FREEEEDOM!!!

WE DID IT!!!

Thanks to everyone who supported us. Thanks to everyone who still invited us out…it's nice to be remembered even when we need to say no. Thanks to everyone who accepted our answer "our financial advisor told us we can't" as a viable!

We paid off the loan several months earlier than planned (and 14 years earlier than the required payments would have taken.). The best part? We surprised ourselves with this news! I haven't been adding up the money going into my business accounts (it's much easier NOT to watch it—bad for bookkeeping I know...) but on Adam's birthday I decided to do the math and—tah-dah! Best birthday present EVER!

Next step #3: 3-6 months of living expenses in a savings account. Here we go!!! We've decided to add emergency food storage to this step as well.

Addendum: Oct 4th
Below, Adam wanted a photo of us paying off the loan. Maybe if you squint really hard you can see that the payment was over $16,000. A huge chunk but so worth it.

In all, since we started this Dave Ramsey thing about 2.9 years ago (and then got REALLY serious in February) we've paid off my school loan, the car, purchased a second car in cash, and paid off Adam's loan. 

About a week after we became debt free I was driving home from the grocery store and a rush of happiness overtook me so much that I started laughing out loud and the tears of gratitude hit. I must have looked ridiculous (and I missed slowing down in a school zone…eeehhh.) I felt SO incredibly GRATEFUL for getting this obstacle out of our lives. Grateful to Heavenly Father for putting a plan in our path at a time when we were ready to listen (after backing out of a house purchase that would have been a massive mistake). 

This debt free thing truly is freedom, freedom for the soul.