Hello November,
Debt as of 11/02/2014: $7,931.17
Total Debt Paid Down: $84,713.83!!
"Just Win Baby." "Just Do It." You've probably heard all of these sports mantras before and so have we. I mean they're great on t-shirts. However, in the real world, is it really that easy? Maybe it is, but it's also just as easy to give in.
I heard today's title from a colleague the other evening who was instructing a small group of students to do just that: don't quit. In a test driven educational society, that might have been the best advice I've heard from a teacher in a while. Emily and I are so close to ending this two and a half year journey that it hurts. We basically have wanted to to quit and just say, "Well, we got pretty close." We are so ready to buy clothes, go out for dinner downtown, plan trips for us and with friends. On top of that, we would love to be able to give back more to the things and people we love. There is even the next step of planning for our future, although it's really hard to even see that right now.
Currently, we are not even on track to hit $0.00 by January 1st, 2015. So what is even the point . . . at this point?!?!? It's funny and even harder to explain, but the closer we get to the end the harder it becomes! Tom Petty's words once again ring true:
"God, its so painful
something that's so close
is still so far our of reach."
The best answer we actually heard in a message this morning. No matter what happens in our life or how long this takes, it has purpose. It has changed our lives and definitely helped and strengthened our marriage. However, we really have no idea how far that purpose stretches. It is cool to see small glimpses of it though. Whether it's a friend sharing a small change they made in their life to combat their debt, or even an in depth email from someone saying they weren't sure they could ever change their lives with money. We are no Dave Ramsey's and don't claim to be. However, we have slowly come to realize how sharing this witness has personalized this story for so many people in our lives (many we don't even know, but they are important just the same). To flip the story, you are keeping us going.
In the meantime we are going to keep budget cutting where we can. We are going to keep saying "No" to things we want.
We are also taking on new opportunities. If you follow our blog, you know we are healthy people who eat Paleo most of the time. However, eating clean alone was not getting us to our health goals. We recently got introduced to Advocare and had an outstanding experience with their 24 Day Challenge. Therefore, we are now promoting the products ourselves. If you ever want more information on how to take control of your finances and your health, please ask us about it. The first person we coached through the challenge lost 12 pounds and changed their lifestyle.
We are at mile 20 of the marathon and our legs hurt (a marathon is 26.2 miles if you're not a runner). We're just going to keep our heads up, smile, and take it one step at a time until we finish. We hope you do the same.
"God, its so painful
something that's so close
is still so far our of reach."
The best answer we actually heard in a message this morning. No matter what happens in our life or how long this takes, it has purpose. It has changed our lives and definitely helped and strengthened our marriage. However, we really have no idea how far that purpose stretches. It is cool to see small glimpses of it though. Whether it's a friend sharing a small change they made in their life to combat their debt, or even an in depth email from someone saying they weren't sure they could ever change their lives with money. We are no Dave Ramsey's and don't claim to be. However, we have slowly come to realize how sharing this witness has personalized this story for so many people in our lives (many we don't even know, but they are important just the same). To flip the story, you are keeping us going.
In the meantime we are going to keep budget cutting where we can. We are going to keep saying "No" to things we want.
We are also taking on new opportunities. If you follow our blog, you know we are healthy people who eat Paleo most of the time. However, eating clean alone was not getting us to our health goals. We recently got introduced to Advocare and had an outstanding experience with their 24 Day Challenge. Therefore, we are now promoting the products ourselves. If you ever want more information on how to take control of your finances and your health, please ask us about it. The first person we coached through the challenge lost 12 pounds and changed their lifestyle.
We are at mile 20 of the marathon and our legs hurt (a marathon is 26.2 miles if you're not a runner). We're just going to keep our heads up, smile, and take it one step at a time until we finish. We hope you do the same.
In Christ,
Bryant and Emily
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