Jim Barry

January 4, 2009

In 2002, I became motivated to get out of debt when I saw one of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace seminars. He has a seven-step plan, the first being to get an emergency fund set up. I did this and then paid all my credit cards off along with all other bills except my house payment.

In 2006, I sold my house, used the equity to purchase a lot in an area on the outskirts of town. I had the lot cleared, had a septic tank installed and put a nice used mobile home on the lot. This made me 100% debt free. After moving in, I built a deck on front and back. I also had a 12' x 20' storage building put in the back yard.

This is not fancy and sometimes people ask me "When are you going to get a house?" But, it is comfortable and I love being able to plan how to use my own money, rather that it being spent before I get it. I have been able to save aggressively and it is so much fun planning ways to invest my savings.