Do Your Finances Need CPR From the COVID-19 Pandemic?

          

          The COVID-19 pandemic has thrust the world into an unprecedented economic suppression.  The world has experienced previous economic recessions and depressions, but this standstill caused by stay-at-home orders is the first of its kind.  Even as states are now considering opening up, lead scientists are warning about the dangers of further explosions of hotspots and what could happen next fall and winter when the world experiences both COVID-19 and the annual influenza season. In other words, we are certainly not out of the woods.

            Tens of millions of workers at this point have either lost their employment or have been furloughed, with no way of knowing when or if they will return to their job.   For many, there is no employment to return to and these workers will be forced to find other employment in their profession or switch careers altogether.

            My grandparents lived through the Great Depression, and this changed them forever.  My grandfather’s favorite quote was from Calvin Coolidge, “Eat it up, Wear it out, Make it do, or Do without.”  This was quoted as pants were patched, clothes mended, and items reused that most people would have tossed out as trash.  

            What did these Depression Children know that we have forgotten?  That in an instant the world can change.  This economic suppression is not the fault of any business owner, it is not the result of stock market speculation or any dot-com or housing bust.  But the current economic state does reveal some bad habits, areas of complacency, and Achilles heels that need our attention.

            There are two scenarios with the current economic situation:  annoyance and sheer panic.  If you have been living by a budget and have paid off your debt and have a healthy emergency fund as recommended by financial planners, then this time is annoying in that you have to use some of you emergency fund, but the sky is not falling.

            If, on the other hand, you are like 8 out of 10 Americans and you are living paycheck to paycheck, going without a paycheck is ulcer-inducing.  

            So here is my plea to all of us as we get through this time.  Please let this be our Never Again, Great Depression Moment.  Please let this be the moment that we swear off debt.  That we swear to making and sticking to a budget every month.  When we are on our porches sitting in a rocking chair when we are 90 let us point back to this time and say, “That is when I learned my lesson about money.”  

            So many of us when buying items say, “How much will this cost me per month?” and put the item on payments.  The problem is when we say we can afford the payment based on our best month.  That month when you get your highest commissions.  The month when nothing goes wrong—no car repairs are needed, no surprise ER visits for stitches or a broken leg, no birthdays or holidays when you have to buy presents.  It’s based on that “perfect month” when nothing goes wrong and everything goes right and assumes that it will stay that way.  I am here to tell you that this scenario is bogus.  Right now the whole world is going through the same painful experience at the same time, which is highly unusual.  Usually trials of this magnitude are pretty solitary occurrences—your family together deals with the cancer diagnosis, death, or unplanned accident but the guy next to you on the freeway does not share in your stress.

            I don’t know what lies in your future.  My crystal ball is broken.  But I know for sure that none of us make it through this life unscathed.  There will be times of good and times of bad.  You will have extreme joy and extreme heartache.  Those heartaches hurt all the more when that unfortunate circumstance is compounded with financial troubles.        

Together, let us all pledge as a nation, as people, that this will be our moment of change.  This is our Great Depression moment that changes the very fiber of our natures. When we say never again.  Never again will I be a slave to debt.  Never again will I live without a budget.  Never again will I go without an emergency fund. Never again will I go without a life plan for my money, for my saving and investing, and for my giving so that I can help those around me that are hurting.  Never again.

            Never a debtor will I be.

Teaching Children to Work

            When we say that teaching children to work, do you picture sending them to the salt mines to perform hard labor?  Nah. Teaching children about work starts at a young age, usually with teaching them to pick up their toys.  This usually involves the parents getting down on the floor and picking up 10 toys to each of their 1, clapping and cheering like crazy for their efforts. As they get older, they become better and better.  The beautiful thing is that toddlers want to please.  The key at this juncture is to encourage their efforts, which actually takes some effort.  It would be easier to take the broom from the 3-year-old who looks with pride saying, “Look Mommy, I help you!”  I know you could do it 100 times faster.  I know you could do it 100 times better, plus you don’t knock everything off of the counter with the broom handle.  Having patience with their efforts and offering applause will pay dividends in the future, as they gain confidence and ability with time and feel pride in their efforts.  

            Cleaning time at our house is a family effort, but no cleaning session would be complete without some fun tunes and a dance party. Kids need to learn that work is not drudgery.  Work is a natural part of life and can even be fun.  Remember that scene in Mary Poppins where they clean up the nursery?  I can’t promise that your house will be cleaned with just a snap of your fingers, but the cleaning can get done pretty fast as you mix the fun and work. Afterwards, there should be some family fun time as a reward.  Go to a park or go outside and play some games to reward all that hard work.  Establish some traditions around what we call Family Work and your kids won’t groan when it is time to get some done.

