It has been three months since my last post, and there’s a bunch I could tell you about. Like, we’re expecting our sixth child, or we had an amazing trip to Colorado, or my car is getting $1,000 worth of repair, or I’ve gained almost 30 lbs in 3 months (all muscle… of course), or I aced my two math classes, or there was a dead baby squirrel on our sidewalk. But you can find out all that small stuff from Twitter.

What we’re here to talk about today is… we’re debt free! Wait a second, you say? That’s old news? Well, you’re right. It’s exactly a year old. We are celebrating a year anniversary of being debt free! And God gets all the glory. He has overcome our mistakes, selfishness, impatience, and fears. We’ve done everything we can to make staying debt free a challenge. God keeps proving himself faithful. It is almost two years since we started on that crazy journey. It was an incredible and meaningful adventure for this young family. Thank you for being a part of it. We’re hoping and praying the results are long lasting, reaching to the next generations.

Remember the countdown?  Oh what fun!

Well, I’ve finally compiled the list so I can keep track of it a little easier.

Here is my (Almost) 100 things to do when I’m debt free.  I’ll cross them out as we go.

• 100 – Jump up and down while smiling like an idiot
• 99 – Praise God for all his goodness to us (this will be continual)
• 98 – Call Dave Ramsey (we tried, but didn’t get through)
• 97 – Fund the emergencies
• 96 – Save up and take a paid for vacation
• 95 – Go out to eat and celebrate with thanksgiving
• 94 – Throw a “Credit Card Destruction” party
• 93 – Take 3 months to serve the Lord internationally
• 92 – Make a video of the moment we pay off our last debt
• 91 – Pay it Forward – Help others to become debt free
• 90 – Volunteer somewhere during the day on a weekday, every week
• 89 – Make a new vow to remain debt free and write out a new budget
• 88 – Choice to cut back on extra hours
• 87 – Having options
• 86 – Back to School (wow, this happened a lot sooner than we thought!)
• 85 – Exploring my passions (Pastor Nate?)
• 84 – Leave a legacy
• 83 – Gain Weight
• 82 – Buy a House
• 81 – Set up a Monument
• 80 – Buy a Christmas Tree
• 79 – No more debt free countdown posts
• 78 – Act my wage
• 77 – Pay cash for a second car
• 76 – Get someone to help clean the house
• 75 – Catch up on our favorite TV shows
• 74 – Play my guitar more
• 73 – Write up our will
• 72 – More family time
• 71 – Get Identity Theft Insurance
• 70 – Climb a mountain
• 69 – Come up with a new blog title
• 68 – Facilitate a Financial Peace University class
• 67 – Sponsor a Child
• 66 – Tip more generously (i took Chad Wright’s philosophy. Tip Big, or stay home)
• 65 – Get a new Bible
• 64 – Follow through
• 63 – Freeze the credit cards
• 62 – Give someone a Christmas
• 61 – Make Scott Team Jerseys
• 60 – Save for a house – with a house shaped piggy bank
• 59 – Go for a morning swim
• 58 – Randomly and anonymously pay for someone’s meal
• 57 – Run a marathon or just run
• 56 – Pay with cash for everything
• 55 – Open a Health Savings Account
• 54 – Buy some Tom’s shoes
• 53 – Start saving towards retirement
• 52 – Host my own blog (been there, done that. I actually went back to wordpress.com for now)
• 51 – Make it to Sunday meetings at church (stop working at Wegmans on Sunday)
• 50 – Live like no one else
• 49 – Loan money through kiva.org
• 48 – Wait for it
• 47 – Subscribe to some good magazines
• 46 – Get new glasses
• 45 – Build a house through Habitat for Humanity
• 44 – Take a friend to lunch
• 43 – Plant a garden
• 42 – Get a massage
• 41 – More kids?!?!
• 40 – Go green(er)
• 39 – Buy board games
• 38 – Get a new family portrait
• 37 – Learn how to dance (the snoopy dance)
• 36 – Get a hairstyle (this too is overrated!)
• 35 – Take the kids on daddy dates (we started, but life got crazy with the addition of Lily)
• 34 – Get wisdom
• 33 – Remember the fallen (9/11)
• 32 – Get the kids in some activities
• 31 – ????
• 30 – ????
• 29 – Invest
• 28 – Write a “How to”
• 27 – Invent Something
• 26 – Get away for a night
• 25 – Rent a Mommy Helper
• 24 – Quit Wegmans
• 23 – Dream big
• 22 – Start a business
• 21 – Pick a team
• 20 – Make a silly music video
• 19 – Operation Christmas Child
• 18 – Sleep soundly (I do, though sometimes I wonder why)
• 17 – Lead worship
• 16 – Drop the heavy burdens
• 15 – Create the “Attention to Details” disease
• 14 – Go to the dentist
• 13 – Mail you some cash
• 12 – Keep the change

