My name is Adam and I am in debt. Yep, I came out and said it in the first sentence. That tells you how passionate I am about getting out of debt and enjoying life in the process. This debt has made me poor and unadventurous. It ends now.

Our Story

My Beautiful Wife and Me

A few weeks before my wife and I got married in July 2009, we sat down and discussed the financial mess that we found ourselves in. We were going to be newlyweds with debt described by some as enormous. We had over $150,000 in debt. That was the point when we said enough was enough. We cut up the credit cards and got on a budget. We saved a little cash and have been pounding away at debt payments ever since. Sure there have been some bumps along the way, but we continue to stick to the plan and fight back.

My wife and I currently live about 20 miles northeast of Washington, DC. She is a high school teacher and I work for the Department of the Treasury. We have no kids or pets.

Our Goals

Obviously, our main goal is to get out of debt.

A second goal that we have is to still have a life. One of Dave Ramsey’s famous quotes is to “live on beans and rice, rice and beans” while getting out of debt. I’m sorry, but we don’t feel that way. With the amount of debt we have, it’s easy to say we would be eating that crap for 6 years. Our budget has several spending categories that you typically wouldn’t see under Dave Ramsey. We have a clothing, entertainment and dining out fund. If we couldn’t do any of those things for the next 6 years we would go crazy and probably kill each other. Sometimes you just need to feel good financially. You never know what’s going to happen tomorrow.

Our final goal is to continue to save. My work provides me with a generous match in the Thrift Savings Plan (the government’s version of a 401k). I just can’t refuse that free money. It’s not in my nature and it totals about $2,500 per year. We’re young and by the time we account for compound interest, it will be a HUGE pile of money later. My wife is required to contribute to the pension plan at her work. There is no way out of that one. Other than those two items, I don’t think we are going to save anything additional. The debt will be a big enough return on investment if you ask me.

Join Us

My main goal of this site is transparency and community. I want to give you an inside look at our financial life and how we deal with it. You will see our debt amounts and payments. In terms of community, I want you to feel comfortable sharing your experiences as well (anonymous or not). Your support for me and the others who read this blog will go a long way. We hope you will stick around to join us on our journey.

There are several great ways to follow us in our journey. You can get new articles sent to your email inbox as soon as they are available. There is also the option to get the updates by RSS feed. You can read my updates on Twitter as well. Oh, did I mention they are all FREE? So do it now!