felt great. Hearing them talk about things we all know will help was like hearing it for the first time again. What were their ”secrets” of success?  Surely there had to be some magic pill to this stuff? 

Practicing discipline to stay within their food budget and sticking to their plan. Hmmm….these sound like the same keys of success to paying off debt.

Like our finances, weight loss is going to be a process.  Take it step by step and day by day.  Don’t panic about the amount to lose (or amount of debt to payoff), just focus on what you can do today. 

On day four and already started to feel empowered and not trapped as I feared.  The rebel attitude is starting to fade.

What is it that you are feeling rebellious about? 

I hope you can continue to join us on our journey by subscribing to our blog.

God bless and thanks for reading.

Jen

www.fieldofdebt.com

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Former financially fat person now turning scales to losing weight!

August 31, 2011 By 5 Comments
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My love affair with food will be coming to a close shortly.  Specifically speaking, this Saturday, I am heading back to my Weightwatchers group.  I am hopeful the sirens and red flashing lights will not seem as I step on to the scale that I have avoided for the past few months.

Finances and food are so closely related.  I remember when we started our finances, the word budget sent chills up my spine. It meant straitjacket, no fun, and trapped. It is the same feeling I am getting with going back to WeightWatchers.  You would think I was going off to some deserted island the way I have eaten this past week knowing that this is it. 

Right before we started our finances, I had the same binge type attitude towards spending. I wanted to spend, spend knowing that my freedom would soon be taken away.  Now I am eating, eating, eating. 

Good grief. I know that this will work. Before Remy was born, I had lost 60 lbs and felt great. The food budget I was on went from restricting to empowering. It is the same way with our finances, it went from restricting to freedom.  Same concept.

So why do I have this sad feeling inside of me as I make my last visit to Kwik trip for my beloved cinnamon rolls with the slathered on frosting?  I know I will feel better when I am back to my ideal weight and I am eating healthier.  Do I feel deprived with finances, NO.  Did I before we started?  Yes, I was terrified to commit, but I feel great now that we went from financially fat to financially lean and mean.

We have said goodbye to many of our places we would visit that would cost us money (i.e. going out to eat, shopping for trinkets, etc.).  I know I can do this with food again.

So, farewell my beloved food friends. It has been fun knowing you, but alas, I must find new food friends as of this Saturday.

Good bless and thanks for reading.

Jen

www.fieldofdebt.com

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Don’t open your checkbook – there might be monsters hiding in there! Great Advice from Dave Ramsey Experts

August 29, 2011 By 12 Comments
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Remember when you were a little kid and you were afraid there were monsters under your bed or in the closet?  That is the way it is for some of us when we think of balancing our checkbook.  If we don’t look, there is no pain, so why bother looking we tell ourselves.  Been there, done that for MANY years. 

If you are just getting starting on your personal finance journey or thinking about it, here are some tips from some of Dave Ramsey fans who are experts at paying off debt. 

Enjoy reading and remember, there are no such things as a checkbook monster…the only things lurking could be unknown charges!

God bless and enjoy reading some great advice below.

Jen

www.fieldofdebt.com

Read The Total Money Makeover
Write down date, item, cost of everything spent for 30 days. Use that to refine the budget worked up during. Then write it down for the next 30 days to refine the budget. Then . . . do this until the routine becomes known and only the non-routine causes an adjustment.
Overall:
Be good with God.
Be good to others.
Take care of their health and,
Stay out of debt.

When you start to become interested in focusing on your finances, don’t start right away. Grab a handy-dandy notebook and write down everything you spend money on for the first month. Every single penny! If you throw money in a jar at the end of the night, document that too.

Then ask yourself how much money are you “eating” literally! Between fast food, trips to the convenient stores, dinners out, etc.; that usually shocks many! Now, start your budget.

Post a note somewhere–bathroom mirror, fridge, whatever:
This is a marathon, not a sprint.
Crockpots, not microwaves

Best advice: Stop spending until you figure out how much money needs to go where.

-Read Total Money Makeover
-Don’t take on any new debt.
-Stop spending and live on less than you make.
-Don’t feel that you absolutely have to follow the plan 100% in order to be successful. It can be modified.

