As you might have noticed this week, I posted an article about Patrick’s testimony of how he got out of debt. I found it to be a very encouraging story and I know there are a bunch more out there! If you have a testimony of financial obstacles you overcame or anything along those lines, I would love to hear about it. If you would prefer to remain anonymous, I can certainly accomodate that as well. As always you can contact me anytime.
We live in a generation where it requires determination to make the right financial decisions and with everything we are bombarded with each day, the odds are stacked against us. But – it is absolutely possible and it would be wise of us to all help each other move forward together!
This is why I am looking for testimonies from you! Sharing your story with others might just be the encouraging word that they need to hear to keep at it!
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I lived in Hawaii for two years, and when I moved back to the mainland, I was in quite a bit of credit card debt. I would make monthly payments on the card, but then would keep spending on it, so the balance never went anywhere. After a year back in the mainland, I decided to buy a house. I closed at the end of July, 2008, and of course the whole thing hadn’t been that difficult because I had “excellent” credit. No savings, but excellent credit. That fall, Priority Associates was offering an abbreviated version of Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. I went to every class and by the end, I was really excited and motivated to get out of that debt. The very last video we saw was called The Great Misunderstanding, and in it, Dave says something to the effect of, “have you ever considered asking God for the money? Your heavenly Father loves you, and he is RICH!” So on the way home, I prayed a little prayer: “God, I don’t expect you to send me a $10,000 check in the mail, and I got myself into this mess, but I could sure use some help getting out of debt.” My credit card had a balance of around $10,800 at that point.
Fast forward a couple of weeks, and I went to get my taxes done on February 6th. I decided not to do it myself this year because I had bought the house, so I went to the H&R Block around the corner. When I finished, I couldn’t believe it. With the tax credit for buying a house, I was getting $10,482 back. God had literally given me the money I’d asked for. Two weeks later, the second it hit my account, I paid my credit card, and with my next paycheck, I paid the remaining balance. I have been debt free (aside from my house) since that day. I realize that buy taking that tax credit, I sort of traded one debt for another, but the way I see it, at the end of 15 years, I will have paid only the $7500 I was given, and not the extra thousands of dollars in finance charges that I would have incurred with my credit card.
My next step is to go back into the Dave Ramsey information and really work hard to set up a budget and stick to it, so that I can build up my emergency fund and move on to Baby Step 4!!
Many years ago I had made the mistake of thinking that getting a credit card was cool. When that little 3 inches of plastic landed in my mailbox with my name embossed in the front in shiny gold, I thought I had moved into the big time. Life would be mine for the taking.
My euphoria and “coolness” lasted until I received the first statement. What? I had charged how much? Hmmm, I must have forgotten about those shoes that I thought I needed at the time……
But because I could make minimum payments, I did just that…. and we all know what happens from there. More debt. More credit cards. More minimum payments. More interest. More sedction to get other lines of credit and , well, let’s just say my “coolness” factor weighed about $23,000 before I started to think about it and realize that my addiction to coolness was just making my life harder and I needed to get out from under.
Fast forward many years and many fits and starts to getting on track and after finally working ( and I mean working ) my way through it, I sit now unemployed but with no debt and a still largely funded emergency account that is supporting me and my family. Had I not finally seen the big picture and changed what was “cool” in my life, I know that I would be in a much harder place right now. One where “cool” comes from having no electricity to heat the water, not from having money set aside that can help take care of us while I look for work. To me, that is very cool.
Thanksgiving to God because God is answering my prayers. thanks for all those who have God sent into my life to help and take care of me. Thanks because god has given me the opportunity to apologize and confess all my sins. thank you for the god because my life has changed for the better. He has cleansed my name and brought me back into the baptism to be his son. He has sent helper to help me in my scholarship and job. He has been opening my friends heart to forgive me and become friends again. I am so happy more than ever. I cannot stop to praise God. I love Him. For others who are in struggle seek help in God because He’ll help you as he has helped me. remember that believe the same as receiving. Thanks for all who has been praying for me. God Bless U.