Paying for Chores

Some people pay their children for the chores they do around the house.  In our house, we do not pay for every chore.  Some chores are expected just as a normal part of being a part of a family, such as making your bed and keeping your room clean, and cleaning up after dinner.  We do pay for chores that go beyond normal daily chores, such as washing the car, pulling weeds and other yard work.

Finding Money Earning Opportunities

As our children have grown, we have found opportunities for them to develop their work ethic and also earn them some money.  There will always be a need in neighborhoods for someone to blow leaves, mow yards, house sit and pet sit while people are out of town, dogs that need to be walked, and kids to babysit.  This is when the years of encouraging their efforts to learn how to work start to pay them back.  Once they start working in the neighborhood, encourage them to do a great job and go above and beyond.  They will be recognized for their good work ethic and thus be given more opportunities. At our house we have hired several teens and preteens in the neighborhood to help with large outdoor projects.  The ones that get a repeat invitation are the ones that did a great job the first time. 

We have acreage, which in and of itself offers daily opportunities for work as we take care of the land and animals.  Our oldest has been earning money by raising baby goats since he was about 7.  He feeds the animals and cares for their pen, and in return he gets to keep the money from the sale of the goats.  He has been able to earn quite a sum of money over the years.

Now, you might not have acreage and farm animals, but chances are there are some ways in your neighborhood to earn money.  Babysitting, raking leaves, dog walking, lawn mowing, washing cars.  At first this money can be just for fun purchases, but as they get older this money can go to their first vehicle.

Pay for Good Grades?

We have several friends who pay their children for grades.  Every family is different, but we have chosen not to do this.

Part of our Love and Logic Parenting is to congratulate our children on their efforts, character traits, and behaviors and not on the outcomes.  A child that is gifted in math does not deserve more money reward for their “A” than the child that worked hard, got tutoring, and did everything that they possibly could and earned a C.  Some children have learning disabilities, and they should not be punished. Therefore, we do not pay for good grades in school.

Kids should be taught to work, and not to just work for money.  There is pride in a job well done.  There is joy in work, in working hard and seeing the results of those efforts. This is not a one time lesson, but a lesson that will take years but yields great results.

The child that learns to work and to work hard will not be a 26 year old living in your basement who just plays video games all day.

Teaching Your Children About Money: Allowance Vs. Earning Money

Ok, so one of the Great Parent Debates that has raged for eons is this:  Allowance Vs. Earning Money.

            We fall firmly into the Earn Your Own Money category. 

            Hear me out:  In life, most of us get paid for actually doing work. There are a lot of people who would sign up for the job that involves texting and perusing their social media all day, but as it turns out there aren’t jobs like that, and people who do that turn out to be pretty crappy employees.  The employees who get ahead and move up the ranks work hard while they are at work and continuously strive to improve themselves and grow their skill set.  Shocker, huh?

            With an allowance, your child gets paid whether they do work or not.  If they go out into the workplace expecting the same treatment, they will be in for a rude awakening. The principle of work, working hard, and that money comes from work are crucial lessons in the path towards becoming a functional adult. Yes, with an allowance children can learn about spending money wisely, but they do not get the concept of where money actually comes from.  With an allowance the concept taught is that 1) Money comes from Mom and Dads pocket and 2) I don’t have to do anything except to ask in order to obtain money.  Those concepts may be fine at 10 years old but it won’t work very well when your 38 year old is still coming to you asking for money.

            The trap with this is that credit cards and other mechanisms of borrowing are equally as simple.  How simple is it to swipe a card in a machine and get the item that you purchased in return?  How hard is it to sign on the dotted line and get a student loan? Car loan? Mortgage?  Payday loan?  Pretty darn easy…..until you have to pay it back.  Things like Apple Pay and online purchasing are even easier.  Economists use the term “friction” to define the pain receptors in your brain that light up when you pay for items.  Low friction paying are methods such as Apple Pay, credit cards, and online purchases.  You don’t even feel those purchases.  Paying with cold hard cash is a higher friction method of payment.  Of course, retailers really are purchasing for lower friction options so that consumers spend more.  When you are staring at Mr. Franklin or Mr. Lincoln, it is really much harder to part with them.  You have a stronger pull and tend to rethink the expenditure and ask yourself, “Do I really need this?  Is this the purchase that I want to make with this cash?”

