In life there are many beginnings and endings. One season starts while another finishes. A few seem like they drag on forever while others are not nearly long enough.
Four years ago, our family finished building our home in the woods. Our new chapter had begun and it came with a mountain of debt. It was a beautiful moment to move into the home we had dreamed of, but I couldn’t help feeling a huge weight had been placed on my shoulders. I wanted it gone. As soon as possible. We decided right then to pay off our house in 4 years.
I couldn’t have imagined at the time what that would actually look like. All I knew was the amount we would need to write on the check each month in order to make this happen. We had three children, one steady income and determination. I wasn’t working much, but it was enough to provide some extra cash. We had no other debt, so that was a huge advantage.
We needed to purchase a newer vehicle the following year and were able to do so with cash. There was no way I wanted to add to this house debt. When we found out we were expecting another blessing, I knew God was asking me to decrease my outside work even more. To accept my calling as a wife and homeschool mother wholeheartedly and minister at home during these foundational years. To trust Him.
So we continued to pay down our debt while we obeyed the voice of God and saw His hand provide what we didn’t even know we needed. My husband often found ways to make extra money by working more hours. Yet, he was always careful to make family time priority. I made it my goal to decrease our expenses and find joy in the simple things of life. We used to joke about how things would change once the house was paid off. How we would eat out more, take family trips, and buy more of our wish-list items.
We have now come to the end of life as we’ve known it for the last four years. We made the final house payment in October 2020! We are 100% debt free! To say I am relieved is an understatement. And yet, we cannot pretend it was all our doing. To God be the glory! He was faithful to bless us when we sought His will. We attempted to be good stewards of all He gave us. We also desired not to neglect tithing or giving to those in need. Paying off debt wasn’t the most important need in the world, but it remained a goal and has now become a reality.
As we begin this new chapter, a few things have become clear. We will not actually eat out all that much more than we did before. I enjoy cooking and it is nice to have home cooked meals together around our dining room table. Since we have challenged ourselves to live on less for this purpose, we find we can be quite content with less and will continue to be frugal. We are now in a place where we are living on one-third of one income. This means there will be extra. Extra money to share as God leads; extra time to spend serving others and loving our family.
We may take more family vacations, invite people into our home to share a meal and fellowship more often, commit to supporting a child in a third world country, or any number of options which come along. But we will continue to stick to our budget, focus on necessities over wants, and be good stewards of this extra money. I am glad we learned how to make the most of living on little instead of always trying to increase our income over the past four years. This will affect our future in big ways.
Our goal has been accomplished! Becoming debt-free will no doubt change our life. I cannot predict the future, but we don’t plan on going into debt again. Your story may be very different from ours. That’s the beauty of life! God doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all type of plan for people. As you seek the Lord, He will lead you. Obedience is vital to seeing His blessing. Don’t lose your eternal perspective in this temporal world.
