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- I guess I kinda felt lost,
really unsure of what was gonna happen in the future.
- I definitely felt overwhelmed by my student loan debt.
I felt bad that I was bringing this debt into our marriage.
- I proposed to Joanna, and 30 days later, I lose my job.
And I was trying to figure out, number one,
how am I gonna tell my fiancée that I lost my job?
When you don't have money to pay your rent,
and you don't wanna ask your fiancée for the money,
but she knows you're too proud to do it,
and she has to fork over $1,500 to do it,
man, that just crushes you.
And that's what it did for me, just crushed me,
and I just told myself, never again.
I'm not gonna let this feeling happen to me ever again.
- So a few months into our marriage in the fall,
we took Financial Peace University,
and I think taking it, you have a fear of,
because you know uncomfort is coming.
You know your behavior's gonna have to change.
And then also a fear of like,
agreeing about how to go about it in the same way.
It's not common in our culture that you have to persevere,
and you have to wait it out the long haul.
Some people have even more debt then we did,
but it's like, even with ours, it was daunting to get
newly married and be like, we have $25,000 to pay off.
How fast can we get this done?
And actually, even in November we didn't think
that we were gonna do it, that we were gonna make it,
and then the money just came in, and we're like,
oh my gosh, thank you, God.
- When we pressed that button,
(giggles)
I knew that my wife was gonna cry.
But man, I broke down.
It was just like, this weight
was lifted off of our shoulders.
- It's like, you worked so hard for something,
and it came to reality because of no one else but you.
(crying) It feels so freeing.
- Mm-hmm.
- I love that it's called
Financial Peace University because it brings
financial peace to you that nothing else can.
- And we've both talked about
how after we paid off the $25,000,
it was like this switch just flipped on in our heads.
Now we're thinking, if we can do this,
if we can achieve this, what else could we possibly do?
- You have to break through that first step
and just take that first step and be willing to change
your behavior a little bit, and know that it's gonna work.
This system works.
(audience applauding)
- Well, Joanna and John Andre,
thank you guys so much for being here.
And we had fun, 'cause you guys were in the office
just yesterday to do your debt-free scream,
and I did it with you guys.
- [John Andre] Yeah. - [Rachel] It was groundbreaking.
Was that fun? - [John Andre] It was so much fun.
- [Joanna] Yeah, it was so fun. - [John Andre] It was a blast.
- Good. (laughs)
That's so great.
Well, I'm glad you guys came on "The Rachel Cruze Show"
to share your story, because I love it.
You guys are like the textbook way to do this money stuff.
You did it so well.
And so take me back to when you guys
were newly engaged and you were in debt.
- Yeah.
So, I proposed to my wife,
and 30 days later after proposing, I lost my job.
And I'm thinking to myself, I just asked her father,
can I please take your daughter's hand in marriage,
and 30 days later, I have no way of supporting her.
For so long, he had been talking to me
about FPU, Dave Ramsey, right?
And to my father-in-law,
Dave Ramsey's like the 13th disciple, right?
(laughing)
And I never really thought about it,
but as soon as the rubber hit the road,
I knew that I had to make a change.
I knew that I at least had to look into this FPU thing,
look into this whole Dave Ramsey person.
And at that point, that's kind of
where it kind of sparked for me.
- Okay, yeah.
And that's a scary place to be, right?
- [John Andre] Totally.
- Of losing your job and all that.
Because how you grew up, both of you,
in separate households, how money was dealt with
I'm sure was probably different.
That's how most couples are.
- So what was life around money
growing up in your household?
- For me, my parents struggled
until they started doing Dave Ramsey.
And in 2004, they became completely debt-free
and still are to this day, obviously.
And my dad teaches the Dave Ramsey classes and everything.
So, seeing their legacy
and how they're able to live so freely
I think has really inspired us to want the same thing.
- Absolutely.
So you grew up in a household where eventually it was like,
okay, yeah, money's talked about,
this is what we're doing. - Yeah, it was talked about.