            When children spend your money that came from your pocket it is extremely low friction—for the child.  How easy is it to spend someone else’s money?!?  Soooooo easy to have a shopping spree on someone else’s dime.  Can you just see the child jumping up and down in the toy aisle begging for the item that they just NEED?  The conversation takes a sharp left turn at Albuquerque when the money comes from their own pocket.  

            Our children are given a metal piggy bank that is has dividers so that the money goes to three different areas—giving, saving, and spending.  On our children we have applied percentages to these areas:  10% to giving, 45% for saving and 45% for spending.

Giving

            As Christians, we follow the Bible in that our children tithe 10% to our local church.  The concept is that the money is not really theirs—we are only stewards of the money on this Earth, as God created everything and we have an obligation to Him to both pay tithing and spend the money that we get wisely.  

            If you are not part of a church, then it is not a 10% tithe but rather giving 10% to a charity of their choice.  This can actually quite fun.  With modeling and teaching early on, children grasp the concept of giving quite well.  They can pick a charity along with your help that is important to them.  Help them to pick a charity that works for causes close to their heart.  This can be anything from the giving tree at Christmas time, the Salvation Army, anything. When your children identify causes that bother them such as the homeless person standing on the corner, the polluted beach, or world hunger, engage in a conversation with them. It is easy for these problems to be overwhelming so obviously speak on their level, but the message should be one of hope that they have the power to exert change by giving, whether it is through time or money.  

Saving

            Learning to save looks different as children age. When they are little, the first dollar earned is literally burning a hole through the piggy bank, just itching to be spent.  

            Saving for a desired toy is a great learning tool for a young spender.  While they are saving, help them to do research so that they can purchase the exact thing that they want.  When they are little this is simple—what color of hair do you want on your doll? What color of car do you want? Learning to delay gratification is a concept that a lot of adults still can’t grasp.  Trust me, you want to give your kids lots of opportunities to learn this lesson when they are young so they don’t grow up to be impulsive spenders.

            As children get older, the conversation shifts to larger expenditures.  What are they doing for their first car?  Who pays for the insurance? Gas?  Cell phone bill?  This is when the muscles gained as a child start getting some exercise while still under the guidance of their parents.

Spending

            This is the easy one, right?  We shouldn’t have much to say on this one.  Kids naturally know how to spend money.

            We are huge fans of Love and Logic Parenting, and one of the principles of being a Love and Logic parent is to let children make mistakes when they are young.  Spending at a young age teaches children so many lessons.  First, how to identify quality.  Some items are great to buy at a dollar store, other items well, you get what you pay for.  That $1 toy might not last that long.  

            They also get to learn how to identify when you are just paying for a brand name instead of quality.  Parents can help educate their spender to look at products to see what comes in the box versus what items require an additional purchase, and help them to compare product information so that they can make an informed purchase. 

A Note on Work and Earning Money

            We are not implying that all children should be sent to the salt mines to purchase all of their wants and needs.  Parents are to provide their children with the needed food, clothes, shoes, shelter, items needed for school, etc.  We are talking about extra items that the child wants---yet another princess doll/Lego/pair of sparkly shoes.  

            Parents have final veto on items that are bought with the money the child has earned.  If you have rules about video games, then no they can not go purchase that video game that you deemed too violent.  Likewise with clothes, jewelry, music, anything.  Parents have the final word on what is allowed in the house.

Now how to encourage work and earning money?  Stay tuned for next week’s entry on work, how to get them to actually like working, and a little advice on what should be tied to money and what shouldn’t.

            

Student Loans: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Good

            In the finance world, so many talking heads view both mortgages and student loans as “good debt”.

            Do you do a happy dance when you have to pay your student loan each month?  Do you smile in appreciation when you see your student loan balance and thank heaven every day that your student loan debt was used to pay for your higher education? No?  But come on now.  Student loans are good debt.  You really shouldn’t mind it at all say the finance people on TV.  Ha!  If they think it’s so great, maybe they can make your student loan payment.

            Financial gurus count student loans as good debt because, like mortgages, student loans are intended to be used to increase your knowledge, and in turn give you skills that increase your marketability and ability to earn money.  Mortgages are also considered good debt because over time, real estate increases its value.  Both are considered to have a good ROI, or return on investment.  In contrast, “bad debt” does not have a ROI.  Credit card debt, car loans, personal loans and pay day loans, are all loans against depreciating assets.  

