Guest post from Kelly of Kelly Cox At Home
The culture says that debt-free living is not possible. I absolutely disagree. Yes, the goal to live free from debt takes work, is not the easiest path… but it IS worth it.
My husband and I are debt free! This didn’t come easily, but our diligent efforts, faith, and dedication have paid off.
Over the years, we have learned valuable lessons about being debt free… today, I’m sharing 5 of those lessons with you!
1. Being debt free allows us to give more.
Since we have no debt, my husband and I have been able to give more. God has led us to give in several areas and we feel blessed to be able to do so.
2. Being debt free lets us make ‘Plan A Decisions’.
Since we don’t have debt, we are able to make, what we call, “Plan A Decisions.” We are able to decide what is best for our family without our finances and debt being an issue.
For example, since the beginning of our marriage, we felt strongly that I should stay home full time when children came along. We created a budget to be sure that was possible and stuck to those parameters.
We’ve been led to adopt and when we get the call that will make us instant parents, I will be able to stay home with our child full time. Since we worked hard to avoid debt, we are able to live on my husband’s salary.
Plan A is a blessing. We felt debt-free living was both scriptural and important to pull off this goal.
3. Being debt free means money talks are less painful.
As budgeters, we set up how we plan to spend our money in the form of a budget. This has been helpful when it comes to money talks.
Without debt, it is easier to figure out if we are able to afford something or not.
4. Being debt free affords us more wiggle room.
We have wiggle room in our budget. In other words, when we budget for the month, our money is dedicated first toward tithe, then bills and savings.
Since we’ve eliminated debt, we’ve got a little more wiggle room to buy things and to give more to others.
5. Being debt free fueled my blog.
I blog about debt-free living and budgeting because I’m passionate about these topics. This lifestyle is attainable despite what the culture teaches. I’m excited to be able to share via this crazy blog journey!
Debt-free living rocks! We are proof that it’s possible. My husband and I are not from wealthy families and do not have trust funds.
Instead we worked hard, believed the scriptures about money, and have been blessed to see the fruits of our labor.
Bottom line, debt-free living is possible!
Kelly is a Christ follower, blessed wife, mom to be and a lover of all things home. She blogs over at Kelly Cox At Home about her journey at home and passion for debt-free living. She hopes to encourage others in that goal, while sharing tips on how to manage and enjoy all things that make up HOME!
Photo Credit: Cafe Credit via Flickr, under the Creative Commons License
lee says
I love the article and totally agree with it. My wife and I have been living debt-free for going on 7 years now and it was easily one of the best decisions we ever made,
It’s truly amazing what happens to your mind when you become debt-free. It feels as if chains have been unlocked and you have the freedom to explore the world in a way you never thought possible.
It became incredibly apparent to me how amazing debt-free living was when I, fortunately, lost my job. Yeah, you read that right, fortunately. I was so unhappy with my job for years and just quite frankly didn’t have the courage to just up and leave it. I mean I had a family to support and I just couldn’t see how it was a good decision to leave a decent paycheck.
Now I look at things completely differently. I haven’t gone back to a corporate job and hope I never have to.
Good luck and godspeed to anyone striving for debt freedom.!
Meg says
Thanks for sharing a little bit about your story! Congrats on being debt-free!! -Meg, MSM Team
Keri Travis says
Thanks for this great article. We aren’t debt free yet, infact we have a ways to go, but we are on the right path and working diligently to a debt free life!
Rosanna says
We have been working to be completely debt free for about 5 years now. We have been debt free besides our mortgage for about 2 years and are on track to pay off our house in just under 2 years! I love that we are able to teach our three children about how to manage finances and the importance of being debt free. Our two oldest daughters, (8 and 11) totally get it and are already convinced that they will buy houses with cash one day. We have also been able to give (which we love) and do debt-free vacations, which I love.
Kelly Cox says
Rosanna, that is fabulous! We share the same mindset. 🙂
Allen Vergakis says
Thank you for the post and a big AMEN to number one. God bless you and yours. In the love of Christ, Allen.
Kelly Cox says
Thanks, Allen! Bless you too.
christine says
Being debt free makes it so much easier to replace the transmission in your car with cash or to do hundreds of dollars of home repair etc., etc. In other words less stress and more freedom.
Kelly Cox says
Absolutely, Christine! Less stress and frustration because you are financially free and able to make decisions more easily.
Mary says
Kelly loved your post. We are debt free as well. In addition to all the things you mentioned. If you have children they will watch you living debt free. We now have two debt free young adult children. They have a different attitude about life than some of their friends such as in demand career choices, taking advantage of their 401k’s, etc. An added bonus they both treat my husband and myself to dinner, baseball games, etc. Being debt free is the gift that keeps on giving.
Kelly Cox says
Thanks, Mary! I’m excited to be able to raise our child (working on a debt-free adoption!) in a home that teaches them to live debt free. How fabulous that your children have learned just that. 🙂
Cathy @ tips4livingbetter.com says
Thanks for this post we are also debt free and it makes life easier and simple.
Because of our debt free life style we have been able to save money for emergencies. We are able to save money and buy things such as home appliances without taking any credit , which actually works much better.
I agree with you debt free lifestyle is the way to go.
Kelly Cox says
I’m with you Cathy, debt-free living makes life simpler. There is less stress and financial struggling which is a blessing!