WE’RE DEBT FREE!!!
The day finally came! The very last debt payment was made. It felt so surreal to not owe anyone anything. Thank you God! I shared the last part of our journey to debt freedom on Instagram – @thehutchlife – and share it now via our blog in the hopes that our journey will encourage someone to get their financial house in order. It’s the beginning of 2019 and it doesn’t matter how much debt you have, it is possible to pay it off. You didn’t get into debt overnight and you won’t get out of it overnight. It takes time and the time and discipline learned on the journey is worth it.
Over 21 months we paid off $111,571 in credit cards, a cell phone and student loans and cash flowed a new engine for our car ($3078).
We can account for EVERY SINGLE PENNY that has come into our lives from the beginning of our debt free journey util now. Prior to this journey we probably couldn’t do that with the level of detail we can now. In reviewing all that we’ve paid off we also saw how much of our debt was interest. It was ridiculous. For those of you who either think debt is forever or are waiting to pay it off, take a look at how much interest accumulates by not paying it off sooner than later. That should motivate you to get moving if nothing else does.
During our debt free journey we threw EVERYTHING at our debt, every extra paycheck, every bonus, every refund, everything. We used zero based budgeting and meal planning – even when it got tiring to do so. We didn’t have side hustles or any form of extra income. We focused and worked the plan. We were gazelle intense with our debt and saw that the only thing stopping us from becoming debt free was us.
After we paid off the last debt on November 30, 2017 we took time to spend some money. We got ourselves winter coats, new clothes that actually fit, some shoes and a few other miscellaneous items. All of which we budgeted for while paying off debt and paid cash for. The first 3 months of 2018 we built up our 6 month emergency fund and then focused on saving for our trips Florida, Barcelona and Jamaica. Then we focused on saving 20% of our gross income.
Now that it is 2019 and we have Baby HutchLife we have other goals as well. As the year goes on we’ll be sharing our goals, our monthly spending, announcements, fitness journeys and what we’ll be doing to become financially independent so that we can retire early and most importantly give. We want to create a scholarship to help students go to college debt free. When you don’t have debt it not only frees up income but you’re more willing to give as well.
You may ask us was the intensity worth it for the journey? HECK YES!! WE’RE DEBT FREE! #weredebtfree
Here’s our conversation with HisandHerMoney: https://www.hisandhermoney.com/podcast/how-kerry-and-kamille-paid-off-110000-of-debt-in-21-months/
