Currently, my wife and I have about $1800 in credit card debt, we have a mortgage whose principle balance is around $75,000. We have a loan which is evolved into a payoff of around $8000 to $10,000. We also just purchased/financed a car recently for around $13,000. We have a bank account that is severely negative, over $600. We have no emergency savings to speak of.
We don't consider ourselves frivolous or materialistic, we live in a modest house, we don't drive brand new cars, we don't take vacations in Cabo San Lucas. These things largely happened because up to this point, we didn't take charge of our finances, we didn't want to live with the discipline of giving purpose to our money.
Last month, our water was nearly cut off. We had a close call with that and friends to thank. I lost one of my jobs a month ago. I have some good leads and if one of them comes through, it will be much easier to get out of debt. However, if something doesn't come through, we will be under budget for this month according to how much money we are spending both on bills and minimum living expenses. Our mortgage is already behind. We may need to lose our internet connection temporarily because if we pay one, we won't be able to pay the other, my wife has to have money to put gas in the car to drive to work this week. This is a snapshot of our financial dilemma.
I am sharing these things because I am serious now about change. This year we have worked to get out of debt and we have been met with a great deal of personal failure. I am now to the point where I am ready to not go back where we've been before now.
Debt is not merely a monetary issue, it is a spiritual one. Because my wife and I were not patient enough in the past to save for the things we wanted to buy, we used credit. We failed to pay off the items in the no-interest promotional period, go-figure, and so now interest is added on. If we continue paying only minimum payments, one of our credit cards whose principal would have been around 900 dollars will actually total to several thousand dollars being payed over several years at a 26% interest rate. As of right now, we already have several hundred dollars in interest that have been added. This is just one example. Think of all the good that could have been done with that money. That money could have gone into a high yield account which over time would build to a sum of money that could pay a college tuition for my sons when they are older. That money could have been given to my church or to the needy. We could have given this money to excellent charities like charity:water or world vision. We could have been in a financial position to support a child overseas through Compassion International. We could have paid cash for my dentist appointment last year instead of financing it on yet more high-interest credit. Generally speaking, debt is created because at some point in the past, we lost sight of the bigger picture. That's what I did, anyway. I imagine many here will relate to this.
We have sacrificed a great deal of freedom and peace to arrive to the place we are.
These past couple weeks have felt very dark to me...feeling as though I am at the mercy of potential employers or chase home financing. The weight of bad decisions is starting to take its toll.
Here are current consequences that we personally have deal with, all because of debt.
- Stress in our marriage. We fight more often, we are ill toward each other more often, the integrity of our family suffers from being preoccupied by stress
- Stress on others, the people we've borrowed money from, the important things we've had to sit out because we couldn't afford to put gas in the car or miss a day of work
- The possibility of me and my wife needing to work full time for an extended period of time until our debts are stabilized and we no longer in the risk we are in now...meaning, we will very possibly be forced to put our sons in day care, one of them being an infant only 6 months old
- Our plans to begin homeschooling our 4 year old son will likely be interrupted as we will not be home as often as originally planned due to increased work hours.
I'm sure I could name other things, but I think I've made the message clear. As I stated earlier, we don't consider ourselves materialistic or frivolous. But we aren't disciplined and we need to be consistent and patient. We have not been until now.
Sometimes, to be faithful, you just have to start small. I'm starting small now, as we stare defaults, penalties and collections in the face. Your prayers and accountability are appreciated.
No comments:
Post a Comment