Because we don’t talk about being debt-free it almost seems like it isn’t possible.
IT’S POSSIBLE.
Our family is completely debt-free, and it feels GREAT! We don’t have the coolest house, or the fanciest cars or clothing, but we also don’t owe anyone a single dime. We don’t have lots of fear or regrets. We hope things will work out in the economy and every day we’re feeling happier about the choices we’ve made. Joy can be a very quiet feeling, but it is real and it lasts.
And getting to this place wasn’t easy. There is so much pressure and bad information telling us we have to have certain things and that our children have to have more things, and it’s simply not true. We’ve been working towards this goal for a very long time and it has required many sacrifices but there is so much peace that comes from knowing that if the current job dissolves, we have some time to look for and hopefully work out new solutions.
Similar to how I shared ways we cut costs for our daughter’s wedding (Save Yourself, Budget Weddings), I’m going to be really bold and share a few of the budgeting choices we’ve made over the years that brought us to this point. (Fasten your seat belts. This promises to be a wild ride.)
*Buy a SMALL home. Working as an Interior Designer, this choice hasn’t always been fun for me and sharing one bedroom wasn’t our daughters’ dream come true, but financially it worked! Big beautiful homes are my job, and not my life. We also found that having all five girls, ages 4-16, in one bedroom really encouraged college. Man! do they want to go away to school!
*Don’t remodel every square inch. For example, our main floor guest bathroom is total 1970’s and blue, everywhere! All the fixtures are BLUE. We’ve lived in this house for 8 years and believe me I have ideas on how it could look so much better but it was in pretty good condition and we chose to do without in that and a few other areas. We’ve remodeled here and there but only when we could REALLY afford it.
*Don’t buy tons of clothes. When I was 19 I learned a valuable lesson. I worked for Eastern Airline and Nordstrom and spent a fair amount of my paychecks on great sale items purchased with my even greater employee discount. That was fun but I quickly learned that I wasn’t any happier with my bed covered in new outfits. I still like nice clothes but I’m okay with a much smaller selection and I’ve become a very serious hunter.
*Let the children earn the balance of their spending money. Sometimes people ask me how we’ve been able to get our daughters to work and be so financially independent. The answer is simple. We don’t give them everything they want. I have no idea how to encourage or motivate children who have all their wants and needs met by parents. More than just saying NO, we’ve tried to say YES, you can get that if you’re willing to work for it.
*Let the children help pay for their lessons and activities. Our daughter Rosemary has had some unique experiences in this area. During her teenage years she paid hundreds of dollars each quarter for a portion of her dancing lessons and earned about two thousand dollars for a month long river trip. This is the same daughter that we let live and model in Singapore, Milan, Japan, and New York. We knew she could handle it.
*Let the children help pay for their clothes. Our fifth daughter, Lizzie, at the tender age of 9, began calling a few of the young mothers in the neighborhood to ask if they would like to hire her as a mother’s helper once a week. For two and three dollars an hour, sweet moms appreciated having Lizzie fold their laundry, maybe vacuum a little, and mostly play with the children while they worked on things in the other room. Lizzie knows what she likes in clothes and she also knows how to manage her money. At 12 she’s able to pay $25.00 a month for her most basic, no text or voice mail, cell phone.
*Don’t buy expensive cars. This is another one that’s been hard for me. I like nice cars. When we were first married Mike worked for his father and our company cars were BMWs and a Jaguar. Heady stuff for 22-year-olds. We left the family business after only a couple of years in order to complete college. Today Mike is a Vice President that drives a very used, very old, but very clean, Honda Accord, or something. We call it the Cream Puff.
*Don’t buy expensive gadgets. I have the oldest and most basic cell phone you can buy. For years we only had a 12″ television. Then a client gave us one of their old T.V.s I sometimes joke that we’re living The Grapes of Wrath motif but it’s really not that bad. We just don’t ‘buy into’ everything that comes along. If we can make do without it, we DO! It’s actually pretty liberating.
*Let the children be responsible for their college. We were blessed with daughters who excel in school and we tried to teach them very early on to work hard for scholarships. We gave each girl three thousand dollars to help out with their first year expenses and then let them handle all the rest. All four of our older daughters have worked a limited amount during their college years and all four of them have enjoyed the blessings of scholarships. No way could/would we have paid for Boston University or Marylhurst. This year, our oldest daughter, Samantha will graduate with her Masters degree. Our twins, Hailey and Sarah will both graduate from BYU, and Rosie is about half way there. I’m so happy and thankful that they each have achieved these educational goals. I’m also happy and thankful that they managed most of the investment themselves.
*Always pay tithing, fast offerings, and teach the children to do the same. When I was about 10 I won a coloring contest at our local grocery store. The prize was a beautiful 10-speed bike! I clearly remember my mom teaching me about the blessings of tithing and I remember earning $10.00 to give to the Bishop for tithing on that bike. Win win. In paying our tithing we acknowledge God’s gift in all we have by returning the favor.
Sorry to be so long. I’m sure there were other things we did and didn’t do that were ‘different’ but it’s late now and I’m too tired to think. We still took family vacations and certainly bought things we didn’t need but most of all we believed that being debt-free was a realistic goal. More than ever, I’m so thankful for all the stuff we don’t have!
