Another one bites the dust.

It's payday for my husband.  I actually woke up excited that it's Friday and time to pay the bills.  I know, I'm a little crazy, but we all need a little crazy in our life.

When I wrote down out all of our debt last month, my husband and I decided that each paycheck we needed to be consistent with a few things.

1. Tithe.  It has to be what comes out first from every check.  No Excuses!!!  We believe that God is our Provider, and we get to give back to bless others as we have been blessed.  If you haven't made tithing a priority, you need to.  When we tithe faithfully, there's always money left over at the end of the week.  When I tell myself, "We can't afford to tithe," that's when we find ourselves in a financial bind.  I don't like that feeling.  I don't know how it works, but I've consistently witnessed over the past 12 years that tithing and being obedient keeps us from being broke.  Give it a try...
2. Pay ourselves.  We have to put a portion into savings each week.  A little bit each week will add up over time.  If you follow Dave Ramsey, he recommends having $1000 as an emergency fund in your savings that you don't touch unless it's an emergency (getting a manicure is not an emergency).
3. Pay current bills that are due.  Obviously, that's a no-brainer. You can't preach about wanting to be free from debt and wanting to change your life if you're behind in your bills.  When we started tackling our debt again this year, we were behind about a month.  So, before I could start paying things off, I had to get things paid and current.  It's so much easier to pay things when you know you're paying them on-time and not getting another late fee.
4. Tackle debt.  I've done the math.  I know if I can pay a certain dollar amount each week that I can have our total credit card debt GONE by December 2014 (and probably sooner).  I get it...credit cards can be a "life saver" if a big expense hits and you literally don't have the money.  My problem is, I've never been responsible with them.  I shop when I'm bored.  I shop when I'm depressed.  I shop for fun.  I justify my charges at the time, and then cry later when I get my bill.  Bad reoccurring problem to have.  I'm being grown up and admitting I have a problem.  My solution to this is to get that debt paid off and CLOSE my accounts.  If I have an available balance, it's too big a temptation to use my credit cards.  We're parting ways this year.  I am making this happen.

We can still do all of the above and live comfortably.  The thing is, you have to have a plan.  That's why I woke up today with urgency to do each one of those things, and in that order. Write things out and see what needs to be done to change your current financial circumstances. 

I'd wrote out our tithe check, put money in savings, paid this weeks bills, and then it was time to apply more money to our debt.  I have 8 cards to pay off.  The balances are high on each one, so I have them listed in order of least to biggest.  I started with my first payment to pay off our credit card debt on January 24th and started with the card with the lowest balance owed.  I logged into my account today to make my next payment.  I was excited.  The amount owed was actually going to be completely wiped out with the money I'd allotted to pay towards our debt.  This is when my blood starts pumping.  I quickly grabbed my wallet and found the credit card so I could get their phone number.  RING! RING!  I get through to a rep.  "I'd like to pay my entire balance...and then I want to close my account."  Do you have any idea how good it feels to tell someone that!?! 
Best. Feeling. EVER!!!  The Bible says:

The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.  Proverbs 22:7 NIV

I don't know about you, but I don't want to be a slave to anything.  The burden and stress can be crushing at times when I look at our debt.  I can't blame anyone but ourselves for getting in this hole, but I am going to get out of it.  I don't care how long it takes.  I don't want to live like everyone else.  I actually had someone close to me say, "Well, we"re always going to have debt.  It's just part of life."  That's not the legacy I want to leave behind for my kids.  One day I will tell everyone that I'm 100% debt free, and don't own credit cards, and we pay cash for everything.  That is my dream, and I'm making it a reality. 

So, another one bites the dust.  1 down...7 to go.  And I'm ready to work on the next one.  I love getting to chop up a credit card and highlight it on my list that it's "CLOSED AND PAID OFF."  ((Yes, I write it in all caps like that.))  Sorry, Capital One.  It's been a fun 9 years, but it's just not working out...we have to break up.  And that's what FREEDOM sounds like.