Start using cash for EVERYTHING. Once we did this for groceries and gas our budget started working like a well oiled debt kickin’ money saving machine.

I found it easier to do the allocation sheet at the same time as the budget so we could give each dollar a name as well as a time frame.
ETA-visit the Total Money Makeover forums often to help keep up the intensity

Be persistent and don’t get discouraged or stop the plan if you fall off the wagon. I fell off for 1-2 months this spring/summer and I got right back on.

+1 with one caveat: Make sure any deviations from the plan are small, and still follows the rule of good common sense.

The budget takes work and you will makes mistakes, especially in the first 3-4 months. Learn from the mistakes, but don’t get discouraged and quit.

You WILL spend more if you use the debit card instead of cash….it’s psychologically more painful to part with cash. Pull the debit card from the wallet.

1. Work your plan everyday.
2. Have a budget meeting with your spouse, even if it is only 5 minutes.
3. Follow the plan; it works.
4. Learn to balance your checkbook.

Make sure you budget blow money or you will fall off the wagon
1.Read Total Money Makeover or financial peace
2. Take the financial peace online course.

Reading the book will familiarize yourself with the baby steps.
Mull the information over. Taking the course online will teach you how to put the steps into action.

1. Take deep breaths when things get stressful. Taking deep breaths literally tells your body to stop the fight/flight response brought on by stress and can clear your mind.

2. Focus on one step at a time. It does no good to worry about BS5 if you still need to finish BS1. Focus on getting that one baby step done then praise yourself for a job well done and focus on the next step. Repeat as necessary.

You must have exceptional self discipline. As for me and my DH, we found the DC to be the secret bleeder, especially with grocery shopping and discount stores.

#1) Cash is your friend.
#2) Don’t give up too easily. It doesn’t have to be perfect to be progress. People tend to cave & take a trip to Starbucks and then figure ‘what the heck, i’ve blown it anyway’ and then proceed to go crazy buying all this stuff on impulse. Perceived ‘needs’ are particularly tempting. When you cave & go to Starbucks, end it there. Just forgive yourself and move on. Something like that does not equal failure!

 

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I’m not poor, just broke!

August 25, 2011 By 2 Comments
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Poor is a state of mind.  Broke is a temporary situation.

Since we started our finance journey 28 months ago, we obviously have eliminated many things out of our lives in order to dump $120,000+ worth of debt and cashflow over $25,000 worth of medical related expenses.

Our family has been learning God’s way on how to handle personal finances.   Eliminating things has been freeing in some ways and just plain hard in others. 

I was a bit embarrassed and surprised earlier this last school year when I got a letter in the mail saying our kids had been identified by someone as being candidates to receive new winter jackets and boots for free through a community program. I called our school principal and asked for 6 minutes of his time.  I am sure he was thinking, oh no, but he agreed. 

I came up to school with the letter in my hand.  When I walked in, I gave him the letter and said I wanted to thank whomever nominated our kids for this program from the bottom of my heart.  I knew whoever sent through our kids names were kind enough to have taken the time to notice something had changed with our family.   The kids I know didn’t look quite a sharp with their very worn clothes and shoes.  I was choked up as I was overwhelmed with gratitude that someone would love our kids so much to notice.  “We are not poor, just broke.” I stammered out,  “It is our choice we are living this way”.  I told him what we were intentionally paying off debt and that we didn’t need help.  I extended my sincere gratitude to his staff for taking the time to notice.  It meant that people were keeping an eye out for kids that may need some extra help at home – how wonderful to think of. 

It makes me sad to think of the people all around us that may be hurting financially and we might not notice.  What a wonderful blessing to think of the caring staff in our school systems around the country that take the time to notice kids that may need some help in their personal life.  When someone takes the times to help kids in tough situations, it makes one heart swell with gratitude.

Our kids have been taught that “we are broke, not poor”.  Poor is a state of mind.  Broke is a temporary situation. We are this way because of the way we have chosen to clean up our debt.  We tell them, when they grow up pay cash and don’t allow yourselves to get into debt. 

Learning about personal finance has been permanently imprinted on the three older kids as we are learning by living it.   Not always the easiest thing to learn, but man, can you imagine starting life out financially smart?

