Life After Debt Freedom Pt.2
November 2020 was a month that changed our lives. We paid off our last student loan and began the rest of our lives…debt free!
On this side of debt freedom, income feels like one of the biggest blessings- because with every paycheck (minus taxes) every dollar belongs to us.
What a mindset shift, from paying for someone else’s paycheck, to fully investing in your own future.
One of the most interesting things I’ve noticed after this accomplishment is that spending money feels different. It hurts a little bit, actually. Because now that you’ve trained yourself to live within your means, or under them for that fact, your dollars have power!
For real! They are so powerful! They have the ability to change your family’s trajectory, bless the mess out of a complete stranger, and change the community around you.
Now that you’re not trying to keep up with the Jones’, you have the mental space to keep up with the race God has set before you.
After all, it’s all His anyway!
Something I have come to notice about debt freedom, is that you really can tell true wealth from fake wealth. Let me explain with this example- cars.
This is my swagger van.
Big Booty Betsy.
Our cash-paid 2006 Honda Odyssey.
One of the things that put us into debt was a car we couldn’t afford. We thought we deserved to have it. I needed something to get to my internship in, and we didn’t have cash for a beater. So we spent too much money on a loan for a 2012 Honda Accord that we had no business buying, as it cost half of our annual income, and at that time, we didn’t have much of that to go around!
But we were proud ourselves! We were “adulting.” My first car, a 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier got stolen ( I was scammed) two weeks after I bought it. I was riding a bike my friend sold me for $20, taking the bus and once we got married, walking to college for almost two years!
My second to last semester of college, my dad gave me an old 2000 Cadillac deVille he owned, and it lasted me sixth months before the brake line went out. I couldn’t drive it over 60mph or that baby would start smokin!
So this Honda was a big deal!
It was a big mistake also.
It set us back.
We thought we were getting ahead, but that was by the world’s standards.
Once we got intense about following Dave Ramsey’s 7 Baby Steps, we paid the car off in about two years, and immediately sold it privately on Facebook marketplace. With the cash we bought this guy- a Chevrolet Equinox- cute and spacy, especially with a second baby on the way!
You won’t believe what happened- this car turned out to be a lemon! Less than two months later the engine light turns on, and we learn that it is in engine failure…the code had simply been “reset.” We nagged and badgered until the dealership took the car back and gave us 80% of our money back.
We pocketed 1/3 of it, and went searching for a minivan to hold our family and occasionally, friends and visitors ( we give a lot of rides!) in.
That van is Big Booty Betsey. My ‘06 Honda Odyssey with a hydraulic system. (Not really, she just shakes and bumps so violently at stop lights it feels like it).
And this I how I came to see true wealth.
Cars are a liability, not a wealth-builder.
They go down in value and cost you money. You gain only the ability to go from here to there, and sometimes, look good pulling up at the stop light or a gathering.
Cars have the ability to make it seem like you have much, when in deed you may not at all- like we emitted when we owned that Honda Accord we couldn’t afford.
You can fake wealth in many ways, and dealerships make it so easy to do so! Heck, they bank on you doing so- that’s how they make their money.
Once we got farther up the baby steps and started working with the long-game in mind, our cars simply became a machine, a way to get safely from here to there.
The thought of spending an abundant amount of money on a vehicle lost its luster once we saw our IRA account growing.
We want more of that! Cars who? Swag what?
True debt freedom comes with this beautiful perk- a mindset shift, and an aversion to the things that bought you nose to nose with poverty in the first place.
That freedom is absolutely stupendous!
While Betsy is nearing the end of the road for our family as we’ve outgrown her, we have peace knowing that we can change her tires, fix the rickety pieces, mend the bumper, and whatever else, and it won’t bring us to financial collapse.
That is a blessing. That is freedom.
That is financial peace.
I hope this can be a stepping stone for you wherever you are in the journey, whether you’re feeling out the concept of obtaining debt freedom, or you are further along in the steps, and just need a little encouragement.
You, indeed are the swag. Not your vehicle. You are the cherry on top of your sundae. You carry the secret sauce that either brings folks in or keeps them at bay.
Release yourself from keeping up with the Jones’ (or the Kardahians) and start pursuing your legacy!
Remember- it’s just a motor. It’s just a machine.
You carry the map towards a better tommorow.
Soli Deo Gloria!
