This little note greeted me the last time I logged into one of Chris's student loan websites. "Paid in Full." Granted, it's only one of two school loans we are paying off from his 3 years at SCAD. But it was the larger loan, with a higher interest rate. We recently met with a financial advisor who recommended that we use all of our savings to get these loans paid down as much as possible, and then continue to throw all of our money at them until they're gone. THEN we worry about saving up after these are paid off. He recommended this because, with the economy what it is, our savings was gaining basically zero interest, while the loans, of course, continue to accumulate. Before this meeting, I had us "on track" to pay off these loans by 2015. Now we have one paid and - if we keep paying off the other one at the rate we were previously paying off two - we should have the other paid off by the end of 2011 or so.
When we first made the big transfer out of the savings account and off to Ending Debt Land, I had mixed feelings... a bit of relief that this loan was GONE, but a bit of fear that the savings was also GONE. What are we going to do if I lose my job? What if someone totals our car? What if Zeke spills smoothie all over my laptop and I have to buy a new machine? Chris was worried that, rather than reducing my stress level, paying off this debt would increase my stress because I would worry more about not having any sort of safety net. And to be honest, I was a little concerned about that, too. I still am.
But a nearly month has passed an so far I'm still pretty excited about the prospect of saying "Bye Bye," to the debt. Now, I am a little more concerned about us staying within budget for each month, but for now that is probably a good thing.
We've also heard some timely sermons at church about being thankful for what we have, and recognizing that we - all of us with a roof over our heads - are rich, and that what we have is a blessing. So this season may mean trusting for the Lord to get us through every month a little more than we had to before... but that is a GOOD thing. That's where our trust should be in the first place, not in the dollar signs in a savings account. Ultimately, getting out of debt is biblical, and trusting in the Lord for everything is biblical, and I'm feeling like we're on the right track.
Not to say all of this is easy. I'm still struggling with some aspects of the budget, and with fear of not making ends meet, but ultimately, overall, when all is said and done, we're on the right track and I'm feeling good about that. The rest shall be left to other posts, or, more likely, left out of the public space that is the interwebs.
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