Now that we still have some sunlight hanging aroun Now that we still have some sunlight hanging around after the kids go to bed, my new thing is sipping a glass of wine on the back patio while making small talk with Josh and praying the kids stay in bed.
 
I've been obsessed with cleaning our house recently but I've been so good about it, I have nothing left to clean or tidy right now and I'm left to face the things I don't really want to think about like the fact that I miss my kids when they're at school or how I really want to fill this house up with some more of them 😅 

At any rate, one of my simple pleasures in life is decluttering and purging unused things and I feel like I've accomplished a lot!! What about you?
Being a mom has always meant so much to me. Growin Being a mom has always meant so much to me. Growing up, I thought it was pretty much all I was cut out to do, which ended up being false. But even though I've learned that I'm capable of so many other things, being a mom is still one of my highest aspirations. As we're getting our home ready for fostering, I can't help but think of how the little one(s) entering our home will feel but also how David and Evy will feel. How will they react if we parent slightly differently? Will they understand that we're working to build trust and connection or will they feel indignant? These are the things I pray about and also speak to the kids about in the days leading up. We're all excited but I have the feeling of heaviness that we don't and won't understand the burden until we're all already carrying it together.
Doing my gosh darned best to manifest spring over Doing my gosh darned best to manifest spring over here and I think it might be working 😉 Today the kids had TWOsday at school and they were so sweet. David wore a tie (I don't exactly get how it tirles in to Twosday but the kids were happy so..) and Evy "twinned" with a couple of sweet friends in her class. It's so sweet when you see your own kids building their own friendships. It just loosens a little piece of anxiety I've had about parenthood since David was still in my tummy. How did you spend your TWOsday??

Sandals @naotfootwear 💕
Today was a sweet day. Woke up at 8:30 next to Jos Today was a sweet day. Woke up at 8:30 next to Josh in a quiet house - the kids slept over my parent's last night. Got up, raced to clean the kitchen as fast as I could while my coffee was brewing. The coffee won this time. 

I recorded a Reel while getting ready. Went to the place where we were going to meet my fam a bit early so Josh and I could get in a walk. Then we got coffee, went to a huge antique store (sadly left with nothing but took pictures of my faves so I can remember to come back) and went to lunch with the kids and my parents. Love easy-going and fun days like these 🖤
Back in the day,I was talking with someone about m Back in the day,I was talking with someone about marriage.Josh and I had been married for a few years at that point but this guy was still single. ..

He told me he was studying to get his masters in counseling and he wanted to be a marriage counselor one day.I thought "Hey that's pretty cool" but, curious,because,you know, he was single. 

Anyway, after we'd been talking a few minutes about our interest in helping married couples, he leaned in and said, "You know, I have this theory on marriage.." "Oh yeah?" I said (pretty curious to hear what theories this guy had for all of marriage for everyone everywhere). 

He said, "I believe that every single problem in marriage boils down to communication."

At the time, I didn't really know what to say. I'm more of a *reflector* and then I come up with what I wish I had said later.

Here's what I wish I had said: "Um. Yeah I don't think so. I mean sure, communication helps with a lot of issues. But what about selfishness,⠀addiction,⠀past hurt and trauma, etc? Communication will help people work through those issues but they're connected to much deeper issues that concern the heart--not just your communication skills."

We are all broken, very human, beings and when left to our own devices,⠀we don't have all the tools necessary to "fix" ourselves or our spouse's problems. We can talk until we're blue in the face but we just can't fix ourselves. 

What we do need, is to lean on the Creator who made all things good and makes all things new. To understand that we are not the main characters here. The whole world and everything in it points to Christ and His redeeming power. And yes, he often works that out through us and often through communication. But it's not communication that saves marriages. It's Jesus.

I was just thinking about that today and wanted to get it off my chest. What role do you think communication plays?
Merry Christmas from the Damons! 🎁 Merry Christmas from the Damons! 🎁
So much joy in one photo! Ok, maybe 4 photos 😜 So much joy in one photo! Ok, maybe 4 photos 😜 Love my littlest niece, Eva ❤️
Let's hash something out together: what's somethin Let's hash something out together: what's something you do or used to fight about in your marriage/relationship regularly?

Do you feel like the issue is/was pretty cut and dry? 

Or was there an underlying issue that bubbled up in different ways?

