Hello world!

Today I draw a line in the sand.

For those who have heard of Dave Ramsey you probably know exactly what I mean. I’m done with the mediocrity, with the financial struggles. I have experienced life with no debt and it’s great. So why do you ask are we back in a hole that’s thousands of feet deeper than before? Well, that’s a bit of a long story which I will tell through the next several blog posts, but if I had to sum it up to a few words it would be: life happens, lack of focus, sloppiness, laziness, lifestyle changes, etc.

So, I just want to start by saying hi. My name is Jennifer and I’ve been married 23 years to my amazing husband. We have two beautiful children. My son is 19 and my daughter is 16. Thankfully, even though we have made major money mistakes throughout the years we have been open about our financial difficulties with our kids and taught them how living debt free is so important. They both don’t carry debt and have no desire to do get any. They both have paid for cars and will not be getting student loans. It’s funny to say this but they are actually becoming a real encouragement for me to get my stuff together. You may wonder why I’m constantly saying “I” or “me” when it comes to our debt journey. It’s because I’m the princess who has to admit that I have the problem. My husband and I have always been on the same page financially. He knows that he is just as responsible in this mess as I am, but once we make a plan my husband will follow it, I am the one with the problem.

The reason I am starting this blog is for a few reasons.

1 – Extra accountability – My husband is great but something about putting your life online for the world to see brings it to a whole new level (and after 20 years, I think a new level is just what we need).

2 – Encouraging Others – Reading stories of how others have escaped debt have always been emotionally encouraging to me, so I want to encourage others in the same way. Plus, I want to help others avoid some of the same mistakes that we have made.

3 – Sharing ideas – Whether it’s generating income, cutting expenses, or different ways of budgeting.

4 – Earn Additional Income – It’s not my sole reason for starting this blog, but we are on a journey to become debt free ourselves and any additional sources of income will definitely help with that.

5 – Share Jesus With Others – All the glory belongs to him and if I can affect just one person by sharing the story of his amazing love and the gift that he has given us then it is all worth it.