If you are the “norm” and live like 70% Americans by living paycheck to paycheck – are you poor or broke? 

God bless and thanks for reading!

Jen

www.fieldofdebt.com

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I am tired of hearing people say, “I am busy” when it comes to finances. Know what? The whole freakin’ world is busy my friend.

August 24, 2011 By 1 Comment
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Don’t you get sick of hearing the phase, “I’m busy” when you ask someone how their day is going?  Heck, I want to say, we are all busy. The world is busy. Really now, how is your day going?

One of many excuses for us not getting our personal finances in order was that we were ”we too busy”.  This was the excuse we told myselves before we had kids and after. For those that have kids, you know what I am talking about when I say your time is a little different after you have kids than before.   It didn’t matter, we were always “busy”.

When our life came to a screeching halt and life punched us in the face, we were forced to face our finances.  We suddenly made time for it.  We quit making excuses and just did it.  Was it worth it?  YES, it definitely was worth it!  The 5 minutes a day invested in ourselves has certainly paid off  as we paid off $120,000+ worth of debt and cashflowed $25,000+ worth of medical in 28 months. 

I would save that 5 minutes a day working on our finances was a good investment.  

If you are one of those that haven’t had your nose punched in like we had with your finances, but are still on the fence with this whole finance stuff, I am talking to you.   It is worth it worth the time. 

For us, it changed much more than our finances.  It has strengthened our marriage, deepened our faith, allowed us to give more to charity, and has been the most freeing things we have ever done.  It has been empowering.

For those already on board, how do you make time for it?

For those on the “fence” are and using time as an excuse, what can you do to make time?

 God bless and thanks for reading. 

Jen

www.fieldofdebt.com

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I use to roll my eyes when ‘discipline’ and ‘finances’ were used in the same sentence. “NERD” would usually come to mind.

August 22, 2011 By 6 Comments
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Our Senior Pastor Bob Merritt from Eagle Brook Church (www.eaglebrookchurh.org)  had a great quote from his sermon this past week.  It struck me as being so true when it comes to many things in our lives, especially personal finances. 

“Discipline happens in private, but the results always show up in public” –

                                                 Bob Merritt, Senior Pastor, Eagle Brook Church.

I use to envy skinny people and think, “they are just lucky”.  As I have gotten older and compare finance to weight control, I now look at those same people and admire their discipline and think “good for them”.  I have a lack of discipline in this area – something I need to work on.

How true this was for us and many others that are not disciplined when it comes to finances.  When discipline and finances were used in the same sentence, I immediately would think “Nerd” with a roll of my eyes!  Now, I still think “Nerd”, but done so in admiration.

When lack of discipline happens in regards to finance, it can show up as debt whether it can be in car loans, credit car loans, etc.   It can also show up in marriage fights.  Did you know that money fights are the #1 cause of divorce in America today?

What areas has discipline or lack of discipline showed up in your life? 

God bless and thanks for reading.

Jen

www.fieldofdebt.com

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Words of encouragement for those starting new journeys in life

August 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

When starting to pay off debt or first getting on a budget, it can sometimes seem overwhelming.  My word or advice, be patient with yourselves when you start any new journeys in your life.  We are our own worst critics sometimes and if you dwell on the past, you will stumble in the future.  Sometimes you just need to accept where you are before you can move forward.

I love this bible verse.

Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for.  Keep on seeking, and you will find.  Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who ask, receives.  Everyone who seeks, finds.  And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.  – Mathew 7:7-8

Thanks for reading and God bless,

Jen

www.fieldofdebt.com

 

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You wanna give MY money to charity? Say What!

August 17, 2011 By 10 Comments

I love God.  I never quite understood how the following bible verse related to us until we went through this process. 

No one can serve two masters.  For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other.   You cannot serve both God and Money.  Mathew 6:24

What did it mean for us?  We loved God - why would we even think of “serving money” over God? 

We use to think we were good givers with OUR money.  If someone was raising money for something, when the plate was passed around at church, etc., we would toss in $20.  We enjoyed it very much, however, we never tithed (giving 10%). 

