Trading Cool for Debt-free

Yes, we did it- we are finally debt free! We recently kissed our last loans (car, school and mortgage) goodbye and it feels good. We’ve managed to become very uncool in the process but we like to think it’s worth it.

First,  back in May of last year, when my husband got his D.C. assignment, we decided to live in a non-fancy place. It’s smaller and not nearly as nice as our house in Florida but it’s pretty much the only thing we could afford in Falls Church, so we figured we could stomach it for a year or two (at the time we didn’t know how long it would be before we went overseas). 

Second, we had to get rid of the two cars we had in Florida. It wasn’t an easy decision to make but with the baby due in about a month and my Mom with us for most of the year, we couldn’t all fit in either of the cars we had and it really didn’t make sense to drive two cars everywhere. Plus, we knew we couldn’t take a normal US car to India  because they don’t allow you to import left-hand-drive cars there. We didn’t want to buy a new car that we’d have to turn around and sell in about a year. So, we finally settled on a (gasp) 13-year-old minivan.

Cool? Not exactly. Practical? Under the circumstances – hell yeah! Especially if it survives the year or so until we ship to New Delhi without major issues. Best part - no car loans and a few bucks in the bank!

We also managed to settle a legal dispute with a couple of insurance companies related to our house in Florida, which is making it very difficult to sell the house but as a result we were able to pay down the remainder of our mortgage and the last of my student loans. Which means No More Debt!!!

If we could only sell the house now… Thinking about how much work we put into that house and how many times we’ve lowered the price in an effort to sell it since we moved last March just breaks my heart. But we recently recruited St. Joseph to help us, as in bought and buried a small St. Joseph statue in the front yard, which is supposed to help you sell your house.

We are hoping he delivers – keep your fingers crossed!