Drum roll please .......... In less than a year .................. by obeying prophetic counsel ....................
which has not always been easy ..................... we ...................... are ................... down ................... to ... $2145.11 from $14,500 in credit card debt incurred from the sale of our house in Louisiana.
That says nothing of our completely drained savings and emergency fund and the loan we have out on Sam's retirement. But WOW! What progress in such little time. We also paid off our van which will make the last bit easier to get rid of, and then, we can start building that nest egg again. First wish list purchase; a grain mill! I have great friends that have been grinding wheat for me weekly and it's been saving us in many ways. We have learned so much and have been greatly enriched by the experiences we couldn't have had any other way.
We have never carried unsecured debt before and have been very careful about vehicle and home loans. This has been tough but a great learning experience for us and we are so excited to begin seeing rays of light coming from the end of the tunnel. As the end draws near, we are getting antsy and have wish lists a mile long. It gets more difficult to stay on the path when the end seems just around the corner. A little remembering and refocusing and it's easy to see that things are wonderful even if the wish list is never realized.
So many wonderful people have helped us, wether it be; giving us hand me downs, grinding wheat, lending pressure cookers for canning chicken, telling me when chicken is on sale, dropping by food, giving an unexpected gift card, handing me cash for groceries, single handedly supplying Christmas (you know who you are!), watching our children so we can go to the temple, or offering ideas and recipes, it's all become such an invaluable part of who we are and our ability to get out of this spiritually, emotionally, and financially crippling debt. Thank you to all those that have helped make it possible for us to follow the counsel that got us here.
Thank you, thank you, thank you :)
How'd we do it?
* We bake our bread, including hamburger and hot dog buns
* We eat very simply and from scratch
* We eat mostly from food storage items that can be purchased from the church cannery
* We do not go out to eat except for actual special occasions (birthdays, anniversary)
* When we do go out it's McDonald's, Subway, Taco bell (you get the picture) and the dollar menu fills us up just fine. The children can share things (2 bags of fries is more than plenty to share for our entire family) and water is free!
* Hand me downs are awesome! I haven't needed to buy any clothing for so long. I can't even remember the last time I had to shop somewhere other than the totes of clothing people have given us. I still have things waiting for Zack and Ellie to grow into which ultimately end up with Jake and Addie.
* I patch jeans as long as patches will stay on and keep the holes covered and I mend anything I can.
* When I do need to buy clothing I go to thrift stores first and good old WalMart/Target hook me up with anything I can't find there.
* Shopping is for everyone else. I avoid it. You can always find a shopping cart full of things you 'need' desperately. We have been thriving just fine without any of it.
* We are careful about where we drive (gas) and have found that we can have just as much fun (and even more) at home.
* We choose extra activities (music lessons, sports teams, etc.) carefully and always consult with the Lord before signing up
* We buy nothing, even food and clothing, without consulting the Lord first.
* We go without nothing that actually matters and have more than we ever did before.
Money and things are truly not happiness and we have been so blessed to realize that.
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