Debt Free Me – Pursuit of Excellence

Month End: March Snapshot

At the end of March, I could’ve never seen the COVID-19 pandemic coming. No one in the banking industry, no one in our country, and no one in the world could have predicted the impact of this virus. Although many may disagree with me, it is necessary to shut down pieces of the economy to prevent the spread of this virus. I have never seen fear on this scale in my lifetime. As I listen to the Dave Ramsey show, I’m thankful that my wife and I do have something in savings. If you’re not familiar with the baby steps, see below:

Note that my blog posts and website is for education purposes and all intellectual property belongs to the creator referenced. The reason my Navient student loan’s balance increased is because the interest is capitalized against the loan. What this previous statement means is that the interest on the loan is added onto the balance. This behavior does happen on consumer loans. If you see a capitalized finance charge on your monthly billing statement that’s what it could possibly mean, and I encourage you to check with your financial institution and have them educate on how the daily interest applies against your loan.

Next month, we’re closing on our newly built home. Alongside this closing, I am handling my Dad’s estate. For anyone that’s handled an estate, it is not just handling the finances, it is also taking care of the remaining items left behind, moving, and taking care of the parent left behind. My Dad handled the finances toward the end of his life, and I’ve taken over the finances to keep the burden off my Mom. It is also handling the burial/cremation, and planning on what to do next. I am so thankful for my wife throughout this process. Also, we’re expecting our first child in June. There is way too much going on for me to handle on my own. Despite all these events, we remain focused on being debt free.

If you want to learn more about the self-lending principle or if you need a financial check-up then contact me.

This month’s video is How to Budget for a Small Business + Small Business Taxes + Self Employment & Tithing from the Gateway Stewardship YouTube channel.

Deuteronomy‬
‭28:12‬
‭NLT‬‬
‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

http://bible.com/116/deu.28.12.nlt‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

I believe in your journey to….

A Debt Free Me

Month End: February Snapshot

My Dad died on February 28, 2020. My Dad is a hero to me. There was a time I thought he looked like Harrison Ford, and since I loved Indiana Jones movies, I wanted to be an archaeologist. Obviously, I did not go down that path. Growing up, I tried to accomplish certain milestones that he didn’t. I graduated from college. I considered becoming an Officer in the Air Force, and my original major that I studied in college was Information Systems because I had planned and hoped to work with him.

There are certain activities that we did together that I continue to enjoy today. One activity was playing golf. I am not nearly as devoted as he was to it, but I enjoy it as a way of socializing and relaxing my mind. He taught me how to work hard and as a manager one lesson that he taught me was to praise in public and to correct in private. He served his country for many years, he worked hard to earn an income, and he served his church. He participated and led small groups that I believe helped impact so many more lives for eternity. Toward the end of his life, he recommitted himself to Christ, and sealed this commitment with a recommitment baptism. He was not perfect, and there’s a lot of pain and trauma that I grew from. In the end I love my Dad and I wish I could talk with him some more. In your journey to being debt free, make memories and write down and talk about the reason why you want to be debt free. We as human beings are not promised tomorrow. Today love your loved ones a little more and tell them you love them.

If you want to learn more about the self-lending principle or if you need a financial check-up then contact me.

This month’s video is It Happens to 98 out of 100 People from the Video Advice YouTube channel.

I believe in your journey to….

A Debt Free Me

Month End: January Snapshot

At the end of January, my Dad had to go into the hospital. In previous posts, I mentioned that he had been diagnosed with cancer. He had been undergoing chemo treatment, and this treatment was intended to delay the spread of the cancer. I went over to my parents’ apartment and created my Dad’s BBQ sauce with his guidance. For this month, my wife and I decided to make a draw from her personal line of credit to consolidate and pay down three of her credit cards. Also, I continued focusing on paying down the auto loan the Ford Focus. If you have the discipline, then yes you can use a line of credit to pay down or refinance credit card debt. If you use this option, do you have the discipline to not use those credit cards again? Do you have the discipline to close the credit cards down?

If you want to learn more about the self-lending principle or if you need a financial check-up then contact me.

This month’s video is Edward Norton — On Creative Process and Struggle, and Motherless Brooklyn | The Tim Ferriss Show from the Tim Ferris YouTube channel.

I believe in your journey to….

A Debt Free Me

Month End: December Snapshot

With my credit card debt being paid off, I could now focus on Jill’s debt. Off and on I heard about Dave Ramsey, and I had my reservations about his way, but listening to an episode with my good friend Davis. I decided to subscribe to the Dave Ramsey show podcast, and I began listening to episodes. Dave’s baby steps are a proven recipe not just for getting out of debt, but for building wealth. I find myself revaluating my approach toward debt not just for myself but for my family. Now I am realizing that is not just my debt…it truly is our debt. 2018 was a path of rebuilding my life, and at the end of 2019, I feel like I am approaching another level.