When we first started our personal finance journey, charity was a hot topic between Bob and I each month when we made out our budget.    At times we would look at those charity numbers in a mathematical way and think, what would a month or two matter if we skipped?  Wouldn’t God like us to pay off our debt before we tithed?

We started off giving 1% in the beginning.   With our budget being so tight and us being  in the hole to begin with, this was a big commitment.  Since that first day, we have increased our giving each month.  As of last April (exactly 2 years since we began our journey), we hit our 10% goal.  Charity is now on the top of our budget list and it is a non-negotiable item instead of being at the bottom and giving whatever was “left over”. 

What have we “gotten” from this giving stuff?  It feels good to know we are doing what God wants.  There have been months where there was no way we thought we would get by with the goals we set, but lo and behold, God seemed to bless us abundantly as we went.  It is almost like he looks down and says, “Finally, you get it.  You are doing better with My money….here’s some blessings”.

Looking back, how does that bible verse relate to us?  We weren’t doing what God wanted us to do with HIS money (ah…the shift on looking at it different).  Being in debt caused our finances to act as a vacuum sucking His money the wrong way.  The money was going to banks, credit cards, etc. 

How do you think this bible versus relates to your life?  It isn’t an easy one to answer sometimes and isn’t meant to “wag” a finger by posting this verse.  If you aren’t a giver, I am telling you in all honestly that your life will turn into a color rainbow of blessings when one becomes a cheerful giver. Your outlook on life changes when your view of money changes from MY money to simply being a middle person for HIS money.  Pretty cool stuff.

God bless and thanks for reading.

Jen

www.fieldofdebt.com

 

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In this economy, are there any part-time jobs left to earn extra income?

August 16, 2011 By 4 Comments
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 In this economy is there extra part-time jobs?  Bob and I have had several and are always on the lookout for ways to earn extra income. In 2010, we had 10 w-2 forms. 

 Recently, I put a post out asking Dave Ramsey fans what extra jobs they have taken on to pay off debt.  Some pretty interesting results came back. Please feel free to subscribe or pass this blog on to someone you know who may looking for job ideas to earn extra income.  Some extra job ideas included:

Bartending at a local sports arena

Personal training in home                                                                                                

Milking cows

Extra hand in harvesting

Responsibly raising animals

Home school curriculum provider

Online writing

Pizza delivery

DJ

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Dietitian                

Private music lessons

Umpiring high school sporting events

Real estate agent

Bookkeeping

Landscaping

Web development

 

A great resource for ideas and inspiration is Dan Miller’s 48Days.net website (click on Dan’s link on my home page).  He has lots of free tools to use and has a great weekly podcasts that not only gives ideas, but provides inspiration.  One of the main things I gained from his books and podcasts are to be bold and confident.  Don’t necessarily wait for  a company to post an ad  – don’t be shy about one of your places you visit if they are hiring.   

What part-time jobs have you picked up to help pay down some debt?  We would love to hear from you – what a great way to inspire others who are looking for ideas.

God bless and thanks for reading.

Jen

www.fieldofdebt.com

 

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Dropped Robbie off at Camp Needlepoint – Very Cool to have Paid Cash for Such Awesome Memories

August 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

It was a sad, but exciting day yesterday. We dropped Robbie off at Camp Needlepoint yesterday.  It is a camp dedicated just for kids with diabetes.  I got a little teary eyed when I dropped him off just thinking of all the fun he would have, the people who were dedicating their time to run the camp, how all these kids were “stuck” with this disease (1 out of 300 kids are affected with type 1 diabetes which is an autoimmune disease that attacks the insulin producing cells in the pancreas which requires the body to have insulin manually put into it).  This is his first week-long stay and he was very excited.

Two years ago, when he was first diagnosed, I remembered hearing of the camp.  Because of the mess we had made of our finances, we couldn’t afford to send him.  My awesome mom stepped in and paid for him to attend the day camp session that first year.  At the time, it was hard to accept the gift of money for him to attend.  I struggled with letting pride can get in the way of accepting  this gift, but I have learned sometimes you just need to say thanks and let blessings come into your life. 