I’ve had someone ask about our budget.  After writing an email to them, I figured I would go ahead and post part of the email on the blog for any other inquiring minds.

This is our current, post-debt budget.

Our monthly income (after taxes and health insurance) is about $4126
We pay about $266 for health insurance each month while our employer pays the other part.

For the budget, I’ll give the expense, and in parentheses I’ll put the remaining income:

• Monthly rent = $1215 ($2911)
• Water, Gas, Electric = $220 ($2691)
• Internet = $38 ($2653)
• Home Phone = $32 ($2621)
• Cell Phone = $100 ($2521)
• Tithe = $500 ($2021)
• Child Sponsorship = $35 ($1986)
• Groceries = $600 ($1386)
• Gas = $100 ($1286)
• Auto Insurance = $60 ($1226)
• Maintenance = $100 ($1126)
• Life Insurance = $43 ($1083)
• Doctor visits = $30 ($1053)
• Prescriptions = $10 ($1043)
• Misc. Memberships and Subscriptions = $30 ($1013)
• Baby Sitters/ Activities = $25 ($988)
• Clothing = $70 ($918)

Savings = $918

Some notes and observations:

• Still no TV and therefore no cable bill
• Our cell phone bill just recently went up. During the debt pay-off it was $35
• The grocery budget includes everything (food and toiletries). Any eating out comes out of this budget. Usually just something like a pizza at Costco
• We have one vehicle and a short commute.
• I’m a cheap date.  We usually do something simple like an in-home movie, or maybe coffee brought to you by free-babysitting.
• The adults buy their clothes with Christmas and birthday money.
• Certain categories do not always meet their max, so whatever we don’t spend gets added to savings.
• I try to put the $ in savings as soon as possible. I’m less likely to think it’s available if it’s in savings.
• We budget about a month ahead for large purchases, like home-school curriculum.
• We wait at least a day before any out of the ordinary (non-budget specific) purchases.
• We go to the grocery store armed with a list. Mrs. Scott estimates the item cost and she comes pretty darn close each time.  We know exactly what we are spending.
• If it’s not on the list and it’s not absolutely necessary, it will wait till next time.
• We have 2 in diapers, but we cloth diaper which saves a lot of money. My wife has written about on her blog
• I can’t leave out the fact that we are blessed with family close by who help out with random gifts, babysitting and clothing for the ever-growing kids.

Last night, that thing was working for Wegmans.  I stuck it out for about as long as it made sense.  Our debt is gone, my wife would like me home in the evenings, hours at Concert are increasing, my wife would like me home in the evenings, it looks likely I can work part time for my in-laws and keep our health insurance, oh, and my wife would like me home in the evenings.

So you may be asking, what was it like working at the greatest grocery store in the world.  It was a very good experience.  But it was mostly about “the tude.”  Some people had rotten attitudes and for them it was just another job.  No matter how good of a vision and leadership Wegmans had, they were too into themselves to catch on.

