Debt Free!

As we started our debt-free journey, we used the “Dave Ramsey” snowball method. This method of debt reduction pays off debts in order from lowest balance to highest balance. Although we understand that it may not be the most cost-effective debt payoff strategy, it worked for us. We really didn’t have a lot of debt – mostly car payments and mortgages. When we started, we had some smaller credit card balances that, once paid, DID give us the satisfying feeling that we were tackling our debts, making us determined to finish. Once we started on the “big ticket” items (cars, houses, an RV), it was harder to stay motivated, but we just kept throwing all of our extra income on the pile. When we finally paid off the cars, we started on the two properties we owned. We paid off our primary mortgage in March of 2021, and we became what Dave calls, “Gazelle Intense” – so focused on the end, that we finally knew we would get there, once and for all. The second mortgage we had was on a “rental” that was next door and that we purchased for one of our kids. We paid that house off in January of 2022, and walked around for the next few weeks high-fiving each other pretty much every day about becoming debt free. Also during this time, we sold our primary home to one of our other kids, and moved into our RV full time in anticipation of retiring and traveling.