Lao Tzu is credited with saying, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Our journey to financial peace started in 2009 when we were introduced to Dave Ramsey and his Financial Peace University. Our journey was not about a place to travel to, but a destination of freedom. Financial Freedom!
When we began our journey, we were slaves to our debt. But then (we love but then!) a friend shared his story and we found HOPE. If you want to read more about our journey here is our story…
Check out the video of our interview and debt free scream on the Dave Ramsey radio show and Dave Ramsey Show YouTube channel. Make sure you spend a few minutes to watch and share this article. We hope it inspires you and others to never give up. You can find Financial Freedom!
Our goal at E3 Financial Coaching is to help others find Financial Freedom just like we did. If you’re ready to have HOPE, submit a FREE financial consultation request today.
Behind the scenes of our debt free scream
First lets start by saying what a great experience it was. Dave’s team was fantastic and you can tell everyone enjoys what they do. Tish and I planned our debt free scream for October because it was also our Anniversary. What a great way to celebrate our life together; screaming at the top of our lungs “We’re DEBT FREE!!!”. We showed up at the studio an hour early, can you say we were eager to meet Dave. We got to talk with a Dorothy and other Ramsey Solution staff members but the best part was talking with our family friend Vanessa, who works for Ramsey Solutions.
Little did Tish know I had been working with Vanessa on a surprise. When we paid off our house, Tish was disappointed that there wasn’t any balloons or confetti. So I was determined we would have confetti for our debt free scream. Vanessa, Ashley and the rest of the SmartDollar/Financial Wellness team at Ramsey Solutions were awesome. I was able to smuggle confetti poppers from Cincinnati to Nashville without Tish catching on. Vanessa had a great plan. Ashley would distract Tish with outstanding conversation and charm while I helped Vanessa get something “heavy” from “her” car. Once Vanessa had the confetti poppers she distributed them and organized the team of “confetti makers” flawlessly. As you can see at the end of the video Tish was totally surprised!
The Interview with Dave Ramsey and some things we wish we could have said
The interview with Dave Ramsey was amazing. 
Once he started asking questions it felt like we were just having a conversation with a friend. It also felt like it was only a minute or two but it was actually 9 minutes long.
While we got to say a lot during the interview there was a lot that we didn’t get a chance to say.
- We wanted to let everyone know that anyone can do what we did. No matter your income level or situation. We have seen it first hand through coaching.
- We wanted to let people know digging out of debt takes short-term sacrifice but results in long-term gains.
- When we were in baby steps 2 and 3 we were gazelle intense and gave up everything; texting, cable TV, eating out, vacations, extra-curricular activities and etc. What is funny is now we don’t even want many of those things back.
- We also sold so much stuff our kids and our dog thought they were next.
- Most importantly wanted to share how eliminating debt from our life has freed us to be more generous givers to our family, friends and strangers. Not having debt payments has enabled us to write checks to help whoever we want instead of writing interest payment checks to our lenders.
Enabling us to be more generous givers has made all the sacrifice worth it! Tish and I wouldn’t trade it for anything and we would do it all over again just so we could keep giving more of what God has blessed us with away.