This year, we paid for the camp 2 months in advance.  While it was a bit hard to slow down our debt snowball to pay for the camp, it was in no way stressful or impossible as it would have been 2 years ago. It was a joy to sit and watch all these families with their kids and to know that Robbie would enjoy himself with other kids that are on the same path in life as he was.  If we hadn’t changed our finances, could we be here?  Nope. 

While we obviously would have done our finances differently looking back, it reiterated to me again that while it is hard work to become debt free, it is so worth it.   I hope Robbie will become one of those inspiring camp counselors too someday.

God bless and thanks for reading.

Jen

www.fieldofdebt.com

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PANIC – good description on how it use to be with our finances

August 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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This was a post on our first day of starting our program.  I remember thinking this was as “positive” as I could get in writing this note.  Hmmm…bringing back a flood of memories to what it felt like when we started when I read it, especially about the panic feelings – we were living at a leve l 10 on the panic scale whereas now, there just isn’t ANY panic, just peace. 

3/30/09 Journal Entry:  Feeling panicked about our expenses. With Rob’s medical bills, our $2,000 car repair this past week, and other misc expenses. I am mad that we are at where we are at, but am anxious and determined that we can make this work. This sucks to have to eat in, bring lunches to work, basically live like a poor person, but am excited about showing the kids how it should be done. Getting tired of hearing myself get so down anytime money related things come up…especially when Bob or the kids want to do something fun…I basically go into a panic.

Even receiving news yesterday about an $800 car repair bill we were not expecting did not stress us out in any way (we weren’t excited in any way either!!).  It will come from our $1,000 emergency fund and we will repay our emergency fund. If anything, it is irritating  because I see it as slowing our process of paying off debt.

We would love to hear back from you.  What are your overall feelings on you personal finances?   If yo haven’t started, what barrier/roadblocks stand in your way?  If you have or haven’t start, when finances emergencies come up, how does that affect you? 

God bless and thanks for reading.

Jen

www.fieldofdebt.com

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A painful beginning to our finance journey

August 12, 2011 By 1 Comment

I remember when we were in the realms of despair when we first found out about our son Robbie being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and then being crushed by where we were financially.  Those first few weeks/months were emotionally very hard! 

One such memory was so very painful at the time. Bob and I loved to give gifts and felt that it was almost rude not to show up with something in hand to someone’s house (i.e. flowers, coffee, etc.).  Shortly after we made a commitment to start the plan, we had our first wedding invite for my cousin. It was a lovely affair that involved a sit down dinner.  We were short on our budget by quite a bit and still needed to save up for Rob’s first airfare to Denver for his research study.  We were scrimping by – we had a plan and were following it to where we needed to go, but we felt like we were clawing our way in the desert with no water as far as trying to make our budget work.     We promptly sent our decline invite back. Do you know what happened?  My very sweet, but persistent aunt called me wanting to know the reason we sent in a decline and was insisting that we go.  Afterwards, I found out that my mom had told her about our finances and my aunt was determined we were going.  I politely said no thanks and we hoped they had a great wedding.  She is a tough lady and wouldn’t give in.  Finally, after trying to change the subject MANY times, I told her it was ridiculous that our family of five would be a financial burden to the new couple’s marriage, we couldn’t bring a gift, we had no dress up clothes for the kids, and that was outright RUDE to not bring a gift and definitely NOT okay with us.  She won’t hear of it and would NOT take no for an answer.  She completely wore me down and with a heavy heart, I finally agreed to go.

We went to the wedding reception full of anxiety.  When we pulled up to the very elite reception, my anxiety grew as I looked at our kids who were not dressed up and was upset about not having any gifts to bring.  We walked in and my very kind cousin and his wife sought us out (I just wanted to sink in the woodwork for the whole reception).  They gushed over and over that they were so happy we were here and were excited about Robbie’s research trips that were coming up.  I was too choked up to talk much. I just hugged them and wished them well…that was ALL we had to give them. 

That was definitely one of the more humbling times in our lives.  We had NOTHING to give and it felt AWFUL, hurtful, and horrifying, however I was proud that we were firmly committed to not to stray away from our plan like we would have in the past.  I look back and think it was a painful lesson for us to learn, but really, it isn’t the gift that matters and that the more pride you have, the greater the pain.

