Anyone Debt-free?

I've been listening to Dave Ramsey on the radio and he makes so much sense. We're not out of debt yet, but we're working on it. Is anyone totally out of debt? How did you do it?

Not completely but close, right now we just have our mortgage and our basic utilities each month. We have no credit card payments or car payments. It took a bit to get this way but it was a great feeling.

It's not only Dave Ramsey who is saying to get out of debt, but others are, too. We've paid off the few credit cards we had and cut them up and threw them away. We're paying off one car and our mortgage, and putting money into our emergency fund now. It's going to take a while, and we're not buying anything extra, but it'll be well worth it to be able to do what we want to with the money we make. Just having the credit cards paid off is a huge relief.

Our daughter gave us Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover" as a Christmas gift and we are trying to get all of our debts paid off. Just what we've accomplished so far has given us such a sense of freedom. We can't wait until the day arrives when we pay off our last debt payment.

We are close! Just paid off a school loan of my husband's this month. Hopefully by the end of the year we'll have everything gone except the mortgage (maybe even that!). A friend of mine suggested Dave Ramsey to us as well but it's been a LONG process. We never read his books but have seen him a couple times on television. But, in our family, we have several who live debt free so we have seen how it changes a life---low income but trips to Disney and Hawaii!

I will be debt free mid 2011, I did have to consolidate some bills which I did before the economy crisis to manage them and luckly got them paid before I was laid off so I have 2 cards left to pay off and no car payments or mortgage payment. I haven't heard Dave Ramsey but I will definately need to learn how to handle the money I do have so that we'll be ok no matter what the economy says.

We are also still in debt but each and every month we take another step closer to the surface of the debt ocean. There are some set backs but if we stay steady on the course we will be there in no time!

We're totally debt free. I'm 48 years old. I built an internet business and sold it. I don't have enough money that I don't have to work, but we are debt free. Its a nice place to be but I'm motivated to do better.

I wish! We have a plan but it's going to be about five years before we will be able to pay everything off. We should pay off a car within a couple months though, which will be wonderful.

I got sick and lost my job so now we are trying to dig ourselves out of the hole it put us into. I would love to be debt free, but right now it is just a dream, maybe someday.

I have been debt free my whole life and now that I am married my husband and I are completely debt free! The way we do it is that we are extremely careful on how we spend our money.

Most people probably think we are tight wads for it, but seriously we only go to the movies about once a year (unless we get gift certificates), we only eat out at a sit down restaurant about twice a year (unless we get gift certificates), we rarely ever eat at fast food restaurants, etc. We also never go on vacation unless we have a significant surplus of money that would pay for the whole vacation and if there is nothing else we would need that money for in the near future.

Now I know life happens and sometimes you need to buy a car if one breaks down and such, so in situations like that we buy used cars (not from car dealerships). The used car we would buy has to have great milage and be at price in which we could put down more than %50 of the cost. After purchasing a big ticket item like that (that is a necessity) we make it our goal to pay it off immediately within less than half a year.

Basically we only buy what we truly need. Maybe once a year we buy something like a camera or piece of jewelry that is a little pricey (not too pricey though). We also buy small Christmas gifts for family and friends, but we don't buy gifts for each other on those occasions. The only present I get is one for our anniversary, but my husband would rather me not by him anything. We don't buy gifts for Valentine's Day either.

We also don't have cable, only have one T.V. in the house, we use the lowest form of Netflix, we find the lowest provider for our cell phones and only get the free phones they offer, we don't have a land line, but we do have the internet. By doing these things we can keep our monthly bills down and that really helps.

The bottom line is to live within your means and don't buy things you don't need. Save most of what you have for a rainy day. Only put things on a credit card that you will pay off that month. If there is any big ticket item you had to buy on credit, make sure that is your top priority to pay off immediately. It is hard to get used to at first, but after a while it becomes second nature. Live a humble life and you will be debt free (until you buy a house and then that can take a long time to pay off).

I wish you all the best of luck! You can live debt free!

I am very close to being debt-free (minus mortgage). I have never listened to Dave Ramsey ~ I just make sure I pay my bills and I don't overspend. I think everyone can become debt free by not living above their means.

Free at last, we are free at last! It took many years to finally get it under control, but when it took, it took fast. No more credit card bills. We don't over extend at all anymore.

We have no mortgage, no credit card bills and no loans. I do use credit cards but I pay the whole amount at the payment date so I never have to pay interest. It hasn't always been like this and when I was younger I just didn't worry about it. I just thank goodness we cleared everything up before we retired.

Hope this Day come soon. Hope For the best.

I never plan to be debt free, as soon as I get down to a really comfortable position, I will go out and buy another piece of real estate.

We have two homes paid for, one in Indiana, one in Florida. Never charge anything on a credit card that you can't pay off by the end of the month, make two house payments every month. Sounds tough? Just throttle back the spending. If you think you can't afford it, you can't. Too many young people see others with cell phones, video games, tatoos, etc, and think they need all that bling too. You don't. Develope a budget, and stick to it.

I have never been in debt as I always tried to avoid taking loan no matter what happens.
But we as a nation have developed a habit of over spending money beyond our financial limits and this has resulted in national habit of taking loans.Now we are at the edge of being called as default state.

I'm 34 and my wife is 30. We are debt free. We paid our home off, cars, and bought 20 acres with cash 1.5 years ago. I'm blessed to have a good job. I barely made it through high school and no college. My wife has a decent job. My key to being debt free...Start ASAP, I began saving since the day I started working. I have never been materialistic. I bring my lunch to work, drive a humble vehicle, and think through my purchases and don't impulse buy. I'm a big fan of craigslist buying used. We do most everything ourselves....clearing our land with our tractor, fixing our cars and home repairs etc. We save our money, but enjoy it as well. We have been to almost all the continents except Antarctica but do the planning and leg work ourselves. We pay our bills with an air miles credit card, and keep a zero balance. We are not flashy, most people would think we're just getting by if they walked by us on the street. I had a head start by working full time when most people were in college, and no college loans. It could end tomorrow, but you can still make it with the old school mentality! This takes dicipline and not keeping up with the Jones'. We have no kids at this point, things would be different if so, we wouldn't be debt free I'm sure. With the internet now, you can fix almost anything and learn how to do things yourself. Once we build our new home I want to work into being as self sufficient as possible on our 20 acres. The way the economy is looking, that'll be key debt or no debt! Again, I'm blessed with a good job, but it takes hard work to keep it 16 years at this point. Good luck!