The Bad

            The assumption of course, is that 1) You graduate and obtain a degree, 2)  that degree is applicable in the marketplace, and 3)  that degree did not come at so high of a cost that the financial burden does not outweigh the benefits.  

            Currently, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports that only 40% of college students go on to graduate within 4 years.  Bachelor degree attainment rises to 60% within 6 years of enrollment.  To assume that you will obtain your degree when you start college is foolhardy at least.  So many people have student loans without the benefit of higher income to pay them off when they fail to complete their degree.

            Secondly, even if a person completes a degree program, that degree must be marketable in order to increase income and therefore have an ROI.  A 4 year degree in underwater basket weaving really won’t do you much good, even if you spent $100,000 and 6 years to obtain that degree.  Even if you do complete the degree, unfortunately there are lawyers who fail to pass the bar exam and medical students who fail to pass their boards. It happens.  More than we would like to think.

            Speaking of expensive degrees, there is a whole range of prices between schools that offer the same degree.  Just because you borrowed more for that degree does not mean you will be paid more on graduation.  There is no sliding scale on pay rate based on the amount borrowed.

The Ugly

            

            Unfortunately, it gets worse.  People assume that student loan lenders are virtuous because they are lending money for a virtuous cause.  Federal student loan interest rates are set by the government, so in this current low interest rate market student loans can range from 4.5%-7.6%. Unfortunately, private student loans have a lot more variability in interest rate based on the applicant’s credit score, and can go as high as 15%.  That’s a credit card interest rate!  Private loans are also not dischargeable in cases of disability, and not eligible for the Federal Student Loan Forgiveness Program.  

            Even more lecherous?  There are private institutions that offer degree programs that it turns out the degree is not worth the paper it is written on.  We have friends that have taken out hundreds of thousands of dollarsin student loans and have nothing to show for it.  All the debt, no degree.  WOW.

            Today, student loan debt is around 1.7 trillion dollars.  That’s trillion with a T.  Of that debt, one in ten borrowers is in default.  As a result of this debt burden, home ownership has decreased, and some people are putting off having children or having them at all.  Student loan burdens also are to blame for failing to fund retirement and reach other financial goals.  Borrowers burdened with student loans are not free to spend money in the marketplace, which spending drives the economy.

            So student loans are “good debt”, huh?  

            We at Never a Debtor are determined to educate the public about student loans, and provide hope for those climbing their way out of debt as provide information on how to avoid this plague.

            

Our Student Loan Story

Ok, so this is our story with student loans.  It’s short and sweet.  We don’t have any.

            What?!?!  How can you have two masters degrees between two spouses and no student loans?

            Oh, you must come from rich parents who paid for your schooling.  Or trust fund babies.  What do you have to teach us about student loans?

            Ok, first of all, let’s clarify.  Student loans weren’t our drug of choice.  Cars and rental properties at the height of the housing bubble that then burst in 2008 and left us in ruins were our debt drugs of choice.  Everyone has their debt “gateway drug”.  Credit cards. Student loans.  Ours was rental houses as we bought into the hype of flipping houses and getting rentals using OPM (other people’s money).  It completely bit us in the butt.  

            

Becky’s Story

            Becky came from a very poor family.  Mom went through a divorce that left her with hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.  Those years were as bad as it gets.  Going to bed hungry.  No warm clothes for the winter.  Mom remarried, but there was so much debt.  So, so much debt to the IRS of all people.  So she got a job at age 16 and worked 40 hours a week.  Lucky for her, she was bright and did well in school.  

            The reason why she never got student loans? Did she get grants?  Nope. She did get a one year scholarship. 

            This is where luck kicked in a little.  You see, her Mom owed the IRS so she never ever seemed to file her taxes on time.  Becky couldn’t get her mom to fill out a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).  No FAFSA, therefore no grants and no student loans.  She didn’t even know you couldget a student loan when she graduated from high school.  She was the first to go to college in her family, so as far as she knew you could either get a scholarship or paid cash or you didn’t go.  

            She knew she wanted to go to college—she had dreams of being a doctor but without the cash that was not going to happen so she enrolled in the nursing program.  She had a scholarship for the first year and then paid in cash for the remaining time, working 40 hours a week. 

            In her case, lack of savvy was a protection against student loans.

Ben’s Story

            I came from an upper middle class family that paid for schooling until I got married, which was 1 ½ years prior to graduating.  Once we were married, student loans were still not on the table so I continued at the university to get my Bachelors in Business while Becky went from the university to the local community college to get her nursing degree.

