What
does being debt-free mean to you? Does it mean financial freedom; The ability to spend more time with your children and/or spouse; Follow a lifelong passion; Use time in the day the way you want; Travel for fun/leisure; Help a family member or friend; Go on a missions trip; No more calls or letters from bill collectors; No more cash advance loans with outrageously high
percentage rates; No more credit card debt?
I encourage you to take some time right now to write down what being DEBT-FREE means to you.
I encourage you to take some time right now to write down what being DEBT-FREE means to you.
I look at being debt-free as something God has called us to be. When we are in
debt, our focus is taken off of God and placed on our financial situation
(Money). Do you find yourself constantly focusing on your lack of money? Are you constantly
worrying about money? What takes up the majority of your thoughts in a day?
Take
a look at the following Bible verses:
1 Timothy 5:8, "But
if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his
household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."
Proverbs 22:7, "The
rich rules over the poor and the borrower is the slave of the lender."
Romans 13:8, "Owe
no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has
fulfilled the law."
Proverbs 21:5, "The
plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, but those of everyone who is
hasty, surely to poverty."
Proverbs 6:6–8, "Go
to the ant, O sluggard, observe her ways and be wise, which, having no chief,
officer or ruler, prepares her food in the summer and gathers her provision in
the harvest."
Proverbs 24:27, "Prepare
your outside work, make it fit for yourself in the field; and afterward build
your house."
Psalm 20:4, "May
He give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed."
One thing I’ve found is debt-free doesn’t
come easy, at least not for most people. Sure, there are those that win the
lottery or inherit large sums of money, but for the majority of us, we have to work at becoming debt-free. But once we
get there, the possibilities are endless! The freedom we will have from the
bondage of debt will be great! I have been on the receiving end of being helped out financially, but now I have a goal of wanting to be able to give that back to others. Not only do I want to be
debt-free, but I want you to be debt-free too!
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| Photo credit: Arayil / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA |
But God wants us to have FREEDOM. Freedom in every area of our lives including in our finances!
There are many ways to work at becoming
debt-free. Yes, becoming debt free is going to take sacrifice and effort, but if you really want it bad enough, you will do whatever it takes to get there.
Wouldn’t it be great to wake up each day and say, “Today, I get to go to work!” not, “Today, I have to go to work!”? To live in such a way that you can work doing what you love? To have the freedom to give back, volunteer, or help in an area you're passionate about?
Wouldn’t it be great to wake up each day and say, “Today, I get to go to work!” not, “Today, I have to go to work!”? To live in such a way that you can work doing what you love? To have the freedom to give back, volunteer, or help in an area you're passionate about?
Since this post is getting long, I will put together a continuation of this post sharing some of the ways I've been working on paying off my own debt and learning how to live on less.
CHER-Life and live WELL \o/
Cheryll