- And got in control, all of that. - Yes
- That's so great.
How 'bout you?
- Yeah, so mine was a little bit different.
So, I come from a divorce situation,
which I'm sure a ton of people here can kinda
relate to that, so each household was different.
My mom is an immigrant woman, so she was the only person
bringing income into our household,
so she would work all day, two, three jobs.
And on the flip side, my father's house,
him and my stepmom, they've always had debt,
right, ever since I can remember.
So for me, I kinda knew that
even though I appreciated both households,
I wanted something different
for me and my wife and our future children.
- Yeah, absolutely.
Would you say that was a motivator for you guys,
even as you're getting out of, you know,
the getting out of debt process?
- Absolutely.
- Yes.
- So you guys paid off $25,000.
- Yes.
- In 18 months.
- Yes.
- That's so great.
So what are some tips that you guys
have as you're getting out of debt,
'cause we always talk about earning extra money,
doing whatever you can to throw as much money as possible
at your debt to become debt-free as quickly as possible.
What are some things that you guys
did to get out of debt quickly?
- Well, we sold the second car that we had
and went down to one car, so that saves us
on gas and insurance, and he's able to take
public transit to work, and then I use the car.
- Mm-hmm.
- And we just started, I work two part-time jobs,
and so one of those paychecks was going all to the debt,
as well as he's in sales, so his commission checks
were also going towards the debt.
And we stopped eating out and just really watched
where every dollar was going and really asked ourselves,
do we want it or do we need this?
Can this wait until we're debt-free?
Yeah, it can.
- Delayed gratification, words that a lot of people
don't know in today's culture, right?
- I mean, so it's so impressive because
I love that you guys started out, you know,
as we're talking about marriage and fear and money
and all of this, you guys hit the ground running, right?
The month you said, okay, we said I do, this journey began.
So for all you really knew in marriage
was sacrificing to get out of debt when it comes to money.
So, what did it feel like when you finally made
the last payment and you were free, you owed no money?
- It just felt like, if we did this,
what else could we possibly do?
Like, it flipped something in us,
like a switch just turned on. Like, we accomplished something
that we thought at one point
was impossible until we actually did it.
So for us, it's just been a huge motivator.
It's really brought us together more as couple, also.
- So there's someone probably watching at home,
and they're thinking, okay, that's great for that couple.
I mean, they were both on board. You know, it seemed like,
of course they did it. That's awesome.
And they're probably thinking, okay, but in my life,
I'm not gonna be able to do that.
What encouragement would you give to someone
who thinks that it is impossible?
That they have $25,000 in debt,
and it is a mountain to them, and they think,
I just, I don't even know where to begin.
- Mm-hmm.
I would say, it doesn't matter
if you have $5,000, $100,000 in debt.
Debt is debt, and you're able to get out of that.
My wife and I, we're people of faith,
and I do not believe that our heavenly father
wants anyone in bondage, and that's exactly
what debt is. It's in bondage.
So when you think, I can't do this,
I can't get out of this debt,
there's no way that you can stop
what God already has planned for your life.
All you have to do is take that first step.
Life is going to happen, and sometimes,
it's gonna happen really, really hard,
but you are always gonna be stronger after it.
Right?
- Yeah.
- You guys, you're amazing.
You really, really are.
I mean, the amount of dedication
and work and intentionality it takes,
'cause we always say you can wander your way into debt,
you can't just wander your way out.
I mean, it takes focus and gazelle intensity,
and you all did it.
And you're free.
No payments. Nothing.
I mean, could you guys imagine being their age
and starting off marriage like that?
I mean, it's absolutely incredible what you're doing,
absolutely changing your family tree,
and you're in the midst of it.
And so I'm just so proud of you guys.
I'm so excited, and thank you so much.
- Thank you so much. - Thank you.
- Thank you so much for coming on and sharing your story.
You guys are awesome.
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