One of the commitments Alissa and I made for our marriage was to remain debt free.* But it wasn’t always this way. When we were both single, we carried with us significant amounts of debt that held us back. And each week, our paychecks would be swallowed up by bills and their pesky interest rates. We were spending money…for nothing. And we didn’t have much to show for it.

But since the moment we said “I do” more than 5 years ago, we’ve lived within our means. Sure, this has allowed us to build some wealth, but more importantly, it’s allowed us to have peace with our finances. And it’s also what allowed Alissa to be a stay-at-home mom, a decision that continues to bless our family.

Remaining debt free isn’t easy. It’s been hard work, and it’s something we’re intentional about on a daily basis. Here are 9 strategies we’ve used to live this lifestyle.

1. Meal Planning: The latest strategy we’ve employed, meal planning has proven to be quite effective. Prior to this, grocery shopping was a bit of a toss-up. We’d make a list and hope that we either had enough or didn’t buy too much. By planning our meals in advance, we eat only what we buy. And bonus, it’s paid dividends for our waistlines.

2. Negotiating medical bills: In 2013, my wife was diagnosed with a partial molar pregnancy and severe preeclampsia that saw her in the hospital for 7 days. On October 25, 2013, we lost our son, and I almost lost my wife. In case that wasn’t enough, our insurance company denied our claims. While I won’t get into the details here, we exhausted our appeals and were stuck. Medical bills began rolling in, and we felt hopeless. So how did we handle it? Negotiate. Negotiate. Negotiate. I got on the phone and called every single medical provider, no matter how big or how small the bill. In some circumstances, I was able to settle the bills for 50-60%. Sometimes, the best they could do was 10%, but hey, every little bit counts.

3. 6-Month Emergency Fund: Before we bought our home, we set aside enough money to cover 6 months of expenses. I’ll admit, it’s hard sometimes to see such a large chunk of money sitting in an account, seemingly doing nothing. But while it doesn’t offer much in terms of interest, it does offer something even more valuable: peace of mind. Having an emergency fund keeps us from panicking during times of crisis. When a major emergency comes up like I described above, or when the air conditioner breaks down, the water heater goes, or we suffer a job loss, we can defer to our emergency fund, rather than using credit cards and piling up more debt.

4. Sacrifice: I would love a gym membership. Alissa would love a shopping spree at Nordstrom’s. I would love the NFL ticket. She would love regular pedicures. We would both love to eat out for lunch everyday, and we would certainly love brand new cars rather than used Hondas. But these expenses can add up fast. So, we sacrifice…for the sake of each other, for the sake of our boys, and for the sake of our future.

5. Do-It-Yourself: We wanted a new backyard but didn’t have money to pay for all of it. So I did the demo myself. Decorating a home can get expensive, so Alissa grabs used palettes whenever she finds them and creates some great décor. We installed our own toilet, rebuilt our own patio roof, and do our own lawn maintenance instead of paying expensive labor fees, or worse, rolling the expensive renovations into our mortgage.
   

   

6. Tithing: This may seem like an odd one because when you tithe, aren’t you giving away your money? Yes. But here’s the thing. By tithing, we are reminded that everything we have, including our money, belongs to God. And it’s not something we cut in the tough times. It’s on the very top of our budget, like it should be, and after our mortgage, it’s our number 1 expense each month. Would it be easy to cut it and spend it on all those sacrifices I mentioned earlier? Yes. But we don’t. Our tithe keeps our spending in check. And it helps us remember that our wants are not more important than our needs. And our needs are not any greater than the needs of others.

7. Carpooling to Work: When I drive by myself, I have an hour long commute to work each way because of traffic. When I carpool, I not only cut that time in half, but I also save on gas and lessen the wear and tear on my car. This strategy has been much more successful than opening a gas card with a high interest rate that saves us 3 cents per gallon.

8. The Eric and Alissa Fund: Each month we set aside a small amount of money for me and Alissa to spend however we want. We can save it and roll it into next month. We can use it to eat out for lunch. We can spend it on clothing. But it’s ours to use. No questions asked. This helps us to have some of our wants without going overboard.

9. Saving for Major Items before We Need Them: At some point, I’m going to need another car. Instead of dealing with that when it happens, we prepare. We save some money each month to go toward buying a car. Hopefully, we won’t need it for a few years, but saving a little bit now allows us to have the cash to buy a nice used one later (rather than signing up for car payments and the interest rate that comes along with it for 5 years). We use this same strategy to save for Christmas gifts, family vacations, upgrades to our home, and other large expenses that we would otherwise be tempted to put on a credit card.

These are just 9 of the strategies we use to remain debt free. And at the center of it all, is our monthly budget, which tells our money where to go rather than us wondering where it went. Our only regret is that we didn’t live this way when we were single. But we do now, and you can too. So whether you’re single, engaged, or married…whether you have kids, don’t have kids, or are a kid, consider living a debt free life today. It will transform your finances, your family, and your future.

*Full Disclosure: We do carry a mortgage, but it’s smaller than our rent was, our interest rate is minuscule, and the initial term was for 15 years.

Relieve the underlying stress in your life

Many people don’t realize the underlying stress in their life is caused by financial troubles. Perhaps that’s you. Or perhaps it’s someone you know. I’ve been there. I’ve felt it. Thankfully, I’m not there anymore. 

And I want to help. 

As a certified financial coach (by Dave Ramsey’s team), I teach people how to take back control of their finances so they can have peace of mind and a better future.  

If you’re looking to get out of debt, build some savings, or need help setting up your budget, schedule an appointment today (online or in-person), and I’ll help guide you on that path toward peace.