- Before we decided to get out of debt,
we stayed frustrated with our finances.
Frustrated with each other constantly.
- I was really confused
about how much we had.
Neither of us knew.
- Every time we got a check, it was a relief
because we thought, okay,
finally another Band-Aid to kind of fix the problem.
(gentle music)
We both grew up with money being a huge stress always.
And to start our family,
when we got married,
I didn't want that same environment.
I didn't want,
you know, the inheritance to be frustration.
- Especially for our marriage
and thus far our kids.
- I'd heard about Dave Ramsey,
and when I was early 20s
and knew he had written some books,
and that was about it.
Something about pay something off
and then roll that money to the next.
- I had found the app through a friend
but didn't know it was the Dave Ramsey app,
like a few years back.
And I had shown him,
but we had looked at so many budget apps together,
I think I caught him at the wrong time,
and he was just like, yeah,
we're not gonna do an app right now,
you know. It took him finding it and being like,
look at this, and us sitting down together
and really playing with it.
- I think the aha moment for us
was probably the same as most people
when they do the budget for the first time
is you see what's left over.
She showed me, and I said, no, that's not right.
You miscalculated.
There is an unbelievable amount of peace
to having every dollar and having every
thing in control and you're in control of it.
- I tell people all the time,
I think it's actually freeing.
It keeps us on the same page all the time.
We don't have to fight.
We don't have to ask.
- It's good for your finances,
but it's also good for your marriage and teamwork.
There's a transparency there that
is necessary in a marriage,
and it's not just when you're debt-free,
but it's while you're in debt and budgeting.
It's brilliantly titled Financial Peace,
is a really comforting thing.
(gentle music)
- All right, Micah and Chelsea,
thank you so much for being here.
- Thanks for having us.
- Yeah, thanks for having us.
- [Rachel] Sharing your story.
So we always talk about
how you can wander your way into debt
but you cannot wander your way out.
And Baby Step 2 is tough
because you have to be fully committed.
You can't just be like on the plan-ish.
We call that "ish" people.
And so you would say that you were
kind of ish people before being fully committed.
So kind of tell me your story around that.
- Yeah, so, before we really dove into it,
I guess we were as ish as it could be.
I knew how to spell Dave and that was about it.
- There you go.
- And I knew Dave Ramsey.
I knew he had written a book,
and that was about what I knew.
We had some friends that
they were hosting FPU,
and we went to their house one night
and got a cute little folder,
and we were like, great, we'll order water
when we go out to eat.
And we went to one class and didn't go back.
- Yeah.
- And we also didn't realize it was a regular thing
you attended.
So that started Dave-ish,
and we aways knew,
at least I always knew,
that credit cards were bad
and snowballs were a thing.
And so
we said we snowballed, but we might have done it
once or twice.
So we don't count our debt-free journey
until we really started the budget.
We just wandered in darkness
and was confused and frustrated.
- Yeah, so, Chelsea, what did marriage look like
when you guys were in that season?
- It was okay.
But we just either avoided
and or
I wouldn't even say argued as much as just
constant frustration
and miscommunication.
- Yeah, so were you guys,
so you felt like you didn't really have a plan.
It was kind of just like here and there.
So what was the catalyst,
what was the point that you were like, okay,
something has to change,
something has to be different?
- Every time she grocery shopped.
- Those were arguments.
- Okay. Okay.
- We felt good because we had good intentions.
But we didn't follow through with any kind of budget.
So we felt like it's almost like
I think I'll start a diet
and feeling like, for me,
I thought about having a diet.
I feel thinner already.
- I think I'm gonna be a runner.
That feels good. - That feels good.
Yeah, so that was kind of the mindset
of we didn't,
we just stayed frustrated because
there was always confusion.
But we really started,
as income increased,
we started to see,
I'm making more so we can pay more.
We can do more.
And that was the hard part.
When we initially started and thought
we were gonna go at it,
I had gotten laid off.
She had gotten pregnant.
And I started a job,
and I was getting $800 a month,
and that's what we had.
There's no way of surviving.
- Right, the income was the problem.
- Yeah, and so
it was just promotions and job changes.
It kind of led and grew quickly.
And then we saw we have enough to where
we can really go at it.
