As we rolled into 2019, we had a goal to continue the momentum and snowball building. The first curveball that hit was a cold snap that caused a water pipe to burst in our basement. While we assessed the damage and began cleaning up, mold was found hidden behind wall paneling. This led us to continue looking behind every nook and crevice, only to find more mold and previous water damage from years ago. 

Thankfully our insurance company responded quickly and provided a substantial check to clean up the water damage. However, they would not fully cover the mold remediation as their “preferred company” was much cheaper. This caused our momentum to temporarily pause to properly remediate the mold and renovate the basement. Even though this was a set back to our financial goals, it was offset by having a clean area where the kids could play and I could work from home. 

While we continued to pinch pennies throughout 2019, little progress was made on paying off debt due to the basement renovation. This was a critical juncture in our journey as it would have been easy to throw in the towel due to the set back. There will be setbacks and unexpected expenses during every debt free journey, but it’s important to stay focused on the end goal of financial freedom.

The importance of staying focused and continuing to push through every hurdle has been the biggest lesson learned throughout the long journey. The road to financial freedom is a long one with many twists, turns, downed trees that need to be moved and other obstacles that need to be overcome. Each time a fork in the road appears is an opportunity to push even harder towards the goal. 

The year 2020 will live in infamy for many reasons, but for our financial journey we turned it into an opportunity. While there are many things to say about COVID, we’ll stay focused on the financial side here. We were blessed to skate through the COVID situation without major issues, and it allowed us to get the snowball rolling at an unexpected rate.

At this stage in our journey, nearly all of our debt consisted of student loans. This allowed us to throw every Trump Check and Biden Buck at the snowball. Some people used those government checks on themselves while we did the opposite. We pretended they never arrived and threw all of it at the debt which made our debt shovel much bigger. On top of a bigger shovel, most of those student loans went to 0% interest which meant all the money we put on debt went directly to the principle, making that snowball bigger and bigger.

Additionally, I learned the value of investing in yourself during this period. A colleague obtained his Project Management Professional certificate and suggested I do the same. Around this time I also found Ken Coleman.  Ken works for Ramsey Solutions and focuses on career objectives. His podcast is great and allowed me to see the value of knowing your worth.

In September of 2021 I took the Get Clear Assessment to figure out what I really wanted to do for work. It reinforced that I was close to a desired career, but a few tweeks would help. Between a colleague suggesting, Nikki encouraging and the Assessment, I decided to take the plunge of $1,200 to obtain my Project Management Professional certificate.

I signed up for the required class and planned to take the class in December. I took PTO to fully concentrate on the class and began studying for the exam. Most people who take the PMP exam study for a few months after the required classroom learning to ensure a passing grade. Around that same time, a COVID vaccine mandate was announced by my employer. I applied for an exemption, but did not hear back for an extended duration.

This kicked me into high gear knowing that I could lose my job at any time. I completed the classroom portion on December 21st and signed up to take the PMP exam on January 8th. I spent every spare moment studying for the exam, taking mock exams and doing everything I could to pass. The mock exams from TIA helped tremendously to pass the exam with Above Target in all three categories. 

Prior to passing the PMP, I was applying to jobs on LinkedIn, Indeed, ZipRecruiter and every other job board out there with little traction. After passing the PMP, adding it to my resume and LinkedIn, interviews increased tremendously. Within a few weeks I had multiple job offers and wrote up a resignation email. Prior to sending the email, I called my boss as a courtesy to let him know it was coming. 

The primary reason for taking another job offer was tied to the vaccine mandate and not knowing if I would be employed as my vaccine exemption was still not approved. The next 24 hours were a blur due to the amount of phone calls back and forth. Ultimately, I ended up getting the vaccine exemption, a significant raise and stayed at my current employer. Similar to the COVID checks, this additional money was thrown directly at the debt and allowed us to continue the momentum.

Between COVID checks, work bonuses and continuing to pinch pennies we were able to knock our debt down to one remaining student loan as of this writing. This has allowed us to handle many emergencies that have popped up, to plan for the future and to further solidify what’s really important. 

Throughout all of the situations that arose from 2019-2023, it’s easy to see God at work. At the time, a burst water pipe seemed insurmountable, but it was a blessing in disguise as we were able to fix the mold problem that was hidden. Finding Ken Coleman allowed me to push past the drudgery of work and know my worth, which is also critical for the Christian. Standing my ground against the vaccine mandate has allowed great conversions with colleagues on a multitude of topics. Though it may be difficult to see at the time, God is all knowing and allows us to be tempted to reach a level we never thought possible. 

