Debt Freedom is a Long Road...or is it?

For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to avoid debt. I remember getting a total of $38 in birthday money when I was younger. The next day, I had my mom bring me to the bank and helped me open up a savings account. I couldn't wait to add to it; watching that balance grow was like crack to me!

When I originally went to college I decided to major in Accounting and Finance. I remember learning about costs of credit vs. earning interest on savings. They made it clear that the difference was between instant gratification and delayed gratification. I could never understand why anyone would be so irresponsible with credit. Or with money, for that matter. Couldn't they see what kind of future they were giving up for getting what they wanted right now?

Then life hit.

We've gotten ourselves in debt, climbed back out, and now we have found ourselves right back in it again. We had a baby in October 2012 and that reality REALLY hit. Diapers are how much? Formula is HOW MUCH?! Daycare costs that much every MONTH?!?!

Slowly but surely, we are right back where we started. It would appear, that everyone finds themselves in this category at one time or another. Living in debt is so normal nowadays, it's no wonder we're almost immune to it.

However - the more I analyzed our situation the more I became disgusted with it.  And you know what? It takes disgust to make a change. If we are forever complacent, than where we are today is where we will be 5 years from now.

So the time to make a big, scary, first step is right now.

Today - I took a financial snapshot of where we are. If you've never done that, the time is now. It's not pleasant for most people, but to me the anxiety comes from being out of control, not from being in denial.  So taking a long hard look at the financial reality is the first logical step.

Here's the brutal, honest truth, right from the get-go - together, Jeff and I have medical, car, student loan and credit card debt totaling $32,797. That number makes me cringe, but I have faith that we can tackle it.

I have read and reread "Pocket Your Dollars", which I HIGHLY recommend to anyone who wants to make changes in their financial lives. In doing so, I understand the psychology behind, and my relationship with, money and credit.

Now I am currently following Dave Ramsey's advice (although we saved much more than $1000 in our emergency fund before tackling our debt, just to play it uber-safe):

The next step was to create a debt snowball, plus we added what I like to call "momentum money".  A debt snowball, although I'm sure most of you know this already, is where you pay the minimums on every balance, and start targeting one balance at a time (usually the loan with the smallest to pay off), putting every extra cent you have at that one debt. Once that debt is paid off, you take the minimum balance you were paying on that loan and apply it to the next loan, again adding every extra cent you can to those payments until that one is paid off, then apply those two minimum payments to the next one, etc. Before you know it you're making $700 payments on your larger loans and melting them away quickly.

Including all our minimum payments, I decided that we could afford to pay $900 towards debt repayment every month, which means we will be debt free in just over 3 years - July 2017, which also happens to be the month in which our 6th anniversary falls. What a sweet gift to each other.

So today - I'm chosing not to be "normal".  3 years of putting our heads down and getting to work on this mess that we've made, in exchange for a lifetime of true financial independence seems like a very small price to pay. The hope is that in allowing you into my journey, I will stay the course, reap the rewards, and maybe even inspire some of you along the way.

Here goes everything :)