Friday, July 16, 2010

We're Debt Free: One Year Later

It's been one year and a month since my wife and I paid off our last debt (not including our house). How are we doing financially? We've been able to save over half of our 6 month emergency fund. Over the last six months, we've had to repair my car a couple of times, and replace our water heater.
Because we don't have any debt payments, we've been able to cover our emergencies, and in some cases, work it into our budget without touching our emergency fund.
During the six months when we were paying off debt, we tightened up the budget so much that it seemed like we were holding our breath. Once we wrote that last check, it felt like we could breathe again. We've since loosened up the budget and we don't save as much per month as we probably should. We're still saving regularly, which is the most important thing. Once we've met our six month emergency savings goal, we'll start buying the things we've been putting off for the last couple of years.
Would I make the decision to go back into debt? Definitely not. Once you find out how stress-free it is to live without payments, you'll agree that life is better on this side.