In the end, it was wonderful to be able to share in their wedding reception and it ended up to be a great time.  Our family showered us with love that day…we could feel it.  I am grateful to my very sweet, but very tough insistent aunt who wouldn’t take even a maybe for an answer!

Thanks for reading and God bless.

Jen

www.fieldofdebt.com

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Hoping to have people jump on board with their personal finances

August 8, 2011 By 7 Comments

We all need to start somewhere. I am hopeful that our blog and website (www.fieldofdebt.com) will inspire people who are on the fence about their finances or are in financial distress to just dive in start taking charge today.  No time is ever perfect and sometimes we just need to roll up our sleeves and take that first step.  Sometimes the hardest time to change is when things are “okay”.  For us, we felt we were forced to make a change…this sometimes is much easier to do compared to people who are doing “okay” and not feeling the pain of financial distress.  You don’t need to be an expert at something to start it or worry about the past mistakes.  Please visit our website for more info or visit www.daveramsey.com

I love these quotes taken from a Laura Johnson’s blog at:

http://specializingintheimpossible.wordpress.com/2011/08/04/get-motivated-business-seminar/

  • Stephen Pierce
    Stephen Pierce
    • Biggest threat to the future is not letting go of the past.
    • It’s about you getting better.
    • New perspective. Change.
    • It’s impossible to be great if we are seeking comfort.

    .

Thanks for reading and God bless.

Jen

www.fieldofdebt.com

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Most humorous way of earning extra income

July 29, 2011 By 2 Comments

I am chuckling as I am writing this entry.   

My husband is a wise, easy-going, wonderful man.   I am continually amazed at his patience when it comes to my somewhat obsessive driven nature that wants things done 5 minutes before I think of it. He has heard MANY times over the years, “hey Bobby” which is usually code for “hey, I have this great idea, we need to do it right NOW”.  In fact, he has heard this so much over the past 19 years of our marriage that even our parrot learned to say, “hey Bobby” with an emphasis on Bobby!! 

Bob and Remy March 2010

Well…Bob got one of those “hey Bobby” calls at work one day when I noticed a research study posting.  “Hey Bob”, I started off (I am sure at this point, he took a deep breath and thought oh no)  “I was on my way in and noticed a research study that was paying for a clipping test, can I give you the number to call to sign up?”, I asked.  “Clipping study…what kind of clipping study?”, he cautiously asked.   “A full body hair clipping study. I am sure you will be just fine,” I reassured him, “it pays $150″.  I bet the thought going through most men’s minds at this point would be NO WAY and I am guessing that was his initial knee jerk reaction too. 

Well, my awesome husband went ahead and did it. Although he was somewhat hairless on his chest, underarms, and legs after the 10 minute test, he was $150 richer.

I am telling you, we laughed all week before the study, the day of the study, and still chuckle about it today.  It was a great memory and was a huge amount of money for 10 minutes for donating a little body hair!

Jen

www.fieldofdebt.com

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Dave Ramsey’s – The Great Recovery

July 28, 2011 By 20 Comments

I listened to Dave Ramsey’s live broadcast of www.thegreatrecovery.com the other night.  What an inspirational message!!!! I hope you get a chance to listen to it as it gave an awesome message on getting out of debt as a nation one family at a time and connecting people with God.  It made me want to jump up and shout! 

It is the reason for this blog, creating our website (www.fieldofdebt.com), and wanting to write a book of inspirational stories.  We are so hopeful by taking these steps and telling our story that it will give hope and encouragement to those in financial distress and to those striving to get out of debt.  Perhaps it will plant a seed as well that will lead people to financial freedom and/or to have a relationship with God…we sure hope so! 

Please visit www.thegreatrecovery.com for more info.

God bless and thanks for reading.
Jen
www.fieldofdebt.com

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Emotional Spending

July 28, 2011 By 1 Comment

While we have paid off $120,000 worth of debt and have cashflowed $25,000+ worth of medical expenses in the last 27 months, wouldn’t you think we would be perfect on our spending plan?  Well, most of the time we are pretty darn good on sticking to our budget, however, there are still times we stumble.   

