Elisabeth Ruhlen - Glitz Salons

This feels like an odd day to post it, but no April fools over here! 🎉

Today we officially became DEBT FREE - and it still doesn’t feel real. What started as a stressful, overwhelming situation turned into a journey of discipline, sacrifice, and growth.

The entire time we’ve been together, Andrew’s student loans have been in limbo. Partial forgiveness had been dangled a few times over, and each time it got pulled back, there was more stress. We finally realized no one was coming to rescue us, payments were becoming due, and it was our responsibility to pay it back. All of our debt. We had a few credit cards, and car loans as well that were just part of the debt that everyone else has. But it was time to live like no one else, so in the future we could live like no one else.

We got serious about budgeting. We tracked every dollar. We made sacrifices - some small (like hundreds of pb&js; and taking back dozens of bags of cans), some really uncomfortable (driving a car for 2 years with a leaking ceiling and windows that didn’t work; hardly seeing each other while we both worked 2 jobs, 7 days a week, plus additional schooling; hard conversations about skipping vacations, events, and Christmas presents). We said no to things we wanted, and even things we needed 😅. We chose long-term freedom over short-term convenience, over and over again.

There were setbacks. There were many times we questioned if we were being too strict, or if we should just accept the debt and move on with life like everyone else seemed to do… but we stayed committed. And now? FREEDOM.
🙌🏻
No more payments. No more stress hanging over us. Just a fresh start and endless possibilities. We’ve learned so much along the way, especially how God views finances and debt. There’s so much more you’re able to do for yourself and others when you aren’t shackled to debt, and there’s a genuine joy of being able to do these things, too!

We hope this inspires you to start your own journey as well! If you’re already on your own journey - KEEP GOING. Keep chipping away at it! It’s so hard, but it’s worth it. Every single step.