The entire debt free journey has been an eye opening experience and has paid off massively. It would be easy to say “look at all our hard work” instead of giving God the glory for all of the blessings He’s provided. It would be easy to spend all of the extra money on stuff that doesn’t really matter, but keeping focused on the ultimate goal is key. Our debt free journey has not been about getting nicer things. It has been focused on how being debt free will give us the freedom to serve God more. Getting rid of debt allows us to help more people, attend more church functions and will allow us the freedom to go when called. The next post will show how our intentionality over the past five years has paid off.

Dave Ramsey’s snowball method provided a way out of the crushing pressure of debt. Living life paycheck-to-paycheck was all we had known and appeared to be the only way to live. Growing up it seemed the only people that didn’t live paycheck-to-paycheck were the wealthy who inherited money or those who made an exorbitant amount. As a single income family, we didn’t fit into either category and thought our lot in life was to live paycheck-to-paycheck.

All seven “Baby Steps” can be found here.

This post will focus on the snowball method of paying off debt and how to get debt under control.

The snowball method can be found here:

When we started the Dave Ramsey snowball journey, our consumer debt totaled $118,000. In order to “keep debt under control”, it would be moved from 0% credit card offer to 0% credit card offer. The philosophy was that interest would remain low while the debt was paid down. However, once a credit card limit was available it was spent on something else. Instead of paying down debt by transferring the debt to new cards at a lower interest rate, the debt continued to increase as more cards were opened up. It was a vicious cycle that was difficult to comprehend while going through it.

We had no idea how to even begin attacking that amount of debt and it took awhile to figure it out. Even more confusing was figuring out how to budget. Once a monthly budget was compiled, we blew past it faster than expected. It took a few months of vigilance to understand where our money was going and how to reign in the spending. 

Following the snowball method, all debts were written out from smallest to largest without regard to interest rate. It makes no logical sense to pay lower interest rate debts off first, but it is psychologically beneficial. Paying off a debt, no matter how small, allows you to get in the proper mindset and see a small victory. This small victory allows you to gain momentum and keep rolling down the hill. Eventually so many small debts are paid off they make a big difference.

A kick starter in 2018 was selling our 2013 Toyota Camry. We had purchased it a couple years prior and loved the car. Though we loved the car, it wasn’t used all that much since I worked from home and Nikki homeschooled the kids. I took it to a local dealer who offered less than we owed on our loan. To get  more cash out of the car, a sign was put on it in our front yard and it was put on Facebook Marketplace. Within a couple of weeks, and a few test drives someone offered $3,500 more than was left on the loan. Selling that car was hard, but it freed up $279 a month and allowed a 20 year old F150 to be purchased with cash.

Another kick-starter was taking on a second job working for a family member. I was able to work Saturdays on construction sites and even took some PTO at my job to work the side gig. Those two small steps allowed debts to finally be paid off and momentum to continue growing. By the end of 2018 we had paid off two small student loans of $6,500, our car debt of $9,500 and monthly payments of $400. This allowed us to throw all of that money at the next pile and continue moving at a quicker pace. At this point we were finally seeing the snowball gain momentum, and while we had a long way to go, we were proud of what we had accomplished and motivated to keep going no matter what.

I took an accounting class in high school which was a glorified how-to on balancing a checkbook. Other than that one class, real teaching on monetary topics never happened. Without a fundamental understanding on how to budget, why an emergency fund is needed, and what college really costs I became an adult without knowing how to handle money.

My first loan was from my dad when I was 16. I was tired of sharing a baby blue with white vinyl top 1987 Cadillac Brougham (look it up for some laughs) so I decided to purchase my own car. I had been working at The Pizzeria, mowing lawns and working for my family to earn and save up what I could. At the time I had about $900 but finding a reliable car at that price was difficult. Someone two years ahead of me in school was selling a burgundy 1993 Pontiac Grand Am sedan for $1,500. My dad graciously offered to close the gap and I could pay him back. Not wanting to drain every cent I had, I took out $750 and he kicked in the other $750. Over the next six or so months I paid him back in full without interest – quite generous.