For us, one of the reasons I found why we use to spend $100 at Wal-Mart and not know what was in the cart was due to what I like to call “emotional spending”.  Much like emotional eating, spending can be the same. In our case, I found that when I was bored, tired, stressed, the weather was gloomy, etc. I wanted to just spend.  These are much of these same reasons I like to eat!  It was almost an entitlement feeling that I “deserved” to toss a few extra things in the cart.  Were they big items?  Nope, most of the time, they were $5 here and there type items such as a few trinkets for the kids, a few packs of gum, a few bottled sodas, etc.  It all added up.  Most of the time, we are pretty good at catching ourselves, however, there are some days (especially when I am tired) when this can still be a struggle.  

Monday was one of those days when I felt the ‘Scarlet O’Hara’ entitlement feeling coming on as I had gotten only 4 hours of sleep the night before (interrupted sleep I might add).  I threw several unnecescary items in my cart including a $10 screen protector for my phone.  Did I absolutely need it? No, I just wanted it. I actually had one in my cart a few weeks before and put it back as I compared it to costing basically 1 1/2 hours of our base pay at our pizza delivery job. Anyways,  I was too exhausted when I got home to do much and didn’t even bother putting it on. Do you know what happened?  The next day, I discovered a HUGE scratch across the screen!  So, I put the $10 screen cover over the phone which now thoroughly covered my scratched screen!  Do you know what happened next JUST minutes later? My husband came home with a sample screen protector for home use from work that he had requested a few weeks back. I was so cranky!  “Why didn’t it come yesterday and who can I blame?”  Well…I thought, the only one to blame was ME which only irritated me more! 

Looking back, I think it was God reminding me I shouldn’t have been so compulsive and to stay intentionally focused on what we spend our money on…don’t just willy nilly throw down the dough just because I am tired and think I “deserve it”. 

So now, all I have to do is look at my protected scratched phone for a constant reminder to stay on task and not to overload my shopping cart with junk!!  When I look at it that way, the $10 seems like a good deal…at least I smile each time I look at it!

Jen

www.fieldofdebt.com

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Why we started this blog…God has a sense of humor!

July 28, 2011 By 4 Comments

Why have I started this blog? 

Well…honestly, have you ever tried to “ignore” God?  I tried!!! He doesn’t let us off the hook too easy does He? I balked at the very idea of taking on this project several weeks ago and tried very hard to ignore His gentle tug to start this journey in life. I tried to tell Him all the reasons I couldn’t do this, but He wouldn’t let up. Thinking (and hoping to prove to God I was right), I started to tell people about the idea of writing a book, starting a blog,  and starting a website to give hope and encouragement to people in regards to personal finance.  Instead, He turned the tables on me and put some exceptionable people on this path that have propelled me forward (no dragging feet could stop it!!). One of those being my incredible, wonderful husband…I am very blessed to be married to my best friend and biggest supporter for the past 19 years! 
 
Before I started this website, I was honestly dreading “learning” it. Do you know what I read the morning I ”reluctantly” started? Ecclesiastes 11:4 – “Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest”. I took it as a sign to get off my butt and MOVE! 
 
 I think God has a fun sense of humor and enjoys seeing his children do things to give Him glory that they thought were impossible. I hope I don’t let Him down!!! 
 
Jen
Please visit our story at http://www.fieldofdebt.com/
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Hello world! It’s our 1st post…THANK YOU for reading

July 28, 2011 By 5 Comments

We are pretty darn excited about where God is leading our family on this path in life. The pull to encourage people who are in financial distress and those striving to become debt free is incredible. We are anxious to share our story in the hopes that it will let people know they can get out of debt too!!

Please visit our story at http://www.fieldofdebt.com/.  We are real people who have crawled our way out of $120,000 worth of debt and paid $25,000+ in medical related expenses in the last 27 months.  We still have a long way to go as we continue our debt free journey and hope you join us. There is no “trick” we did to do this.  We simply worked hard, budgeted, and are intentionally focus on arriving at our goal of no longer being a slave to debt.

We hope you visit us often and sign up to receive our posts.

God bless,

Jen

 

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