The beginning- working on a debt-free life

Debt...many of us have it. Sometimes it can feel overwhelming. Some debt is a necessary and normal part of life and other debt is caused by making reckless and sometimes even materialistic choices. We have a lot of debt from school loans for going to a private, Christian university. Going to Liberty University is an experience I would never trade in a million years. That being said, private universities are pretty expensive. Luther received one degree from there and I received three. We are working hard on paying off school loans and have done pretty well so far. So well that we have had several people tell us that we should write about how we are paying off debt. One close friend even said we are her 'most grown up friends' which makes me laugh every time I think about it. This blog will be dedicated to our journey to becoming debt free. Hopefully it isn't too boring and maybe it will even help someone else out there learn how to pay off debt in a practical and easy manner:)

Here's the background:

• Luther and I met in 2005 at Liberty and began dating in 2006.
• Luther's degree in Criminal Justice resulted in approximately $28,000 in school loans. He graduated in May 2008 and we began paying on those loans December 2008 (after his six-month grace period).
• I finished my bachelor's in Dec 2007 but began my Master's immediately, meaning I didn't have to start paying on my loans yet because they were still in deferment. I graduated December 2009 with my Master's and my grace period ended June 2010. I started on my EdS in August 2010, putting my loans back into deferment. I finished that degree in December 2011 and began making payments immediately after since my six-month grace period was used in between my Masters ending and my EdS beginning. Approximate total for all three degrees- $90,000.

Before Luther and I got married in January 2009, we completed premarital counseling and worked on a budget. We still use that budget to this day. It only keeps track of our every day purchases (i.e. food, gas, insurance, utilities) but it allows us to see where we are spending our money. The major thing that has helped us is that we made that original budget on our beginning salaries and haven't changed it since. On paper, we had an extra $30 per month when we first got married. Talk about being scared! I remember my parents talking to me about tithing when I was younger and they told me that when you tithe, you will always have enough. We began tithing as soon as we got jobs and we have never needed money. God is our provider. We have since both gotten raises and/or promotions but we have not added that to our budget. We still spend money like we are on our original salaries and we save the difference...hence our plan to get debt-free. So far it is working...we have paid off close to $50,000 in four years but more details on that to come. And so our journey to become debt-free continues...