When I was a senior in high school, that four door family car wasn’t cool enough. I was able to save up a bit more money, could use the Grand Am as a down payment but still didn’t have enough to pay cash for a cooler car. My dad offered to cosign a loan for me to get a 1997 Dodge Avenger. So at 18 years old, still in high school and working at the local pizza joint, I took out my first bank loan for $4,000 and a monthly payment of $120. 

Around that same time, our guidance counselor was helping most students figure out what college to attend. In 2004 the message was clear – either go to college and make a lot of money or be stuck at one of the local factories making minimum wage. Considering I already had a car loan on a measly $5.15 per hour, there was no money saved up for college so I had to apply for grants and loans. 

My parents once again helped fill out the ridiculously long FAFSA and I waited to see how much grant money would be provided. Grants were not enough to cover the local Ohio State University branch, so loans were needed. After six months I dropped out as I had no idea what I wanted to do for a living and preferred to party it up. After a year or so break from college and realizing I didn’t want to work at Sam’s Club forever, I enrolled in a local community college. Filling out the FAFSA wasn’t enough to cover everything, so student loans became an anchor to my life for the next 15 years. Normal student loans weren’t enough to cover my terrible budgeting or all the concerts I had to attend, so secondary student loans entered the picture.

We got married in 2008, Nolin was born in 2009 and making ends meet was tough. On someone’s recommendation, I decided to go back to college for a bachelor’s degree. Not only would a bachelor’s degree help my career, but the current student loans could be deferred while going back to school. It seemed like a win-win. Might as well rack up more student loan debt while not being able to afford the current student loans, right?

As can be seen, loan after loan after loan was taken out without the cost being counted. There was always something else that I needed to have or needed to do. It was ingrained in me that “If you can afford the payment, you can afford it”. It would take until 2018 to realize that was not the case. Bad decision after bad decision led us down the path to debt upon debt. 

We always thought debt was a way of life and that it would always be around in one form or another. How could someone afford a car without debt? How could someone get a college degree without student loans? In 2018 we began listening to Dave Ramsey and his debt snowball philosophy. Dave Ramsey’s steps are simple, but it takes intentionality to make them work. It’s easy to get into debt, but getting out of debt is a long hard road that is worth every step.

Along with politics and religion, money is a taboo topic in American culture. The lack of money discussion is a primary factor in personal monetary issues plaguing this country. The first step in understanding money is to talk about it.

1 Timothy 6:10 says “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” Note that it says the LOVE of money, not money itself, is evil. It’s an important distinction that I’ve not always grasped. Money is an inanimate object and is neither good nor evil. 

Having an abundance of money can, but not always will, cause someone to put their trust in it instead of God. In Matthew 19:23-24, Jesus said “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” It is difficult, but not impossible.

Matthew 27:57-58 shows that being rich does not automatically make a person evil.  It states “…a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.” Not only did Joseph become a disciple of Jesus, he also risked everything to properly bury the body of Jesus. The same Israelites that demanded Jesus be crucified also could have punished Joseph.

Another fallacy is that only those who are rich can be rich. Growing up and until a few years ago, I always thought that debt would be a millstone hanging around my neck. I told many people over the years “There is no way I can help my kids with college; I’ll still be paying off my student loans.” It can be difficult to comprehend the impact of hard work, intentionality, and knowing your worth in respect to wealth building.

A shocking statistic from Dave Ramsey is that “79% of millionaires did not receive any inheritance at all from their parents or other family members.” This is contrary to what most media pushes to the mass of sheople. With hard work, perseverance, and intentionality anyone can achieve their dreams. For those who disagree with Dave Ramsey, another study completed by Fidelity found that “88% of millionaires are self made.”

Dave Ramsey’s book Total Money Makeover was the push we needed to understand that money isn’t evil and we don’t have to live in debt our entire lives. We began our debt free journey in 2018 and are still working through it. There have been struggles along the way, many setbacks and lessons. Each part of the journey has been a learning curve and well worth it. For example, it took us months to figure out how to budget. 

Getting out of debt and having full control over your money allows for more freedom. Proverbs 22:7 says “The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.” When money is owed to someone else, you cannot do what you want to do. There is no freedom and no peace of mind. It will be a long journey of constant learning and each step is needed to make it to the end. Our hope with this part of the blog is that someone else can see there is light at the end of the tunnel.