The Big Bad "D" Word: Debt

I am one of the thrifty.  You may well laugh at us & our frugal means.  Coupon clipping & waiting until movies have been out long enough that they move 'em to I what I affectionately dub "the cheap theater" {I hope your town has one}, checking out books {& DVDs!} from the local library instead of buying, & the like.  But, laugh all you will, I never had one iota of debt.  That is, until I got married & inherited my husbands'.  Student loans & personal loans & credit cards had all snowballed into a pretty fierce & ultra-scary snow monster!  My husband's debt was a tough thing for this debt-less girl to handle.  Of course, I knew while dating that this snow monster existed in my then-boyfriend's life, & my entire relationship was bathed - no, drenched - in prayer, & I felt God say yes.  {In the end, all us imperfect ones {ahem, everybody}, we all bring baggage into marriage (monetary, emotional, & otherwise).  Thank You, Jesus, for being able to carry our loads & free us up to love {again, imperfectly, & through Your power}!}

Now that we're fighting this bad debt dude together, it's definitely proven true Ecclesiastes 4:9 {in so many areas of marriage/relationships, in fact}! {FYI, this verse is an even dearer example.  Jesus + Dan + Laura = mighty power in Him!}  What has really been a tremendous help to us is implementing the Debt Snowball Calculator from the faith-based organization Crown Financial Ministries.  It's a free resource that lets you plug-in your current debt + interest rates + what you currently pay {& if you have any extra moola each month to add in} & it calculates perfectly how long it will take to pay off  + how much you need to pay each month to get to that amazing place of debt freedom.  It includes printable charts of exactly what you should be paying every month to reach your goal in said amount of time.  We've been loving being able to pay above & beyond {Thank You, Jesus!} what it says some months & seeing the numbers on those loans & cards shrink down drastically!  God is so good!

In the debt boat with us?  I hope this tool will help you, too!  Not in debt?  First off, congrats!  Secondly, there are even more helpful calculators & tools at Crown.org.  Give 'em a visit!