I’ll never forget Steve running up the stairs calling, “We did it, babe! We made our last credit card payment!”

That moment still puts so much joy in my heart, and even brings me to tears. It was a long time coming and a difficult road to navigate. The enemy still whispers in my ear to keep this journey to ourselves; that we should be ashamed of the financial mess that we made for ourselves. However, my Father in heaven tells me to shout it from the rooftops so that other families might be able to have the same financial freedom that we have found.

It was December 2018 and I was a little nervous to tell my husband what I did.  Although he grew up in a Christian home and went to private Catholic schools, the thought of going to a bible study group was a bit out of his comfort zone. I had been searching for a Radiant Group for couples that fall, and came across a Financial Peace University course. I never really thought that we struggled financially– my husband and I both had great jobs and made enough money to take our family skiing in the winter, camping in our travel trailer in the summer, and on other vacations throughout the year. We didn’t lack anything and used our credit cards to pay for the things we wanted, always having just enough to pay the minimum balances each month. Sure, we were living paycheck to paycheck at the time, but that’s all we ever knew. Life seemed pretty good, but this class looked like something that my husband would agree to go with me. I signed us up, took a deep breath, and broke the news. To my delight, he mentioned that he had been watching some Dave Ramsey videos and was excited to go to the class.

Our first Financial Peace University class went really well. The leader shared his own family’s journey to financial freedom, which made the overwhelming process seem so real and attainable. Our assignment that week was to create a budget and list out our debt, savings, and active credit cards. Laying out the debt that we had to our name was frightening, raw, and all too real. There were tears shed and blame placed. I had never faced the fact that we were barely keeping our head above water, and all this time we were just one crisis or sickness away from financial disaster.

Each week, we learned more and more about making a budget, sticking to it, and in the words of Dave Ramsey, how to “live like no one else so that you can live and give like no one else”. We cut up our credit cards, stopped eating out, skipped the coffees on the way into work, and told the kids there’d be no more stopping for ice cream or picking up a new game on a whim. We began selling things that we didn’t need and cut out things like Netflix, lawn care, and cleaning services. It wasn’t easy, and at times it was physically painful.

Through it all, not only did Steve and I grow in our financial management knowledge, but we grew in our faith! Everything the class teaches is based on biblical principles. Because of that, we started reading the Bible again and listened to God when making decisions. Before Financial Peace University, we fought about money and lived with a certain degree of stress over who was doing what with money. We would even sometimes purchase items and not tell each other about it. Now, we sit down every month to plan our budget as a team, and have found so much joy in it! We truly feel empowered with our finances, rather than burdened. And most importantly, God became first and foremost in our finances, in our marriage, and in our family.

Fast forward sixteen months and we have paid off $88,252 in debt. I often just stop and let that sink in. We have zero credit cards and only use cash to pay for the things we want and need.  We drive two cars that we own free and clear. Our camper is completely paid off. We have an emergency fund saved for when life’s big surprises hit. Our children now understand the value of a dollar. Should something come up in the middle of the month, we discuss it as a team before moving forward with a joint financial decision.

It would be easy to dwell on the mistakes that we made in the past. Instead, we’ve taken those negatives and turned them into positives. We feel empowered now to use those mistakes as learning opportunities for ourselves and our children so that we can all make better financial decisions in the future. This Radiant Church group has completely turned our life around and has given us an opportunity to leave a legacy for our family.

If we can make this kind of progress in just one year, I can’t even imagine what our future might hold. Because of Him, my husband and I stepped out in faith, and have declared victory over every struggle in our hearts and in our lives. Our God is a miracle worker!

Do you feel your story can serve as a hope and inspiration to others? Contact us at mystory@radiant.church.