Paid in Full

I checked the status of my college loans this morning.

Loan One. Paid in Full
Loan Two. Paid in Full
Loan Three. Paid in Full

We are officially debt free. No car payments. No school loan payments. No credit card payments.

I love the way Dave Ramsey puts it: "If you're willing to live like no one else now, then you'll get to live like no one else later."

We are set up now to do whatever God wants us to do next. We've got goals of paying cash for the next car we purchase, beginning the adoption process, and just having a financial strategy to gain some savings over the next few months.

I want to be clear. If you want to be debt free, it will demand that you 'feel it' in the way you live. You don't really need DVR, 100+ channels, the cell phone that serves as basically a laptop, that car that will keep your kid from going to college, etc.

The most important piece to Shaina and I's success in getting out of debt has been that we have tithed faithfully for 7 years of marriage. 10 percent of our income goes back to the Giver of our income. We've tithed when we've made $9000 in a year. We've tithed when we've lost jobs. We've tithed when we weren't sure how ends would meet. It's not a superstition. It's simply biblical. You will never outgive God. We've had crazy things happen along the way like checks for seminary books being placed in our mailbox, by anonymous contributers, or checks from unforeseen places coming at just the right time in just the right amount to be able to pay off a washer and dryer.

$$ is one of the biggest stressors in marriages...But it doesn't have to be. And you're never too young to understand the way to financial peace. Just ask Elijah

Elijah Offering Video from Elevation Church on Vimeo.