For me, it was an intense 7 months.  I offered all my extra time and energy.  And because I had a very specific goal, I managed to keep some excitement going the whole time.  I met some great people, both employees and customers.   I learned a lot, like how to love a person and not smash their bread no matter how rude they were.  I got a major taste of sacrifice, though not quite to the degree that people like my brother-in-law and other people who server in the military make.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and made it a fun experience.  This is one cashier you won’t be seeing any more.  Now, Wegmans will return to just being our favorite grocery store.

Just when we thought things couldn’t get busier…

October was our first month living debt free.  The last 1,000 towards our debt came out of our October budget and as of October 3rd, 2008, we were *officially* debt free.

Now what?!

Well, we didn’t stop working.  We didn’t change much at all.  All that money that was going towards debt was now ours to keep!

The only thing we agreed to increase was our grocery budget.  We now spend a whopping $125 a week to feed, bathe, shave, wipe, etc a family of 6.5.

For the month of October I averaged 65 hours of work a week.  I cut back my hours at Wegmans to Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat.  And they scheduled me, for the most part for Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat.  Concert Tech got busier too with system support, routers, and special projects.  And because I just wasn’t buys enough, I also started a twitter page for Concert, a twitter page for MBC Loudoun, and a blog for MBC Loudoun.

We did get to celebrate our new freedom on two occasions.  Specifically for the kids, we took them to Great Country Farm and had a grand time.  It was a little too warm to feel like fall, but it was much fun.  Then we celebrated with a Debt Free Debt Free Party that our parents put together.  We had friends and family galore – most of our biggest supporters.

You might have heard about our close call with the van.  We thought our debt free days would be short lived, but God provided once again, and we escaped catastrophe.

I have had the good intentions to start a blog series to talk about all the specifics we did to get out of debt, but there’s been no time!  I will get to it though.

As for our baby step progress, we have moved on to baby step # 3!  We now have $2,000 in savings and $0 debt!!!

This past Sunday we had our official debt free Debt Free Party.  Friends and Family gathered to help us celebrate the accomplishment and wish us well on the next stage of the journey.  My parents and in-laws hosted, and all of our biggest supporters showed up.

Thank you to all who came.  We had a great time.  The food was delcious, and we are actually still eating leftovers.  I’m sorry if I didn’t get to say hi to you.  Between keeping track of Peter and losing my voice, conversations were few and far between.

So now that we have embarked on the next leg of this journey (which was accelerated greatly by a generous gift from my grandparents), I hope we can all stick close and encourage one another.  I’m asking that you continue to keep us accountable.  No more credit and debt!  As my dad prayed, let us owe ONLY love from here on out.

P.S. A big THANK YOU to all my twitter and blog friends who were just as much support.  I saved you each a cup cake.

We just paid off all our debt and not even two weeks later our van has a major problem (i.e. transmission).  Worst case scenario could have wiped us out, so we’ve been praying *lots* over the past couple days.

I just read Matthew 6:19-34 this morning and rejoiced in that truth.  God has been so good to us and he cares for every one of our needs.

The fix for our van, although a significant amount, was only a fraction of what it could have been.  And we can pay for it without even dipping into our emergency fund.  In fact, not only can we pay for it, but I made a deposit into savings on top of that!

I was just so amazed, I had to share it!  Thanks for praying with us.

Today, I’m taking some time to pause, reflect, breathe, refresh.

Upcoming blogs:

• Shopping for Operation Christmas Child
• Our Adventure at Great Country Farm
• New Series: “Operation Debt Zer0″

Stay Tuned!

I participated in The Carnival of Personal Finance this week.  It was hosted by Girls Just Want To Have Funds.  There are a ton of great posts, and if you make it down to the bottom, you can find my post in the “debt” section.

Have fun reading!

Read our past progress updates

September 2008 will go down in history for this section of the Scott clan.

We started the month off with $3500 left on our credit card, the one we lovingly named “Death by Plastic.”  The countdown was closing in.  The excitement level rising.  The pressure was on.