Curious to know your thoughts. 

When Josh and I were first married, we fought a lot. We were pretty low-income, didn't have great jobs, and had a wee baby. While our fights were often about the grocery list, the real issue was that we were SCARED. 

Scared of the adult life we had just stepped into. It was kind of like jumping into a puddle you don't think is that deep until after it's too late and now your socks are completely drowning 🚣🏼‍♀️ 

Luckily, though, they dry off over time, don't they?

After lots of learning and working really hard (both at our jobs and relationship) things started to ease up. We started to see that there was a light at the end of the tunnel and even though we weren't there yet, it gave up hope to carry on together ❤️
Go on a walk with your spouse before Netflixing. O Go on a walk with your spouse before Netflixing. Or if you can't leave the house, sit in the kitchen with a glass of wine. Make time to talk. And make it easier by doing things together. It's so so important ❤️
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Family, Finances, Life & Finances, Marriage, Uncategorized, Work · January 25, 2020

How We Paid off $30,000 in Debt and Saved up for a Down Payment in 2.5 Years

How to pinch pennies and save for big goals. 

First, the stats. In August 2017, Josh and I and our two kiddos moved in with his parents. At that time I had about $50,000 in student loans, $0 credit card debt, and $0 car payments (we sold our car just before we moved) but we also had maybe $1000 in savings? I honestly don’t remember. Since that time, we’ve been able to pay off about $30,000 in student loans, save up about $20,000 for a down payment on a home, not to mention pay a whopping $5,000 *unexpected* medical bill. Oh, and fly across the country for like 4 weddings.

Now, let me start with a little background. As I mentioned, about two and a half years ago, Josh and I moved in with his parents so we could start saving up to buy a home of our own here in Washington. Our goal at the time wasn’t even to start paying off the $50,000~ we (ok, I) had in student loans at the time.

First things first

We very quickly realized that that’s where we should start. So we pushed back our original timeline of when we would move out (something we would do several more times throughout the process) and started throwing whatever extra money we had each month towards my loans with the highest interest rates.

Now, it took us about 6 months to even start paying extra money towards my loans because up until that point, our family had been surviving on my small blogging income (which is doable when you’re living in your parents house). Six months after we moved in, however, I started working remotely for a tech startup in NY. This is when we were finally able to start making some headway. 

Here are a few tips and practices we used along the way that made paying off our debt more of a habit than a burden:

Don’t have a credit card… or at least pretend you don’t

Sure, this is easier said than done, but it is doable and so extremely important. If you do have credit card debt, I’d suggest working towards paying that off first. Dave Ramsey, whose principals we loosely followed, would tell you to make a list of all your individual loans and debts and work towards paying off the smallest debt first, then the next smallest, and so on. If that’s your credit card, then start there. If it’s a student loan, then start there (some of my student loans had 10% and 11% interest rates!!!!).

Staying away from credit card debt comes down to really only paying what you can afford at the time you want to buy. Josh and I *kind of* lived by this principal. We made most of our purchases with a travel rewards credit card so we could earn miles with our favorite airline, but we treated it light a debit card in that we paid it off very quickly. It was also the first thing we paid off every paycheck. We never wanted to be tricked by the illusion of having money when really it was owed to someone else. 

I always felt so much satisfaction whenever I saw that credit card balance drop back to 0 and almost in a way felt competitive about it. When I saw the balance start to wrack up, I felt stressed and annoyed that we let that happen.

Morale of the story, pay for what you can afford. Things won’t make you happier. If you feel like you really want something in the moment, wait a day or two to buy it and see if you feel the same later. You may save yourself from making unnecessary purchases in the moment.

Make sacrifices

I touched on a rather obvious point in the beginning of this post and that’s the fact that we – a family of four with our youngest only being three months at the time – moved in with Josh’s parents. And we’ve been here for about 2.5 years. Whenever someone tells us “Wow you guys are going to be in great shape when it comes time to buy a house!” I say with a huge smile, “We better be after living with our parents for this long!.”

Seriously though, saving up enough money to pay off loans and save for a down payment doesn’t come without sacrifices. It means finding the most affordable living conditions possible. It means working more. Making food and coffee at home. Finding the cheaper gym membership and potentially homeschooling or sending your kids to public school. 

