Introduction
This couple has been married for many years and have one child. They have HAD IT with their debt and have been marching toward debt freedom since November 2007. They are THROUGH with credit cards.

Good things this month
We are seeing balances come down due to making higher payments (National City) and lower or no interest on the others! YEAH!!!!

Challenges this month
Still gas prices … BUT we have restructured our schedules to only run errands once a week if possible and it has really helped out!

Updated Debt Freedom Date


Month By Month Progress


Sangl Says
You can see the progress being made by Couple #3 now! There were several months where the debt was being restructured by transferring credit card balances to 0% and low interest rate credit cards. Now that all of that money is going directly to the principal, look at how swiftly they are dropping!!! Couple #3 dropped their debt by a huge amount last month! Outstanding.

Readers
Are you paying high interest on your credit cards? Move the balances to zero percent and low interest cards! That can really help one gain traction toward debt freedom. There are several 0% balance transfer credit cards available on the Next Steps page.

My book, I Was Broke. Now I'm Not., is available via AMAZON.COM, BORDERS.COM, and PAYPAL. In this book, you will learn exactly how Jenn and I became debt-free in just fourteen months.

Introduction
This couple has been married for many years and have one child. They have HAD IT with their debt and have been marching toward debt freedom since November 2007. They are THROUGH with credit cards.

Good things this month
We transferred JC Penney balance which was 21.99% to a 2.9% on Discover AND we transferred Chase that was 26% to a Juniper Mastercard at 7.9%. We were VERY excited about those transfers.

It is also very encouraging to see the balance on the National City card come down!! It won't be long until that one is GONE!

Challenges this month
Challenges this month have been the rising cost of gas and food, but we have just budgeted a little differently in some areas and made it work out fine! Again, this month I have to say THANK GOODNESS for the budget form!!! We were able to pay cash for all back to school items this year and MAN! Does that ever feel good!!!

Updated Debt Freedom Date


Month By Month Progress


Sangl Says
It is so nice to see Couple #3 reap the rewards of the hard work they put forth to restructure their debt. Look at the tremendous progress they are making. Instead of twenty percent of their payments going toward principal and eighty percent to banks, they have switched it around. Now, over 80% of all of their payments are going toward principal reduction! AWESOME!

Readers
If you have debt, have you considered restructuring it? This can really help your debt freedom march gain a ton of traction and speed up your journey to ZERO DEBT! I encourage you to read the series of posts I wrote called Restructuring Debt.

My book, I Was Broke. Now I'm Not, is available via AMAZON.COM, BORDERS.COM, and PAYPAL. You can read the Introduction HERE. In this book, you will learn exactly how Jenn and I became debt-free in just fourteen months.

Introduction
This couple has been married for many years and have one child. They have HAD IT with their debt and have been marching toward debt freedom since November 2007. They are THROUGH with credit cards.

This month's update
We have still increased our payment on the National City card and are determined to get it paid off SOON! We absolutely could not do this without the budget/budget form. It is AMAZING how much that tool helps us! (Get your own budget form HERE)

Struggles? Hmmm… Nothing specific really.

We have transferred two of the credit cards a couple days ago that will show up on the next month's sheet and that what went well! More on that one next month!

Updated Debt Freedom Date …


Month By Month Progress …


Sangl Says …
When Couple #3 started out, they had an incredible level of high-interest debt. The high interest was absolutely crushing their efforts to become debt-free. They have taken the first few months of their Debt Freedom March to restructure their debt such that they can make tremendous strides toward their goal of ZERO debt. Nearly all of the debt has been restructured at this point, and you can see that fact very clear through their progress in just one month. They are sending the same amount toward their debt each month, but now it is nearly all going toward the principal balances.

Watch out Franklin Financial, National City, and JC Penney!

Readers
Do you have high interest debt that is crushing your attempts to lower your debt? Restructure it! A series on restructuring debt will be appearing soon on this wildly popular website known as JosephSangl.com!

Help Is Available!

If you have tried to put together a budget that works and it just is not working, I want you to know that help is available. We provide FREE one-on-one financial counseling here at NewSpring Church - both the Anderson and Greenville campuses. There are about fifteen incredible volunteers who are passionate about helping others win with their money. You can request an appointment by clicking HERE. We even provide a limited number of on-line appointments too!

You might consider picking up a copy of I Was Broke. Now I'm Not. In this book, I spend four chapters telling my family's story of walking out of debt and into financial freedom. In the final nine chapters, I teach the practical tools that we used! It is a fast read at 121 pages, and it might just change your life!

Introduction
This couple has been married for many years and have one child. They have HAD IT with their debt and have been marching toward debt freedom since November 2007. They are THROUGH with credit cards.

What went well this month?
The 401(k) loan payment won't be taken out of the paycheck until July 1, so we were able to increase our payment to $200 on National City this month! YEAH!! We are hoping once the loan payment comes out we can continue doing this……. It is nice to see some balances coming down…..

What were the challenges/struggles this month?
We are just trying to stay on track and see the big picture at the end…BECOMING DEBT FREE!!! The cost of gas and groceries going up is impacting our budget some…but we are shifting things around so that INCOME - OUTGO = EXACTLY ZERO……we couldn't live without the budget sheet!!! It helps us out TREMENDOUSLY!!!!!

Updated Debt Freedom Date …


Month By Month Progress …


Have you taught any of your friends/family this stuff? If you have, how did it go?

My husband has shared this with several co-workers who were excited about it….he gave them the website so that they could learn more about it.

Sangl Says …
Couple #3 is in position to make dramatic debt reduction. Will it happen? Let us watch and see!

Readers …
If you have debt, what steps do you need to take to position yourself to make dramatic improvements to your debt situation? What will it take to make you take those steps?

Introduction
This couple has been married for many years and have one child. They have HAD IT with their debt and have been marching toward debt freedom since November 2007. They are THROUGH with credit cards.

What went well this month?
We took out a 401(k) loan to pay off four high-interest credit cards. This allows us to pay a MUCH lower interest rate, and even better… we pay the interest back TO US! We are now hoping that we can take advantage of some 0% interest offers and transfer the remaining balances to those cards.

What were the challenges/struggles this month?
Trying to not get discouraged about not getting it all paid off now! We are also planning on making higher payments on the lowest debt as soon as we see what the 401(k) loan payment does to the paycheck.

Updated Debt Freedom Date …


Month By Month Progress …


What has helped you stay on this Debt Freedom March?
Knowing that one day we will be DEBT-FREE and not live paycheck to paycheck!

How has this Debt Freedom March impacted your marriage relationship?
We are actually closer now and get this: WE DON'T FIGHT ABOUT MONEY!!! We both know what we owe and we are both on the same page to GET IT PAID OFF!

Sangl says …
Couple #3 has completed part two of their three part plan to restructure their debt. Their credit cards had hugely punitive rates - all of them 20% or higher. This was really killing their ability to attack the debt principal. With the majority of their debt now at a much lower interest rate (some of it at 0%!), they are now positioned to make tremendous strides toward Debt Freedom!

In my meetings with thousands of people, I have seen situations like this completely intimidate someone and they allow it to prevent them from taking charge of their finances. Couple #3, I applaud you for sticking with this! You guys CAN do this, and you will! And all of us will have this front row seat to cheer you on. Way to go!

Readers …
Would you leave some words of encouragement for Couple #3 in the comment section?

If you are totally intimidated by your financial situation, I would be glad to help in any way that I can. We offer FREE one-on-one financial counseling through NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC. I have even begun offering a very limited number of on-line appointments. If you are interested in receiving financial counseling, please contact me HERE.