Starting to plan for the future, I stepped out on a limb and asked my manager(s) at Concert Technologies if there were any “extra” things I could do so I could cut back at Wegmans.  I actually proposed doing the cleaning and maintenance at the Dulles office.  I do it at Wegmans anyway, why not do it at a place I’m at for 40+ hours a week.  It turns out there was someone who had just put in there 2-weeks, and they were willing to let me step in to that, at least for the interim.

I really enjoy this new job.  I basically have two full time positions, although one is “asleep” at the moment.   That will revive, though, in the next month when I have to configure 1700 routers.  Needless to say I cut back at Wegmans, and I’m still considering cutting back more.  I hope to continue to do both, especially the new “trouble-shooting/support” position.

September was a busy month in general.  Besides taking on the new position, we had doctor appointments, dentist appointments, a few visits with friends, birthday parties, church events.  The calendar was packed, but we kept our debt the #1 priority.

And it paid off.  As of Friday, October 3rd, 2008 we are debt free!  It has been seven years since we’ve been able to say that.  In nine quick months, we paid off $25,000 in debt, and turned our financial outlook around 180 degrees.  This has possibly been one of the most rewarding 9 months of our lives.  I’ve been overwhelmed to the point of tears too many times to mention.  And it has always been out of gratefulness for what God has done and what he has done through many of you.

Our next baby step in this “Total Money Makeover” is to save 3-6 months of expenses in case of an emergency.  I’ve estimated that to be $6,000-$12,000.  Somewhere in between we’ll pay cash for a second car.  I’ll continue to update you on our progress.  As my Uncle Dan and many others have told us, now comes the real challenge.  We have a plan for the money God gives us so none of it will go to waste again.

And now, for your viewing pleasure:

Learn How To Keep My Word -or- Learn How To Count

100 is a BIG number.  Have you ever tried to come up with 100 ideas for anything?  Have you done it while counting backwards?

Two years is a long time to keep up with something.  So is one year.  So is ten months.

I hope you can forgive me.  I’m pulling up short.  I tried hard, but I just couldn’t go the full 10 months or 100 ideas.

What I’m trying to say is….

WE’RE DEBT FREE!!!!!

Keep the Change

After receiving our gift in the mail the other day, we decided to pay cash for our groceries.  By cash I mean the green stuff.  We always pay with money we have, but usually use a debit card.

My wife pointed out that it was kinda cool.  And since we’re almost out of debt, it was even better because we’re not going to be throwing our money at our credit cards anymore.

We might start paying for everything in cash.  The one thing though, is it has to have a very specific purpose.  Even though “it hurts more” paying with cash, I still could make it disappear faster then a magic trick.

ANYHOO, I’ve said all that already.  The idea I’m trying to get to is, if we start paying with cash, my wife thinks it would be a good idea to take the change (there’s always change) and put it in our piggy (currently the Operation Christmas Child Pig, OCCP for short).  We kinda already do that, but it would happen more often when we pay for everything in cash.  And to tag on another idea here, I think we’ll always designate the piggy for a purpose each month, so we’re always saving for something short term and beneficial to someone else.

Last Call:  Send in your idea for the 100 day debt free countdown!

Mail You Some Cash

Once again we were blessed by Anonymous.  Thank you!  We were shocked when we received the gift of cash in the mail.

Forgive me if I’ve written about this already.  It’s hard to keep track of 100 ideas.

When I’m debt free, I might mail some cash anonymously to people that are struggling or making huge efforts to take care of their finances.  I don’t think the application form will be too strict. ;P

So, if you receive some cash in the mail…it wasn’t me.

Time is REALLY running out.  Send your ideas for the 100 day debt free countdown!

Go To The Dentist

What I am about to say may be shocking.

I haven’t been to the dentist in 8-10 years.  I think it’s my mom’s fault.  For some reason, when I moved out, she stopped making my appointments.  What’s that?  Oh, you say that was my responsibility?

