We did it!! We're Debt Free!!!!

One month ago, we sent the last payment to Sallie Mae and achieved our goal of becoming debt free! 

Here is a condensed version of our story in an email to our teacher and hero, Dave Ramsey.

Dear Dave,

We have paid off 82k in 2 years and 5 months!! We just sent the final
payment to Sallie Mae today!

Credit cards, a car, and two college degrees are now paid in full!! We
are free!!

When I found the TMMO book in April 2010, we had been married for two
years, my husband was unemployed and we had just moved to a new state
so he could finish a degree he started 10 years ago. I was employed
only part-time, yet we were renting a 3 bedroom,  2400 s.f. house - for
just the two of us!

After reading your book and going through FPU, we had a wake up call and got gazelle intense,
sold things, downsized to 600 s.f, found full-time jobs and worked odd jobs,
including delivering phone books together. Everyone we
know thinks we are nuts, especially when they hear that our food
budget is $150/ mo!

My husband is a chef and I work in accounting. Our income has fluctuated
because of job loss(es) since 2008, but we now earn 3x as much as we did in 2010!

Thank you SO MUCH for changing our lives!  You are the best!!

So, now we are on to Baby Step 3. BS3 is saving 3-6 months of expenses, and because we would like to buy our first home, we have decided to save 3 months of expenses, and then move on to saving 20% down. 

Although we would love to kick back and relax after all of the sacrifices we made while paying off our debt, we are staying strong, and are more focused than ever to achieve our goals.

We feel blessed to have found this path, and highly recommend Dave Ramsey's books or class to anyone wanting to improve their finances, and their lives.

Medicine in a bowl

After a weekend of close contact with tiny germ carriers (otherwise known as our lovable nieces and nephews), I have become sick. 

Thankfully, my fever is gone, but the bug is still bringing me down. I even missed a day of work, my first in several years. 

However, nothing helps me feel better faster than a bowl of the Chef’s chicken soup.  

The soup, thrown together in all of 20 minutes with leftover chicken and greens from the garden costs very little to make. The spiciness of the cherry peppers works as a natural decongestant and the heat warms my chilly self, giving me a much needed burst of energy.

Spicy Chicken Soup

1 ea whole chicken

5 oz carrot (peeled and small diced)

1-4 fresh cherry peppers (small diced)

3-4 sprigs rosemary (picked and chopped)

5-6 sprigs fresh thyme (picked and chopped)

4 ea stalks celery (small diced)

1 ea lg onions (small diced)

4 Plum tomatoes or 16 oz can petite diced tomatoes

1 lb green beans (chopped small)

2 ea lg handfuls of braising greens

4 ea fresh garlic bulbs

3 ea Potatoes (sm diced)

2 cups uncooked acini di pepe pasta or rice

Salt and pepper to taste

½ cp EVOO

Place whole chicken in a pot large enough to cover with water. Bring to a simmer covered and cook until the chicken is fully cooked about 45 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking cut all of your vegetables.

In a second pan add oil and heat on med-high. Add vegetables starting with carrots, rosemary, and celery, cover and sweat for 5 minutes. Add onions, cherry peppers, braising greens, tomatoes and potatoes, cover and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove lid and turn the heat down to low.

Remove chicken from the liquid and pull the meat from the bones and add to the vegetable mixture. Season mixture with salt and pepper, and add the liquid.

At this time pasta or rice can be added to be cooked in the soup. Bring to a simmer and cook for another fifteen minutes to infuse all of the flavors.  Adjust seasoning, and serve. Serve with a wedge of lemon or lime to be squeezed into the soup to brighten the flavor.

My favorite day of the week...

On our rare Sunday together with no travel, we woke up early and drove out a rail trail to inline skate. We skated 21 miles round trip followed by a picnic lunch of peanut butter & jelly sandwiches and fruit on a bench in the super cute town of Millerton, NY.

I am in love with Millerton. It is perfect small town America - with the requisite diner, cute shops, movie house, and bookstores. It is also home to the headquarters of Harney & Sons, the fine tea makers, a hand blown glass studio, and of course, the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association, which draws bikers, runners, and others from all over the region.

The plan after skating was to fish for a few hours so we hiked to a small pond where we patiently watched the fish swim by us.

Later, the chef threw together a dinner of chicken with cuban rice & greens from the garden. Delicious.

I love Sunday's!

Welcome

We are a married couple in our early 30s living in a 600 square foot cottage two hours north of New York City.

After surviving job loss, relocation from Boston, and a return to college we are determined to get out of debt and save a 6-month emergency fund by 12/12/12.

Last year, 51% of our net income went towards our debt!  

We hope to do even better this year, thanks our recent downsize from 2500 square feet and our ongoing "gazelle intensity!"

About us:

She has a financial background with a degree in Finance and Accounting, and helps small businesses and non-profits with their books. She is obsessed with everything financial, and dreams about spreadsheets and saving money.

He is a talented executive chef who spends his limited free time gardening, fishing, and foraging to help create delicious, healthy meals with a $150/ mo food budget...while dreaming of Michelin stars in the city.

Along the way, we have both learned the value of frugality and living simply, and together we would love to share our experiences, ideas, and recipes with others.

Thank you for reading!