In searching for a house to buy, I learned new things about my sweet wife. I never knew she loved cul-de-sacs!? It was on our most recent trip to look at houses in Deatsville, that I suggested we build our house. We looked at using two local builders, and eventually chose another builder based on it having the features that we both were looking for. Walking into the model home in the subdivision, my breath was taken away by how much the living room opened due to the vaulted ceilings. I liked the open kitchen and how the island set out in the open floor. We decided on a floorplan that was like the model home, but more within our price point. Working in the banking industry for so many years, this was my first time going through the mortgage process. Fortunately, we were able to finance the mortgage with nothing down at a good rate for a 30-year mortgage. With this process, we renewed our apartment complex on a month-to-month lease, which is close to what our future mortgage payment would be. This current lease gives me the opportunity to re-adjust my budget and see how the future mortgage payment would impact our journey to being debt free. In fact, I often re-examine my financial pulse yearly and adjust it accordingly. Look at your budget because it is a road map for your finances.

If you want to learn more about the self-lending principle or if you need financial check-up then contact me.

This month’s video is You Can Wander Into Debt, But You Can’t Wander Out! from the Dave Ramsey – Full Episodes YouTube channel.

Deuteronomy‬
‭28:12‬
‭NLT‬‬
‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

I believe in your journey to….

A Debt Free Me

Month End: November Snapshot

Being free of my credit card debt is a huge relief and I have never gone into exact detail about my debt free journey up to this point. Out of shame, I haven’t told the whole truth. I’ve always been in debt–in some shape or form– since college. Back in 2007, I declared Chapter 13 bankruptcy because I had too much consumer debt, I had lost my job and I felt like I did not have a choice. I didn’t want to lose my car and any other assets I had so I thought Chapter 13 was the safest way to go.

The truth is you are doomed to make the same mistakes if you don’t learn from them. After a life-changing event in late 2017, I realized that I needed to be open with my finances with my spouse. You would think that I would’ve learned that when two become one in marriage, it also means finances too. Even though I portrayed an image of having it all together, I was selfish and immature. There was a lot I needed to learn about myself and unfortunately, I desperately craved unhealthy attention. My spending reflected my own insecurities. Since I came from the financial services industry, I desperately sought the next opportunity or shuffled credit card debt in attempts to convince others and myself that I knew exactly what I was doing.

At the end of 1/31/2018, I laid my finances bare not just to my sweet wife, but also one of my trusted mentors/older brothers. He looked at my finances and was amazed that my debt had grown back to the level it was. On one of my most recent opportunities, I had decided to take out a pay day loan to buy a crypto mining machine. He understood that I was choosing to use debt to fund an asset to generate positive cash flow, but he said to me if he had known my financial condition, he wouldn’t have advised it. To correct my mistake, we worked out a deal where he would buy my miner from me to add to his existing miners and pay off the pay day loan.

We wrote up a contract, and I made sure my wife agreed before signing any paperwork. I realized going forward that my wife had to see and understand every financial decision that affected us. Below as of 1/31/2018 was our debt:

As you can see, my journey to be debt free required an amazing amount of hard work and sacrifice. None of it could have been done without my wife. Even though I am debt free of my credit cards, our journey isn’t over. My finances are not mine anymore. When I became married, it became our finances. As you can see above, I adjusted the finances to include our debts. This month, we decided to go looking for houses. I didn’t feel comfortable with looking for a house because I did not like yardwork and I didn’t know if we were financially ready; however, with our baby coming in June, I know that we need more space that our current apartment supplied. With our current living situation in mind, we started looking at houses. I learned many new things about my wife in this process. I never knew she loved cul-de-sacs! The first house we saw we put an offer on and quickly learned how being approved for financing and the timing of your request was important. After viewing a few houses and our most recent open house visit, I told my wife not to settle on what she wants in a house. I suggested that we build instead. After living in our apartment for nearly 3 years, I had a good grasp of our combined income due to having a budget. Being free of credit card debt, I believed we were able to be able to make this next step.

If you want to learn more about the self-lending principle or if you need a financial check-up then contact me

This month’s video is WHY MOTIVATION ISN’T WORKING FOR YOU *watch to the end* from the Mulligan Brothers YouTube channel.

“The LORD will send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens and will bless all the work you do. You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them.”

Deuteronomy 28:12 NLT

http://bible.com/116/deu.28.12.nlt

I believe in your journey to….

