718 credit score and rising…WHO CARES!

Posted by: amberhines on: February 27, 2014

• In: Life
• 2 Comments

(Yea, it hasn’t always been that great).

I just want to share a little about why I’m so passionate on the subject of being debt free. No, we don’t have it all figured out. No, we are not debt free but we are 1/2 – 3/4 of the way there thanks to the principles God’s word and Dave Ramsey has taught us. It has been a give and take scenario that has not been easy but with a little discipline we have been able to start digging out; slowly but surely. We have sacrificed buying things we wanted and made sure all of our debts got a few extra dollars put towards them, starting with the smallest and working to the largest.

I was the woman that was suckered into signing up for every store credit card just to get that coveted “10% off” + “rewards points” for every purchase. INGENIOUS marketing for the vulnerable/gullible woman I was! Then, when money was tight and Kobey needed clothes, I’d bust out the store card and rack up a hefty tab instead of just saving a few dollars every month to buy him new clothes (and kids clothes are not an unexpected expense because he WILL keep growing). I mean, WHY not?? Buy now, pay later! Little did I realize, 2 years had gone by and I still didn’t own the clothes my kid had outgrown because I was still paying for them! In the last 14 months we have paid off (rough estimate) around $13,000 in debt. Any extra money we’ve gotten (bonuses, tax refunds, Christmas money, and extra commission) has been thrown at our debt to get rid of it. Hence the 718 credit score. I went to my works credit union a few days ago and out of curiosity I wanted to know where our score fell now. We’ve gone up 53 points in 14 months but do I care? Nope. A “credit” score is simply a “debt” score. Our “A” credit rating just means we’ve had a lot of debt! The credit union tried to talk me into buying a new car soon since I’ll get such an awesome interest rate. “No thank you” I said…as I laughed my way out the door. I’ve learned my lesson. 😉

We have always been the people that lived pay check to pay check but that is changing. I can’t tell you how good it feels to go from 8-9 credit card balances (most, close to maxed out) to ZERO credit card balances. Also, it feels good to know that everything in my house is MINE. I don’t owe anybody anything for it. I’ve also been paying a little more towards our SUV every month and it will be paid OFF in 3.5 payments! We currently have 3 debt payments which consists of 2 cars and a loan. These 3 payments equal almost $1,100. Just THINK of what we could do with that kind of extra $$ a month!

Jason and I weren’t always in a lot of debt but when he lost his job and we went from 2 good paying jobs to 1…it was devastating. I was taking out loans where ever I could just to make our mortgage and utility payments. Then, we had to “short” sell our house to get out from under it. They said our credit would probably take a huge blow. It didn’t. I think it went down 15 points. Due to all the bills we had acquired (that fit into our 2 income mold), we practically hit bottom in our finances. It was a miracle that we were still making all of our other payments. I can honestly say it’s because in the midst of it all we never quit tithing/giving. Even when I was mad and blaming God for our misfortune we still tithed. The Lord says in Malachi 3:10-12 (my own paraphrased version): “Bring in the tithe and He will bless you so that you won’t even have enough room to receive it. He will also rebuke the devourer for your sake and protect your crops from being destroyed”. I honestly believe this is the reason we are where we are today. We gave out of our need and God saw us through the trials and protected us from being destroyed.

I said all this to say: You CAN get out of debt. It doesn’t matter what your financial state is, you can beat it! It doesn’t have to beat you. It will require hard work, dedication, temptation resistance, and an overall desire to be FREE! It will take some people longer than others but taking care of your present financial woes will insure you have a bright financial future. It can happen. I’ve heard too many testimonies, mine included, to believe otherwise. I’m not bragging to say “Look what we’ve done!”, I’m sharing to say, “Look what you can do!”

I encourage everyone, if you haven’t taken the class, to look into Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University course. It will not only change your finances, IF you work it, it will change your life.

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Tags: dave ramsey, debt, finances, freedom, life