Life After Debt: What We're Dreaming About

UPDATE: This post was originally published on September 21, 2019. We became debt free on November 15, 2019, and by March 2021, we had accomplished everything on this list (except for kitchen floors).

As I type this, only $7,568 stands between us and debt freedom! Even though $7K is still a pretty hefty figure which will take us a few months to pay off, we can definitely see (and feel!) the end in sight! We’ve been working Dave Ramsey’s Plan to get out of debt since January 2017.

When we started, we had $105K in student loan debt to conquer. Our goal has always been to pay it all off in three years or less. Which means, three months (or less) from now, I’ll be screaming “I’m debt freeeeeeeeee!!!” from the top of my lungs. I really can’t believe it.

When we first sat down to make a plan to pay off the debt, a 3-year goal was definitely a pipe dream. Back then, we decided we could send $1,000 extra a month to the debt, which—don’t get me wrong—was fantastic. But, that plan wouldn’t leave us debt free for SIX YEARS—which was way too long for me. I wanted to be done much, much faster.

Getting rid of six figures worth of debt is no easy task, let me tell ya. But as we worked the plan, we gained momentum, and excitement, and hope, as we watched our debt fall month over month. Seeing that debt decrease gave us the encouragement we needed to keep working the plan.

Now, as I sit, just a few months away from completing baby step 2, I’ve been getting so many questions about what our future holds.

Here’s what we’re dreaming about after debt freedom…

Making Changes to My Employment

Being able to leave my full time job as a civil defense attorney was my #1 top reason for beginning this debt free journey in the first place. I wanted to be able to leave the practice of law for good, because I found it horrifically stressful. I still find it terribly stressful at times, but now that I sit here on the edge of debt freedom, I am second-guessing my decision to leave.

You may be shocked. Because leaving law is all I ever talk about.

But here’s the thing.

Being debt free is just the beginning of our financial journey—not the end. We still have sooo much more we want to accomplish. We want to fund our son’s college account, beef up our savings, and throw mad stacks to retirement.

And having the fat attorney paycheck will help us reach those financial goals all the sooner.

So for now, even though I’m dreaming of a career change, I’d estimate the probability of it actually happening after Baby Step 2 at about 25%.

Wish List Items

We have a long list of things we want to spend money on, that we’ve put off during our almost 3-year long journey to debt freedom. Once the debt is gone, here are the things we want to splurge on:

• New kitchen appliances (microwave, cooktop, and oven)

• New floors in the kitchen (you can see what they look like now, down below)

• New fence for the house (this is #1 on hubs’ wish list, and the HOA is just minutes away from sending us nasty letters on this one, we can just feel it).

• Season Tickets to the Theatre (hello, Broadway Across America!!)

• Braces for me (I’ve wanted them forever, but never wanted to spend the $. Now, I’ll just create a sinking fund for them and pay cash!)

• I’ve also been really pining over a pair of Tory Burch flats and a Tory Burch bag for years, and I just may treat myself and pull the trigger once we’re debt free.

Regular Travel

We have not traveled at all, really, during this debt free journey. We have never taken a real, true, family vacation together (and my son is 8!). Sure, I morph business trips into family vacations when I can, but it doesn’t really feel like family togetherness when I’m working and everyone else is playing. And we’ve made mini weekend trips to the beach and have done our annual Family Camp over Labor Day weekend. But, I’m talking about a real, honest-to-goodness, get on an airplane, stay in a fancy hotel, and play-all-day kind of vacation.

Once we are debt free, we want to celebrate by taking at least one epic family vacation each year. (I recently applied for my first credit card to try my hand at using points and miles to travel for practically free—I’ll talk all about that in an upcoming post).

For our first vacation after becoming debt free, we have talked so long about doing a Disney trip. Now that the moment is upon us, we are thinking we’d like to do a National Park instead. We’re thinking maybe a Yellowstone/Jackson Hole combo. I’m pretty sure our plans will change 1,000 times before we’re ready to pull the trigger on this one. But rest assured, there WILL be a vacation!!

New Financial Goals

Fully Funded Emergency Fund

We are working the Baby Steps, so after this debt is paid off, our top financial priority (after splurging a bit) will be to beef up our emergency fund to a fully funded 3-6 month fund.

At a minimum, I want $15K in this fund, which represents about 3 months for us. But if I’m being totally honest, I’d be a lot happier with a liquid cash savings of anywhere from $25-$30K.

I won’t be finalizing any plans about Baby Step 3 though, until I kick Baby Step 2 to the curb.

Investing

This is the one my husband is most excited about. He’s as passionate about investing as I am about debt pay off. In accordance with Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps, we have not been contributing to retirement during our debt free journey. (Our employer gifts us 3% of our salary into our 401(k)s whether we contribute or not, so there has been some investing during this journey). But, we are both excited about ramping up investments once the emergency fund is complete. Everyday millionaires, here we come!

What About You?

I’ve found that dreaming about life after debt can really help keep you motivated on your debt free journey. What are some of the things you’re dreaming about once you become debt free?