Our Financial Journey-Freedom from Debt and the Future

WE'RE DEBT FREE!!!  That had been the desire of our hearts for almost 16 months and finally we were able to scream it at the top of our lungs!  

On June 19th, Ciaran and I were curled up on the couch watching a movie.  I couldn't get interested in the movie, so I absent-mindedly turned my laptop on and without thinking, found myself typing in my student loan website (one of the perils of this journey to freedom from debt...the payment page on your debts become something you can navigate in your sleep).  As I logged in and my payment page popped up, I couldn't believe my eyes. 

Loan Balance:  PAID IN FULL

I just sat there. 

That's right, I just sat there.  I couldn't believe my eyes.   Once I got over the initial shock, I turned to Ciaran and calmly stated, "The last payment on my student loan just posted."  Looking into Ciaran's eyes at that moment, it registered.   It was over.  We were debt free.  No more watching all of that hard-earned money slip through our fingers.  No more staggering interest rates.  It was over!   I laughed and was giddy as only I can be.  We hugged and laughed some more.  It was OVER!!!!!  Our slavery to our debtors was OVER!!!! 

And now, the future.  Only the Lord knows what our future holds.  But He has been so faithful and amazing in leading us in this journey.  We fully give Him the glory because we know we couldn't have done this on our own!  As we've prayed about the future and discussed and discussed and prayed some more, we know our financial journey is far from over.  We do not want to go back in debt (other than a house mortgage) and so our next steps are to take care of a few matters so we, Lord willing, don't have to be enslaved to debt again. 

First, Ciaran and I have to pay for graduate school.  To keep our teaching certificates (so we can continue earning an income), we have to each complete 18 credits of graduate school.  Ciaran has just under two years to do this in and I have three years.  Since we have to work full-time jobs while we do this, there isn't a lot of funding available for us...which means we're going to have to pay for 36 graduate credits out of pocket in the space of three years...on our meager teachers' salaries.  Scary beyond all reason?  Yes.  But God is faithful and we know He'll provide.  Thankfully, we now know how to live frugally so we're going to just keep living the way we have for the last 17 months...if not even more frugally. 

Next, since we're continuing to follow Dave Ramsey's Babysteps, we're going to work on Babystep 3, our fully funded emergency fund of 6 months worth of expenses.  We started that this month, but progress will be really slow on this as we try to cash-flow grad school. The logic behind this huge emergency fund of untouched money, sitting in a savings account, is that when a true emergency comes up, we won't have to pull out the old credit card and accrue debt.  I know the challenging part for me is going to be not dipping into that fund when I have a "want" that comes up.  But it is imperative that we are disciplined with this step if we are really serious about not going back into debt again.

Finally, once we cash-flow grad. school and complete saving 6 months worth of expenses, we will finally have the opportunity to start saving for a house!!!!  Now this is the part we've been praying about for almost the entirety of our marriage so far.  What I'm going to share may seem a bit crazy, but just know it's been bathed in a lot of prayer and we really feel that this is how God wants us to proceed as a couple, as faithful stewards over the funds He has entrusted to us.  OK, so here goes:  Our goal is to save for a minimum of a 20% downpayment and...here's the tough part....we only want the monthly house payment to be 25% of Ciaran's take-home pay.  This probably means we'll end up making more than a 20% down payment.  To make this even more interesting...we only want a 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage.  So yes, we're probably going to be renting for quite some time. 

But we're ok with that.  Our goal when we started this financial journey was to glorify God with our finances, keep the lines of communication open between us, and to "live like no one else today so one day we can give like no one else!"  God has been faithful and we will continue to submit our finances to Him, as He leads us by His grace.  It's been an exciting journey so far and my faith in the Lord has grown so much through this journey.  It's my prayer that Ciaran and I will continue to grow in our relationship with Him and with each other as He teaches us how to be faithful stewards of what He has entrusted to us.