Our Story

            After 10 years of being a nurse, she decided to become a nurse practitioner.  Again, student loans were not even a question.  Which is hilarious when you consider that we had borrowed money for cars in the past.  The mind is a murky place.  Loans for cars and rental properties?  Sign us up. Student loans-not an option.

            It was stunning that in her nurse practitioner cohort, she was the only one out of the 20 students who did not take out student loans. Yes, the curriculum was rigorous. Not going to lie, it was not for the faint of heart to work full time and go to school full time during her program. Between school time and papers, her job as a nurse, and her precepting hours she was working 7 days per week for the 3 ½ years of her program.  It was quite the commitment.  On the other side of the coin, there were students who took out loans for both the tuition cost and for their living expenses.  

            Results:  Upon graduation, Becky could take any job she wanted that fit our lifestyle and in her preferred area.  For the students who took out student loans to the hilt, they could only choose the higher paying jobs, usually working more hours with less work/life balance and possibly not in their area of choice.  Not the way you want to start your new career.

           The purpose of or Never a Debtor Blog is to change a generation forever—to arm them with information about avoiding debt so that we can truly be free.  Now this isn’t simply about avoiding debt because of the harmful effects of debt on your life.  That is just the start of it.  This rising generation is more aware of the problems in our society than ever before, from the environment to poverty.  

            Everywhere we see people who are passionate about causes. Passionate people are able to serve with time and with their skills, but often the causes they support need money-and a lot of it.  When you are chained to a car payment, credit card debt, and student loans, there just isn’t extra money to support the causes that you care deeply about.

            The truth of the matter is that you can’t give away what you don’t have for yourself.  This applies to all areas—spiritual, emotional, physical, and financial.  If you can’t put food on your own table, you can’t feed the hungry.  Sharing a spiritual conviction will seem hollow if you don’t have that knowledge down in the fiber of your soul yourself.  

            This is not to say that a person’s worth lies only in their net worth.  ABSOLUTELY NOT!  You are a unique individual and you were sent to this Earth to do something that only you can do.  

            Being debt free gives you just that—the freedom to accomplish what God intends you to do.  Money stress weighs on your soul and relationships.  The purpose of becoming debt free is not so that you can amass large sums of money and then consume it all for yourself.  Nope.  The purpose of becoming debt free, in the words of Dave Ramsey, is to live and give like no one else.  

            In order to teach our kids the perils of debt, you don’t have to be perfect.  If parenthood required perfection there would be no parents.  You can be debt free, deeply in debt, or somewhere in between. Start where you are at.  Your children, family, and friends will notice the changes in your life and you can learn and grow together.  

            So how do you get out of debt?  Getting in debt is ridiculously easy.  Getting out of debt takes effort and determination.  A visceral reaction deep in your marrow that says, “I have had it!  This is not working!  I work too hard to be this broke and have all this money stress.”  That’s how you know you are ready for change and ready to start down Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps.  These are the steps we have taken in our debt free journey.  They have worked for us, they have worked for millions of others, and they will work for you.

Dave Ramsey’s Baby Step #1

            Baby Step #1 is to save a beginner emergency fund of $1000.  But wait, you say, $1000 won’t take care of a 3 month job loss or a new air conditioner. No it won’t.  It wasn’t meant to be your emergency fund forever.  It serves as a small buffer between you and Murphy’s Law.  It will pay for lots of life’s little emergencies so that you don’t go deeper in debt by putting those little emergencies on a credit card.  

vOf note: This is an emergency fund.  To be used in case of emergency.  A new couch is not an emergency.  Christmas presents are not an emergency.  A broken leg is an emergency.  

vIf spent, emergency fund money should be replaced immediately before paying off any debts.  

vWhile saving for your emergency fund, you should still be making minimum payments on all of your debts.

Dave Ramsey’s Baby Step #2

            This is the part when you start crushing your debt. List of your debts except for you mortgage from smallest to largest, paying minimum payments on all of your debts and put all of your extra money, blood and sweat into paying off the littlest debt.  Take an extra job.  Or two. Side hustles are your best friend. Sell everything that is not nailed down. This is time to be laser focused on eliminating debt as fast as possible.

vList all of your debts from smallest to largest by individual debt, not by category.  For instance, college loans are not listed as one big debt but instead break out the individual loans and list all debts one by one.

vIf your car debt is more than half of your annual income, it is time to sell some cars. I say ‘cars’ but this is actually anything with a motor in it.  Cars, golf carts, Rhinos, your $5000 lawn mower, anything with a motor in it.  

vBut what if your student loans are bigger than your mortgage?  Still list them in Baby Step #2.  This is all non mortgage debt

vIn the Debt Snowball, when you have paid off a debt, you take the payment you used to pay on the littlest debt and use all the money you can squeeze out of your budget to attack the next debt.  