It also very much means saying a big fat NO to lots of purchases, trips, services, what have you. Josh and I spent the last couple years driving a very dinky hand-me-down car with hawaiian print seats. At times, it was embarrassing to drive. Could we have afforded to buy a car? For sure. But we had a car (dinky as it was) that was free, got us to where we needed to go, and allowed us to put even more $$ towards debt and savings each month. 

Society will make you feel as though certain things are needs. Like a new phone, nice jeans, a new car, a big living space. The reality is, nobody needs those things, and they all come at a cost. It’s not that those things are bad, but they’re never needs and they won’t make you any happier on their own.

Making sacrifices is hard and, trust me, it does get frustrating saying no all the time. But it’s extremely worth it in the long run.

Create a budget

Josh and I rarely ever do anything by the rules. I believe that when people want to save money, they need to really understand how much they can trust themselves. Really.

I used a Everydollar to keep track of money coming in and out each month. It’s so easy to loose track of how much you spend in a certain category like eating out, coffee shops, clothes, cosmetics, etc. Everydollar, while retroactive, always made me realize when I spent more than I should and because of that knowledge, I would tighten up the reigns next month. 

Now, you may be the type of person who needs to withdraw Xamount of cash for eating out each month and when that cash is gone, no more eating out and if you don’t you’ll undoubtedly spend more than you should. Like I said, the key is knowing yourself. If you’re the type who’ll take a mile if you give yourself an inch, then you’re going to need to be strict to reach your goals. If you’re pumped about saving every penny you can, then you might not need to be so strict. 

In any case, it’s important to keep track of exactly where your money is going each month and there are a lot of tools that are great for doing that. Everydollar is my favorite because I find it extremely user friendly and in 2020, I have no patience for SaaS products that aren’t. You choose what works best for you.

Work more

Now, depending on how fast you’d like to get out of your current situation, you may or may not be motivated to work extra hours to reach your goal faster. The logic is simple. Work more = earn more $$ = pay off/save more. So that’s what I did. On top of earning an income with blogging and Instagram, I used those very same skills to get a full time job. 

That in and of itself was a big sacrifice. I would have loved to use all my creative energy towards my own blog, but in reality that just wasn’t going to cut it if we wanted to move into our own home as soon as I wanted. And I really wanted that. In the end, I actually ended up loving my job, my coworkers, and I learned a lot of new skills that could help me in my side job as well. So it’d say it was well worth it.

So whether you or your spouse take on extra work in order to throw most or all of that extra income towards paying off debt, again, it’s going to be hard but worth it!

All extra money makes a b-line to your debt

As you can imagine, it would feel pretty good anytime we saw some money in the bank even after all credit cards and bills were paid. But even if we did have extra money in the bank after that, it went straight towards our debt. Josh and I didn’t even consider it to be our money. I usually left a small cushion in our bank account if I could, and then paid as much as I could towards the principal of the loan with the highest interest rate. 

If extra money came in for birthdays, Christmas, side jobs – whatever – it went towards my loans. One year, we got about $7,000 from a tax return. Guess where 100% of it went? My student loans. Once we paid off all of my private student loans (about half our debt was Sallie Mae loans with insane interest rates and half were federal loans with much more reasonable rates) we shifted our focus towards saving up for a down payment. Even then, almost all extra money each paycheck went into a savings account where withdrawals and transfers were FORBIDDEN.

In conclusion,

Be obsessed with your goals. And enjoy the process in the meantime.

I’ll be the first to say that I haven’t always been patient throughout our journey of paying off debt and saving. There were so many days when I wanted to jump ship and take out a loan for whatever house I could afford at the time and get in my own place as soon as possible (working from home while living in a very full house is no joke). But again and again Josh reminded me that we were working towards something better. Better for us and better for our kids. And I’m so glad I reluctantly listened to him. 

Also take time to celebrate your wins. Like I said earlier, working towards paying off debt takes a lot of sacrifices and you’ll burn out if you never celebrate the progress you’re making. So, when you pay off a big debt, go out for dinner, celebrate with your family, enjoy the “meantime” knowing that you’re creating a radically different future for yourselves! 