Well, I’m taking my 3 year old to the dentist tomorrow.  While I’m there I’m going to make an appointment to see Mr. Sunshine, Mr. Tickle, and Mr. Thirsty.  What fun!

Time is REALLY running out.  Send your ideas for the 100 day debt free countdown!

*Update: I made my appointment for 11/03

Create A Disease

When I checked my email at work this morning, I saw a few responses from our developer about tweaks to this weeks releases.  Basically, he kept saying, “this is not a bug, this is a change request.  please submit a new ticket.”  I replied back, “this may not be a bug, but it is not a change request.  it is an ‘attention to detail‘ that should have been taken care of the first time around.”

Why do I feel like everyone who should be paying attention to detail doesn’t or can’t?  I feel like I’m usually “saving the day”.  Christina suggested that I take over the world.  Instead, what I will do when I’m debt free, is create a disease, “Detailius Severus“, that I will spread on people every where.  It will be an incurable infection of attention to detail.  Why a disease and not a cure, you ask?  Diseases are easy to catch and they are free.  Cures usually cost money and you have to go get them.

You have been warned.

Time is REALLY running out.  Send your ideas for the 100 day debt free countdown!

Drop the Heavy Burdens

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – Jesus (Matthew 11:27-30)

At church today we had a wonderful conversation with our friend Nancy.  She shared with us a recent story from her life how God had acted in such a tangible way it was amazing, and a little comical.  Through that specific event she learned a much larger lesson – a lesson about God’s will.

Then she looked at us at asked, “How are you?”  And it wasn’t just a “how are you” that you usually get.  She knew that we had started our journey to get out of debt, but then we hadn’t seen her for several months.  She told us that we looked like a burden had been lifted.  I was a little caught off guard, and became overwhelmed with emotion.

It is so true.  A heavy burden has been lifted!  The burden wasn’t the work we put in to pay off the debt.  It was the heavy burden of debt we were carrying that we were not supposed to have picked up in the first place.  We were weary, and hopeless.  We were tired and burdened.  But we decided to drop the heavy burden and change our ways. The burden of Christ is so much lighter.  It is restful.  I know we have a long way to go in understanding that fully.  We have more heavy burdens to drop.  But this was the first HUGE step in that direction.

Lead Worship

Actually, in the setting that I’m thinking of, I don’t know if I would do such a great job.  See, I can’t get through a whole verse without crying.  Be it a hymn, or a “prom song for Jesus”, I get so overwhelmed with gratitude that my voice gives out, and I choke back tears.

Then again, maybe that’s more of what we need.  When I think of worship, I think of life.  It’s not just singing a few songs before the preaching on Sunday mornings.  It is all of life.  It’s waking, breathing, talking to your spouse and children and friends and coworkers, paying for you gas and groceries, serving others, balancing your budget, sleeping, etc, etc.  You will either worship God, or you will worship yourself, money, pleasure and all the gods of this world.

When we live with that understanding, it changes everything!  It has definitely changed our lives over the past nine months.  Worship God all week with a passionate life, and on Sunday when you gather for “worship” you will really know what it is to worship.

Time is REALLY running out.  Send your ideas for the 100 day debt free countdown!

Sleep Soundly

“Gas Shortage”; “Economic Crisis“; “Bail Out”; “Recession“; “Stock Market Crash”

That’s enough to keep a person awake at night.  There’s no doubt, times are a little turbulent.  Although, I’m still waiting to see evidence of that in people’s every day lives.

I sleep pretty well now.  But if I were debt free, I might sleep a little more soundly.  I will not owe any body anything.  I will be able save money for emergencies and crises.  Why I ever thought that I didn’t need to worry about any kind of savings because a job would always be there is beyond me.  Why the majority of people think that way is even harder to understand.  We’re all living paycheck to paycheck on the brink of disaster.

It doesn’t have to be that way!  Stop indulging yourself, and take care of priorities.  We (with the blessing and help of others) turned our financial situation around 180 degrees in 10 months, which means it is possible for you too.

