You can’t get out of debt while keeping the same lifestyle that got you there.

— Dave Ramsay

It is time for a change. A serious change. Our family of five isn’t just diving headfirst into debt, we are officially drowning in it. And I’ve had it.

We’ve tried and failed many times to stick to a budget. Although marrying my husband was the best decision I ever made, it would be nice if one of us had some financial sense! After fourteen years of marriage, we are now standing on a mountain of debt that we have almost nothing to show for it. How many of you are right where we are?

Our starting number is bigger than I thought possible. When I sat down and combined the totals of our auto loan, personal loan, student loan, hospital bill, and three credit cards, it equaled $45,732. FORTY FIVE THOUSAND, SEVEN HUNDRED AND THIRTY TWO! How in the world did we get here? I know that we aren’t alone, since I’ve seen article after article about the consumer debt crisis in America. Over $14,000 of our debt is credit card debt. That number makes me want to cry, vomit, and hide all at the same time.

So many emotions accompany this debt life. Shame, regret, embarrassment, depression, anxiety, etc. It follows us around and pulls us away from the life that we truly want. We want to be able to take our kids to Disneyland or save for a down payment on a house! I have a long list of things that we want to do or have, but that simply aren’t possible because of the debt that we got ourselves into.

But enough is enough. We got this. I refuse to be slave to this debt life any longer. We have started following Dave Ramsey’s “Baby Step” plan and are excited about our future for the first time in a long time. Join us as we tackle this debt together. Debt Free 2022, we are coming for you.