How we paid off $30,000 in debt and saved up for a down payment in 2.5 years

In: Family, Finances, Life & Finances, Marriage, Uncategorized, Work · Tagged: debt, fastest way to pay off debt calculator, how to pay off debt calculator, how to pay off debt collectors, how to pay off debt fast, how to pay off debt in a year, how to pay off debt in collection, pay off debt, quickly, save up for a house, show to pay off debt with no money

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Comments

  1. Sarah says

    September 3, 2020 at 6:23 am

    Congrats on such a huge accomplishment!! My husband and I are doing something very similar. Our baby is about to turn 4 months old and we are staying with my parents to be able to pay off debt and save some money for our own home. Our original plan was to get out of here quick and just rent if needed, but buying is what we would so much rather do. With us working from home and my siblings going to school from home it has been hectic. And it is hard to admit you’re living with your parents when you have your own family that is growing. But when we stay focused on the positives and the beauty of the extra time with our loved ones it is so much easier to enjoy the journey. Thank you for sharing and being transparent! God bless y’all!

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Hi! I'm Chelsea and we're the Damon's. We spent the last two years in WA state paying off student loans and just bought our first house in SC! I love a smooth black coffee, Josh's first love is the Seattle Sounders. Our kids are huge dorks and constantly make us laugh and we all love spending as much time outside as possible.

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Now that we still have some sunlight hanging aroun Now that we still have some sunlight hanging around after the kids go to bed, my new thing is sipping a glass of wine on the back patio while making small talk with Josh and praying the kids stay in bed.
 
I've been obsessed with cleaning our house recently but I've been so good about it, I have nothing left to clean or tidy right now and I'm left to face the things I don't really want to think about like the fact that I miss my kids when they're at school or how I really want to fill this house up with some more of them 😅 

At any rate, one of my simple pleasures in life is decluttering and purging unused things and I feel like I've accomplished a lot!! What about you?
Being a mom has always meant so much to me. Growin Being a mom has always meant so much to me. Growing up, I thought it was pretty much all I was cut out to do, which ended up being false. But even though I've learned that I'm capable of so many other things, being a mom is still one of my highest aspirations. As we're getting our home ready for fostering, I can't help but think of how the little one(s) entering our home will feel but also how David and Evy will feel. How will they react if we parent slightly differently? Will they understand that we're working to build trust and connection or will they feel indignant? These are the things I pray about and also speak to the kids about in the days leading up. We're all excited but I have the feeling of heaviness that we don't and won't understand the burden until we're all already carrying it together.
Doing my gosh darned best to manifest spring over Doing my gosh darned best to manifest spring over here and I think it might be working 😉 Today the kids had TWOsday at school and they were so sweet. David wore a tie (I don't exactly get how it tirles in to Twosday but the kids were happy so..) and Evy "twinned" with a couple of sweet friends in her class. It's so sweet when you see your own kids building their own friendships. It just loosens a little piece of anxiety I've had about parenthood since David was still in my tummy. How did you spend your TWOsday??

Sandals @naotfootwear 💕
Today was a sweet day. Woke up at 8:30 next to Jos Today was a sweet day. Woke up at 8:30 next to Josh in a quiet house - the kids slept over my parent's last night. Got up, raced to clean the kitchen as fast as I could while my coffee was brewing. The coffee won this time. 

I recorded a Reel while getting ready. Went to the place where we were going to meet my fam a bit early so Josh and I could get in a walk. Then we got coffee, went to a huge antique store (sadly left with nothing but took pictures of my faves so I can remember to come back) and went to lunch with the kids and my parents. Love easy-going and fun days like these 🖤

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Now that we still have some sunlight hanging aroun Now that we still have some sunlight hanging around after the kids go to bed, my new thing is sipping a glass of wine on the back patio while making small talk with Josh and praying the kids stay in bed.
 
I've been obsessed with cleaning our house recently but I've been so good about it, I have nothing left to clean or tidy right now and I'm left to face the things I don't really want to think about like the fact that I miss my kids when they're at school or how I really want to fill this house up with some more of them 😅 