Old payment for debt #1 + Minimum payment for debt #2 + Everything leftover in your budget = The amount you are paying on debt #2

Dave Ramsey’s Baby Step #3

            This is when life starts to feel soooooo much better. Not out of the woods yet, but you are not suffocating anymore.  

            Do you remember that starter emergency fund of $1000 that you had in Baby Step #1?  You know, the one that was so small it made you sweaty around the neck?  It is time to beef it up to a 3-6 month emergency fund.  This is the old fashioned rainy day fund that you always have known you should have. Cause guess what? Rain happens. Sometimes it is a torrential downpour. 

            Whether you aim for the low end of 3 months or the higher end at 6 months depends on your job situation.  Is this a single income household or two income household?  How stable is the job situation?  Single income households or commission based incomes should aim for the 6 month emergency fund.  

            

Dave Ramsey’s Baby Step #4

            This is when you can breathe a little sigh of relief and not be as intense.  Through Baby Step #3 you are pedal to the medal, no holds barred all in on eliminating debt.  Baby Steps 4, 5, and 6 are meant to be done simultaneously.  Baby Step #4 is to put 15% of your income into retirement.  Note that I said of your income.  Not 15% if you add in your company’s match.  It is 15% of your gross income.  This can be investing in a mix of 401(k), IRAs, Roth 401(k) or Roth IRAs, 403bs, individual brokerage accounts, etc.  

            This money is to save for your future.  Most people say that they are going to work until they are dead and that is their retirement plan, but that rarely works out. Usually health concerns for either themselves or their spouse, a layoff, or disability interrupts that plan.

Dave Ramsey’s Baby Step #5

            Baby Step #5 is to save for kid’s college.  If you do not have children, skip this step and move on.  

            Baby Step #5 does not say that you have to pay for all of your kid’s college.  Unless you are fundamentally opposed to paying for your child’s college, the point is to put something into an ESA or 529 savings plan to help pay for college.

Dave Ramsey’s Baby Step #6

            Any extra money left over after taking care of Baby Steps 4 and 5 should be spent on Baby Step #6, which is to pay off your house early. I know this sounds like a pipe dream, but this is how you set yourself up so that you can live and give like no one else. Without a mortgage, you can save more retirement.  Without a mortgage, you can give more and be more generous.  Most financial advisors recommend that you pay off your mortgage prior to retirement, and so do we.

Dave Ramsey’s Baby Step #7

            This is when you invest as much as possible, give as much as possible. Giving 10% to your local church or your favorite charity should have been in the budget all along the way, but this is when you really get to ramp it up.  This is when you can afford to do all the giving that you have wanted to do. Nothing you can do with money feels better than giving it away.  Yes, you absolutely should also be enjoying some of your money after your years and years of hard work.  You have earned it.  Enjoy some of your money, and also enjoy giving some of that money away.

For more information on the Baby Steps, visit daveramsey.com

Welcome to Never a Debtor

           We are 40 somethings living the dream in Arizona, with 3 kids and a menagerie of animals.  

            Life was going great until, well, it wasn’t.  Kids with food allergies and expensive medical bills, family crises, and then……Becky my wife was diagnosed with an eye disease that has been robbing her of her sight.  She was a nurse and then went to nurse practitioner school and was happily working in her dream job when it all came crashing down.  Her income was always higher, as nurses can get all the OT they could possibly want.  Now we are down to one income with still all of the expenses.  

            Luckily, we had seen the writing on the wall and had prepared as much as possible before she had to stop working.  We had been Dave Ramsey listeners, but suddenly we came at it with more gusto.  We cash flowed my MBA so that I could get a better job, eliminated all debt but the house and tried to build up some savings.  The goal was to pay off our mortgage prior to her having to stop working, but her eyes did not get the memo and she had to stop working and we still had $70k on the mortgage.

            Life happens.  It did for us.  It will for you.  

            Our mission is twofold—to help you get out of debt and to make sure that this plague does not infect your children.  We are after CHANGE.  Meaningful change.  Generational change.  Breaking the chains of bondage.  Because that is what it is—debt is bondage.

            So whatever has brought you to us—overwhelming debt, fear, a goal to get a handle on your finances, or life hitting you all at once like a bulldozer, we welcome you.

Yours, 

The Never a Debtor Team