Three Down, One To Go

Yesterday was a monumental day. Jon and I paid off another credit card! We had been working on paying off our debts since we got married. We paid two off in our first year of marriage and have now paid off a third! We currently only have one card left, with a balance of about $7,300. We haven't charged anything on it since we've been married; our honeymoon cruise was put on it.

It may not seem like a big deal to some, but to us it is a huge deal! The only debt aside from the one remaining credit card is our student loans, which in my opinion is good debt. Why is it good debt? First, we have low interest rates locked in. Second, that debt was needed to further our education, which in turn made us more valuable employees, giving us the potential to make more money.

Paying off debt isn't something that is done overnight. I've learned it takes a lot of patience and perseverance. I would love to wake up tomorrow and have no debt, but that isn't practical. Jon and I have made a budget and have been working hard to stay on it.

Another trick we learned is figuring out which bills are getting paid by which paycheck. For instance, Jon gets paid once a month and I get paid twice. His paycheck tends to pay our credit card debts, savings, and support for his parents. My first check (received on the 5th) pays our mid month bills - student loans, insurance, and our cell phone. My second check (received on the 20th) pays our beginning of the month bills - rent, tithing, utilities, and groceries. Once we get the check, we deposit it and in our ledger we immediately write the expenses down that it pays for - deposited on the fifth, bills dated 18th to 21st. This way we know our obligations are covered and we know what we have left to pay for gas and other expenses.

It has been a struggle sometimes to see how low our account gets, but it's also been a good way to trust God's provision. He hasn't let me down and He never will. I think of how much we have accomplished - we are paying more than minimum payments on our credit cards and we're putting money into savings. It's encouraging to see the debts go down and the savings go up.

We wouldn't have been able to do it without God. He has continually provided for us, usually above and beyond. When you let God be God, amazing things will happen.