Do that, and as Pastor Mark Driscoll says, “you’ll sleep like a Calvinist.”

Time is running out.  Send your ideas for the 100 day debt free countdown.

Operation Christmas Child

We decided one of the first things we will do when we are debt free is participate in Operation Christmas Child*.  We already have one of our piggy banks designated for holding the change we collect.  The kids were very excited to do this.  And Christina and I were very blessed to see their hearts for others.  They were so enthusiastic, they were literally emptying their little banks of all the money to put into this one.

So we’ll take the little piggy over to a bank where we can convert the change to cash (for free of course), and then head to Walmart and do some shopping!

*In case you didnt’ know, Operation Christmas Child is a program carried on by Samaritan’s Purse (run by Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham) where you pack a shoe box full of toys, hard candy, hygiene items…whatever you can fit.  You wrap it up as a Christmas present and it gets sent out all over the world to children who would not otherwise receive a single present.

Time is running out.  Send your ideas for the 100 day debt free countdown.

Make Silly Music Videos

Like these guys

Tired of seeing ridiculous ideas like this? Send in YOUR ideas for the 100 day debt free countdown!

Start A Business

This idea is becoming more appealing to me, as we slowly but surely enter a place of financial stability.  When we first tried starting a business several years ago, we were financially unstable and financially *STUPID*–not a good combination.  It left a bad taste in our mouths.

One idea that sounds appealing to me is becoming a “Professional Organizer.”  The introductory statement on their homepage is “If you’re passionate about organizing…”  Ok, that’s me.  Where do I sign?

I will explore the option, I will do the research, and I will take things slowly and carefully.

Hurry!  Send your ideas for the 100 day debt free countdown!

Dream BIG

Christina and I have no problem with this one.  We first heard of the concept about five years ago when we were trying our hand at business.  Get a dream, they told us.  It’s the only way you’ll make it!

We dreamed of owning horses.  We dreamed of a ‘2nd honeymoon’ to Fiji.  We dreamed of a house with a pool.  Etc, etc.  While those things are nice, and I can’t say I’d mind terribly if we achieved them, they are no longer our big dreams.  Except maybe the horses.

Today we dream about paying cash for a house, raising and having fun with our kids, making a difference in people’s lives, telling others about Jesus, and showing others Jesus by how we live through the daily difficulties of life.

Dream.  Dream BIG.  But make sure your dreams will out live you.  Those are the kind of dreams that will carry you through to the end.

Thanks to Sharon for the idea.

Send your ideas for the 100 day debt free countdown.

Quit Wegmans

The romance is over.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  I am absolutely thankful for the job.  For any job.  But I no longer feel it is entirely necessary to continue working at Wegmans.  It’s a great company, great place, great people.  I would say the dynamics of our store have changed a bit in the past few months.  It’s gotten about 20% more stressful, as you can tell by the lack of smiles on all the managers’ faces.

I am writing this after a slightly frustrating night, so my feelings may change by tomorrow.  But, we are almost debt free.  And God is providing our EVERY need.  And I miss my family.  So, I’m getting closer to the place I can decide to quit my second job.

Only a few more days left.  Send your ideas for the 100 day debt free countdown!

Rent A Mommy Helper

Christina *might* need a little extra help right after Lily is born.  Just maybe.  If we could give her a good full month of recovery, she thinks it would make a world of difference.

Before we started paying off debt, this was never even an option.  We were too busy living paycheck to paycheck.  Now that we are *almost* debt free, we can start thinking of things like this and begin plans to save.

What is your idea for the 100 day debt free countdown?

Get Away For A Night

Francois suggested that when we are debt free, I find a baby sitter and take my wife on overnight get away.  Sounds like a plan!  I’m thinking a nice relaxed evening on the town, and a hotel with a jacuzzi.

Definitely something to save for!

What is your idea for the 100 day debt free countdown?