At any rate, one of my simple pleasures in life is decluttering and purging unused things and I feel like I've accomplished a lot!! What about you?
Being a mom has always meant so much to me. Growin Being a mom has always meant so much to me. Growing up, I thought it was pretty much all I was cut out to do, which ended up being false. But even though I've learned that I'm capable of so many other things, being a mom is still one of my highest aspirations. As we're getting our home ready for fostering, I can't help but think of how the little one(s) entering our home will feel but also how David and Evy will feel. How will they react if we parent slightly differently? Will they understand that we're working to build trust and connection or will they feel indignant? These are the things I pray about and also speak to the kids about in the days leading up. We're all excited but I have the feeling of heaviness that we don't and won't understand the burden until we're all already carrying it together.
Doing my gosh darned best to manifest spring over Doing my gosh darned best to manifest spring over here and I think it might be working 😉 Today the kids had TWOsday at school and they were so sweet. David wore a tie (I don't exactly get how it tirles in to Twosday but the kids were happy so..) and Evy "twinned" with a couple of sweet friends in her class. It's so sweet when you see your own kids building their own friendships. It just loosens a little piece of anxiety I've had about parenthood since David was still in my tummy. How did you spend your TWOsday??

Sandals @naotfootwear 💕
Today was a sweet day. Woke up at 8:30 next to Jos Today was a sweet day. Woke up at 8:30 next to Josh in a quiet house - the kids slept over my parent's last night. Got up, raced to clean the kitchen as fast as I could while my coffee was brewing. The coffee won this time. 

I recorded a Reel while getting ready. Went to the place where we were going to meet my fam a bit early so Josh and I could get in a walk. Then we got coffee, went to a huge antique store (sadly left with nothing but took pictures of my faves so I can remember to come back) and went to lunch with the kids and my parents. Love easy-going and fun days like these 🖤
Back in the day,I was talking with someone about m Back in the day,I was talking with someone about marriage.Josh and I had been married for a few years at that point but this guy was still single. ..

He told me he was studying to get his masters in counseling and he wanted to be a marriage counselor one day.I thought "Hey that's pretty cool" but, curious,because,you know, he was single. 

Anyway, after we'd been talking a few minutes about our interest in helping married couples, he leaned in and said, "You know, I have this theory on marriage.." "Oh yeah?" I said (pretty curious to hear what theories this guy had for all of marriage for everyone everywhere). 

He said, "I believe that every single problem in marriage boils down to communication."

At the time, I didn't really know what to say. I'm more of a *reflector* and then I come up with what I wish I had said later.

Here's what I wish I had said: "Um. Yeah I don't think so. I mean sure, communication helps with a lot of issues. But what about selfishness,⠀addiction,⠀past hurt and trauma, etc? Communication will help people work through those issues but they're connected to much deeper issues that concern the heart--not just your communication skills."

We are all broken, very human, beings and when left to our own devices,⠀we don't have all the tools necessary to "fix" ourselves or our spouse's problems. We can talk until we're blue in the face but we just can't fix ourselves. 

What we do need, is to lean on the Creator who made all things good and makes all things new. To understand that we are not the main characters here. The whole world and everything in it points to Christ and His redeeming power. And yes, he often works that out through us and often through communication. But it's not communication that saves marriages. It's Jesus.

I was just thinking about that today and wanted to get it off my chest. What role do you think communication plays?
Merry Christmas from the Damons! 🎁 Merry Christmas from the Damons! 🎁
So much joy in one photo! Ok, maybe 4 photos 😜 So much joy in one photo! Ok, maybe 4 photos 😜 Love my littlest niece, Eva ❤️
Let's hash something out together: what's somethin Let's hash something out together: what's something you do or used to fight about in your marriage/relationship regularly?

Do you feel like the issue is/was pretty cut and dry? 

Or was there an underlying issue that bubbled up in different ways?

Curious to know your thoughts. 

When Josh and I were first married, we fought a lot. We were pretty low-income, didn't have great jobs, and had a wee baby. While our fights were often about the grocery list, the real issue was that we were SCARED. 

Scared of the adult life we had just stepped into. It was kind of like jumping into a puddle you don't think is that deep until after it's too late and now your socks are completely drowning 🚣🏼‍♀️ 

Luckily, though, they dry off over time, don't they?

After lots of learning and working really hard (both at our jobs and relationship) things started to ease up. We started to see that there was a light at the end of the tunnel and even though we weren't there yet, it gave up hope to carry on together ❤️
Go on a walk with your spouse before Netflixing. O Go on a walk with your spouse before Netflixing. Or if you can't leave the house, sit in the kitchen with a glass of wine. Make time to talk. And make it easier by doing things together. It's so so important ❤️
Top knots over crop tops 😜 Top knots over crop tops 😜

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