Danny and I decided shortly after marriage that we needed to combine bills and to take a look at our debt. When we did this, we did not like the numbers and decided that we were not going to do anything about it. We organized our debt with color codes, folders and sticky notes then placed them in a file box. I think that we were hoping that they would disappear.
Four years later, we accumulated additional debts and we were hitting our bottom at a fast past. We were losing EVERYTHING and kept trying to make things work. One evening when we arrived home there was a notice on the door; it indicated that we needed to be off of the property by Jan 1st. We took the paperwork and placed it on the table and did not discuss it for at least two weeks. Neither Danny nor I wanted to have the difficult conversation surrounding our future & finances.
One Friday evening, Danny came home from work and sat on the top of the stairs in the house. He grabbed my hand gently and asked if we could pray. This was the first time that I heard my husband speak to the Lord with such assertiveness. We talked, cried and then he shared with me our plans going further. We were moving and relocating to Texas due to the reasonable cost of living. He said, we are selling everything out of the house and anything that we don't sell will be given away. I was emotionally exhausted and for the first time in my life I didn't have any fight in me. Danny took total control and guided me through the steps that necessary towards for our transition.
Once we relocated, we continued to spend money recklessly and began having disagreements more regularly. Our marriage started to suffer and we didn't like being in the presence of one another. One Sunday during worship there was a bulletin about marriage counseling offered. After a conversation Danny agreed that we needed to reach out for guidance. During our first session the marriage counselor asked why you are here. My husband responded, "we don't have any issues" and I responded, "finances, communication & trust." All of these areas were surrounding the "F" word, finances. We no longer had respect for one another because each of us was trying to protect our individual incomes. We were no longer communicating and lacked trust because we were financially drained.
Our marriage counselor immediately offered to send us through Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey. We attended every Sunday and learned so much that we were clueless about pertaining to finances. The first lesson was so profound and discussed needs vs. wants. We had so many "wants" listed in the "needs" category within our minds and at that point we were open to learn. By the end of the class we had incorporated the envelope system, a written budget and we were committed to "giving" monthly. The Financial Peace course class was the start of a necessary seed planted inside of us.
After the course we made a few important changes, but we were not consistent. We continued to use the envelope system but did not FULLY respect the budget. We were not consistently making wise choices with our money. On New Year’s Eve, my friends and I worked on Vision Journals. This is when I indicated my dream/goal verbally of becoming debt free (in front of friends). That night we had another difficult conversation to identify the necessary changes and how we would move forward. Although we started the debt snowball effect, we did not become consistent and get into a routine until March. The total debt is: $132, 408.56. The debt included: Medical, Credit Cards, and Car/School Loans. Mentally, we were not concerned with debt and figured that we would be in debt for the rest of our lives.
As of today, our debt total is $130,881.63 and we are making a conscious effort to see this total decline monthly. To keep ourselves motivated we have immersed ourselves into various groups that offer support for individuals that are debt free or who are on the debt-free journey. It is our goal to capture the Jones Journey though our blog as we make efforts to tackle this balance and enjoy our children at the same time.
Four years later, we accumulated additional debts and we were hitting our bottom at a fast past. We were losing EVERYTHING and kept trying to make things work. One evening when we arrived home there was a notice on the door; it indicated that we needed to be off of the property by Jan 1st. We took the paperwork and placed it on the table and did not discuss it for at least two weeks. Neither Danny nor I wanted to have the difficult conversation surrounding our future & finances.
One Friday evening, Danny came home from work and sat on the top of the stairs in the house. He grabbed my hand gently and asked if we could pray. This was the first time that I heard my husband speak to the Lord with such assertiveness. We talked, cried and then he shared with me our plans going further. We were moving and relocating to Texas due to the reasonable cost of living. He said, we are selling everything out of the house and anything that we don't sell will be given away. I was emotionally exhausted and for the first time in my life I didn't have any fight in me. Danny took total control and guided me through the steps that necessary towards for our transition.
Once we relocated, we continued to spend money recklessly and began having disagreements more regularly. Our marriage started to suffer and we didn't like being in the presence of one another. One Sunday during worship there was a bulletin about marriage counseling offered. After a conversation Danny agreed that we needed to reach out for guidance. During our first session the marriage counselor asked why you are here. My husband responded, "we don't have any issues" and I responded, "finances, communication & trust." All of these areas were surrounding the "F" word, finances. We no longer had respect for one another because each of us was trying to protect our individual incomes. We were no longer communicating and lacked trust because we were financially drained.
Our marriage counselor immediately offered to send us through Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey. We attended every Sunday and learned so much that we were clueless about pertaining to finances. The first lesson was so profound and discussed needs vs. wants. We had so many "wants" listed in the "needs" category within our minds and at that point we were open to learn. By the end of the class we had incorporated the envelope system, a written budget and we were committed to "giving" monthly. The Financial Peace course class was the start of a necessary seed planted inside of us.
After the course we made a few important changes, but we were not consistent. We continued to use the envelope system but did not FULLY respect the budget. We were not consistently making wise choices with our money. On New Year’s Eve, my friends and I worked on Vision Journals. This is when I indicated my dream/goal verbally of becoming debt free (in front of friends). That night we had another difficult conversation to identify the necessary changes and how we would move forward. Although we started the debt snowball effect, we did not become consistent and get into a routine until March. The total debt is: $132, 408.56. The debt included: Medical, Credit Cards, and Car/School Loans. Mentally, we were not concerned with debt and figured that we would be in debt for the rest of our lives.
As of today, our debt total is $130,881.63 and we are making a conscious effort to see this total decline monthly. To keep ourselves motivated we have immersed ourselves into various groups that offer support for individuals that are debt free or who are on the debt-free journey. It is our goal to capture the Jones Journey though our blog as we make efforts to tackle this balance and enjoy our children at the same time.