You know, that's always a Dave thing.
It's not a debt problem, it's an income problem.
And it was initially.
- So what was the one thing
that really helped you guys get out of debt,
would you say?
- The budget app.
- The budget app. EveryDollar.
- [Chelsea] EveryDollar. - [Micah] EveryDollar.
- Okay, okay, so tell me about that.
How was that?
Doing it for the first time?
- I mean, it took us a few months
to really get in the groove,
really start seeing.
But even just the first month,
he was like, what!
What we got done.
And I'm just like we can put this much toward debt.
He was like, no,
I don't even make that much. Are you sure?
Like, you did everything?
And, you know,
it was really freeing to see how much
we could get done as quick as we could.
- And when we had started
or knew about Financial Peace,
you know, I kept thinking financial peace
is when you're debt-free.
But part of that peace is having structure.
- Even in the process.
- And that budget brought peace.
I mean, we're gonna be doing our,
probably our budget meeting on the way home.
And that was the turning point.
- So compare your budget conversations
before doing EveryDollar
and all that till after.
'Cause it sounds like night and day.
- Oh, yeah.
- Yeah.
- It used to be I would write it down
on a piece of paper.
Sometimes he would.
And we do math really differently.
So he'd show me what he did,
and I'd be like, what?
- How did you get this? - And you know,
vice versa, like we'd do the exact same thing.
And neither of us even understood the way
each other did math.
You know,
and then we'd end up not talking about it
'cause he'd just be like,
you know what, no. We can't.
You know, either we're gonna argue
or we're just not gonna talk about it.
So a lot of times, we didn't talk about it.
- And so now, it's so opposite
'cause you're on the same page.
So would you say, we talk about especially with couples,
that working together
and doing a budget
eliminates so many money fights and money problems
within a marriage.
Would you say that's true for you guys?
- [Micah] Oh, yeah.
- And not even just that.
I think it's relationship building.
It's more than just taking out something.
It's adding.
It's changed so much of
the way that we think about it.
- Within marriage, then also obviously with paying off debt,
'cause doing a budget's a big part of Baby Step 2.
Getting out of that.
So what did you guys start with?
How much debt did you start with?
- Well, we didn't really know.
And that was a terrible feeling,
is not knowing.
And unfortunately, through for about a year,
we would get another letter in the mailbox saying,
hey, your AES loan has been bought out by so-and-so,
and now you owe us this with this interest.
So, ultimately overall, once we figured it all out
it was about $80 to $85,000.
- Okay. - Yeah.
- And how much do you guys have left?
- $5,000.
- $5,000!
- Yeah.
- You're like right there.
- I know.
- How does it feel?
Because, I mean, I know you're technically not debt-free.
You've got one more month. You've gotta get that paycheck in.
But emotionally, it's there.
So like, how do you feel?
- It feels good to know
that our money's going toward the green.
It's going toward something.
Something that's really in the positive.
And that alone is exciting.
- So good.
Okay, so what encouragement do you have for people watching,
that are like, okay, got my $1,000,
about to embark on Baby Step 2,
this journey, and I think I'm committed.
I might be "ish," but like, what encouragement
would you say to be fully committed to this process?
- I would say, especially if it's a couple,
just really be open to talking about it
and getting started
and trusting each other with it.
It just helps so much to get on the same page.
And you will be shocked at how much
you can get done.
Even if you have a fairly small income.
- I had a friend,
asked me how did you,
how were you doing this?
And my response, he took it as an insult.
But I just said, well, self-control.
And that's what we don't have as Americans,
as just people blessed with so much that we have.
If we wanna get it,
we can go get it.
Ultimately, I think it's just self-control and patience.
And that's the hardest thing to have.
To pray for.
And to just manage.
- Well, you guys are incredible.
I mean, seriously,
the amount that you've paid off
and that you're so close
and that you guys are working together as a team,
I mean, it just has transformed,
I know, so many different parts of your lives.
And I'm so thankful
that you came and shared your story.
So. - Thank you.
- Thank you guys so much.
And I can't wait for you to be debt-free next month.
- Yeah!
Thank you. - So exciting. So exciting
Thanks for coming on. - Appreciate it.
(upbeat music)