WE'RE DEBT FREE!!!!!!!!

Yes, it is true. As of today November 24,2009 we are DEBT FREE!!!! It is really hard to believe. We have worked really hard to get here and it feels great to have accomplished it. We are COMPLETELY DEBT FREE. We do not owe a single penny to anyone anymore. Wow , it feels good to say that. I thought I would take this post to tell our story of how we accomplished it and what we hope to accomplish in the future.

I guess our story starts about 5 years ago when we moved to Missouri to start our business. we knew that we needed to do it with as little debt as possible so we cashed out our 401K and bought our home and had it moved to Texas. (It was meant to be but that is a whole other story for a whole other time). But we never paid attention to what we were spending, plus starting a business is really hard and we basically lived off of credit cards for a while and the truck broke so we bought a truck with a hefty payment. It put us about 30,000 in debt.

About 2 years ago my mom kept telling me about Dave Ramsey. It took us a while to listen but once we did we were hooked. I heard what he was saying I believed every word. We knew that that was our destiny. We could be totally out of debt start building wealth, but we were still just not gazelle intense with it. We had paid off about 10,000 in 18 months. Then on April 8, 2008 everything changed. Our business was completely destroyed by fire. There was nothing left. Absolutely nothing. We had no business, no money and still about 20,000 of debt left. We decided that we did not want to give up on the business so, we rebuilt. It took about 3 weeks, alot of hard work from many different people and a 20,000 loan from family. When that happened we knew that we had to get Gazelle intense and never be in that situation again. So we worked and worked and worked. In the last 18 months we have paid off the remaining 40,000.

Now we get to work for ourselves for a change. It really does change your attitude in life. It feels like a weight has been lifted off. There is another way to do things. You do not have to have debt. Now we can focus on building our business and our wealth. We will never be in debt again and hopefully we are changing our family tree by passing this knowledge to our kids. They have known all along how much money we had to pay off and have been really rooting for us.

So, I just want everyone to know that it can be done and it is worth all the sweat and hard work. It will be worth every stressful day when you can say I DO NOT OWE ANYONE ANYTHING.


WE'RE DEBT FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Totally Rejuvinated!!!!

Okay, so I think I spelled rejuvinated right but I am not sure. Anyways, I am feeling GREAT!!!!! This last couple of months have flown by. Work has been really busy, which we are extremely grateful for, but on the otherhand it leaves me stressed and not sure where all the time went. But, last weekend we spend three glorious days with my family. I really needed some down time to relax and have fun. We were able to deliver a van that we built for Adam and Danelle. We felt really good about being able to do this for them and I think they are a Minivan family now.

We also got to celebrate Shelby's Birthday while we were down there. Her B-day isn't until the 23rd but she loves a party and we won't be back until Christmas so we celebrated and she cleaned house. She loves her new P.J.'s. She washes them everyday so she can wear them. She spends hours applying makeup. And we cannot forget the hours she spends listening to her new Taylor Swift CD on her IPOD. I know I can hardly believe that she has one but I have to say that she is doing very well taking care of it and I am thinking about getting one. I could really get used to listening to music while I am painting a car. Plus, We have the outside perimeter and one corner done on the 1000 piece puzzle. Jason says it is impossible but Shelby and I are doing pretty good. (It has taken over the table so dinner is on the couch, but it is really fun so we don't mind.)

So, That is what's new in our world. We are back home and back to work, but it is amazing what a little time off with family can do for the soul and attitude.

Love to All
Erika