A Debt Free Me

Month End: October Snapshot

Finally, at the end of October, and before my planned goal of December 31, 2019, I am debt free! Early this month through discussion with my wife, we agreed that I could transfer some money from my savings to accelerate the payoff of the installment loan. I transferred $2,200.00 from savings and set an interest rate of 12% with a term of 12 months for monthly payments of $195.00. I’m going to begin payments for this transfer in 2020. If you’re going to make financial decisions that impact your family, make sure you discuss it with your spouse no matter the dollar amount, because this type of communication builds trust. I’ve often talked about lending to your self in previous blogs, and I believe this scenario is one of the few where it’s ok for the borrower to be slave to the lender. This concept is from the Book of Proverbs of the Holy Bible. This translation is powerful: “The rich rule over the poor, the borrower is a slave to the lender.” Proverbs 22:7 TLV. If you borrow from yourself then the only person you will owe is you. It feels so good to no longer have to make payments to credit cards. Next month, I will re-cap how far I’ve come.

If you want to learn more about the self-lending principle or if you need a financial check-up then contact me

This month’s video is David Goggins – STAY HARD – The BEST OF Motivation – Motivational Video from the Mulligan Brothers YouTube channel.

Deuteronomy‬
‭28:12‬
‭NLT‬‬
‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

I believe in your journey to….

A Debt Free Me

Month End: September Snapshot

At the end of September, I am one step closer to being credit card debt free. It feels amazing to be so much closer to being credit card debt free. Every payment I have made toward my credit card debt has been liberating. It’s hard to imagine the amount of debt that I have climbed out of this second time. I am thinking about providing a total once I reach this goal. Currently any debt I’ve charged to my credit card I’ve paid to zero at the end of the month, so no interest can accrue on my card. When you are paying down any form of debt, it’s important to continue to be focused on the finish line. What’s really helped me be able to focus on paying down my debt is being able to use the bulk of my income toward debt, and my wife has been able to take care of the living expenses.

If you want to learn more about the self-lending principle or if you need a financial check-up then contact me

This month’s video is David Goggins on the War Against Political Correctness – Robert Kiyosaki [The Rich Dad Radio Show] from The Rich Dad YouTube channel.

Deuteronomy‬
‭28:12‬
‭NLT‬‬
‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

I believe in your journey to….

A Debt Free Me

Month End: August Snapshot

At the end of August, I am even closer to paying off the WF installment loan. Having paid off all my other debts, I am able to focus even more of my income toward paying the loan off. Regardless of what your debt repayment strategy is, I stress the importance of changing your financial behavior and attacking your debt. Every penny that you pay toward interest, you are robbing from your own future.

It’s important to stay dedicated to your plan and diligently work it one step at a time. Are these steps easy no? But one step at a time will take you down the road of progress. You must strengthen your mind and heart to win and be debt free.

If you want to learn more about the self-lending principle or if you need a financial check-up then contact me

This month’s video is The Quick Part is a Lie, But This Guy Will Teach You How to Get Rich | Ramit Sethi on Impact Theory from the Tom Bilyeu YouTube channel.

I believe in your journey to….

A Debt Free Me

Month End: July Snapshot

At the end of July, now that I’ve paid off the WF line of credit, I’m able to focus more payments toward my final installment loan. Except for my student loan, I’m on a path to being debt free. Whether you use the debt snowball, debt avalanche, or any other debt reduction strategy, once you are down to your final debt payment, I believe you should aggressively tackle it. Ultimately when you start paying off debt, you must keep your focus, be consistent, and change your patterned behavior. No matter what debt repayment strategy you use, make sure you focus and attack your debt. The interest that you pay daily (interest does accrue daily) is robbing you. Dave Ramsey has said that your greatest wealth building tool is income, and that’s to an extent correct. I’ll examine this thought in a later blog post.

If you want to learn more about the self-lending principle or if you need a financial check-up then contact me

This month’s video is How To Get Motivated | David Goggins Navy SEAL – MOST Motivational Speech from the Mulligan Brothers YouTube channel.

I believe in your journey to….

A Debt Free Me

Month End: June Snapshot

At the end of June, I was able to pay off the WF Line of Credit as planned. Even though this moment is worth celebrating, I had a lot of personal challenges which remind me that being debt free is a goal, but it’s not what’s important in life. Keep in mind that wealth and health are interconnected. What do you gain if you have all the money in the world, but failing health? What do you gain if you have great health, but you can’t seem to get ahead in life financially? It’s finding a balance in your life and having a vision and mission for your life. What is driving you? What is worth celebrating? Is your life driven by the spirit or the world?

Are you willing to take some time to ask yourself hard questions, or even better let someone close to you ask the hard questions and you answer with honesty to yourself? Life is going to give you both good and evil, but do you have the grit to continue down your path to be debt free?

If you want to learn more about the self-lending principle or if you need a financial check-up then contact me

This month’s video is Why It’s Time to Redefine the Comeback Story | Jay Williams on Impact Theory from the Tom Bilyeu YouTube channel.

“The LORD will send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens and will bless all the work you do. You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them.”
‭‭‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬Deuteronomy‬
‭28:12‬
‭NLT‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

I believe in your journey to….

A Debt Free Me