Introduction

Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.

PARAPHRASE OF A QUOTE BY G. K. CHESTERTON[1]

BEING IN DEBT is a lot like being in the dark.

I’m not talking about bedtime dark, where you can still see a stream of light from the moon or the gentle glow of a night-light in the hallway. No, being in debt is like sitting alone in darkness so pitch-black, so completely devoid of light, that you finally squeeze your eyes tightly shut, praying when you open them there will be some glow, even if it’s just the faintest illumination.

Then there is the isolation. When you feel hopelessly in debt, lies like these creep into your head:

No one else could have let a credit card balance spiral dizzily beyond reach (even though you were using it only for emergencies). No one else could have felt the pressure to keep up with others by spending money that was not her own. No one could feel this scared about not having a secure future. No one else could be under this kind of pressure.

So lonely. So in the dark.

You are not the only one struggling to escape the darkness of debt, even excessive debt. A great number of people have shared their lonely stories with me —either on my blog or in person —over the past five and a half years. A lot of them are slaying debt dragons right now or at least trying to figure out what weapons to use to begin the battle. And some have fought and won their battles already. There is actually a large community of people who make hard choices to get out of debt and spend less than they make every day.

But back to those feelings of darkness. When those “no one else could have” statements float around in your brain, you begin to believe the lie that you really are the only one who has this nasty debt problem. Then the gloom you’re stumbling around in creeps into your very soul, along with its partners in crime, shame and guilt.

That darkness will keep you from sharing your story, preventing you from getting the help you need to get out of debt. It will also hinder you from offering hope to others who are on the same path, feeling just as alone as you do. Darkness is an evil fiend —a dragon, if you will —that casts some sort of spell paralyzing us all.

In the beginning, it was difficult for my husband, Brian, and me to “go public” with our story. I mean, come on —we haven’t always been the people who have paid off $127,482.30 in debt. Back in April 2008, we were the people who had $127K+ of debt. It’s much easier to share your story when you have kicked a few debt dragons in the teeth than when you have one (or twelve) breathing fire down your back.

And that’s why I committed to continuing to tell our story, even after there was victory. Because I know what it’s like to feel alone and in the dark.

You are not alone. Cast out the darkness and tell your story. Be honest with yourself and others about your finances so you can begin the path to victory over debt. Get the help and hope that you need to begin defeating your own debt dragons.

You see, the first step to getting out of debt doesn’t involve elaborate spreadsheets. Honestly, it isn’t about cutting up your credit cards, either. It’s not even establishing an emergency fund. No, the first step is simply to lift your eyes up and believe that the dragons can be beaten.

If you’ll allow me, I’d like to use the next few hours of your time to convince you that you can slay your debt dragon, no matter how ferocious, no matter how daunting in size and stature. Maybe you’ll see a bit of yourself in our story. Maybe you’ll discover that your attitudes about money have landed you in a dark financial dungeon. Maybe you’ll realize that your spouse is not someone to battle against when it comes to finances, but instead your greatest ally and debt-slaying partner. Maybe this journey of gaining control of your money will actually bring the two of you closer together than you ever dreamed or imagined. And maybe you’ll pick up a quick money-saving tip or two, which Brian and I either learned from our mistakes or gained during four long years of scaling back our lifestyle so we could pay off our huge debt.

Slaying the Debt Dragon isn’t a quick fix. All worthwhile endeavors take time. It’s not a complicated, smarty-pants economic treatise either. The steps I outline are practical and actually simple to follow if you dedicate yourself to the great quest of paying off those bills. Eliminating debt has less to do with the dollars in your pocket or the score on your IQ test than you realize. Stepping into financial freedom requires small, simple, gradual changes made over time and with resolve. I hope you’ll allow me to guide you on your journey by outlining the changes we made and showing how we stuck to those changes even when we felt challenged or overwhelmed.

Eliminating debt has less to do with the dollars in your pocket than with small, simple, gradual changes made over time and with resolve.

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For many years, our debt isolated us —from each other, from others with the same struggle, from God’s best for our lives. Hook, line, and sinker, Brian and I bought the lie that we were alone. That lie prevented us from doing and being so many things. We lacked peace. We lacked unity. We lacked generosity. We lacked hope. I wish I could look you in the eyes and plead with you now to reject that lie. Don’t choose isolation and entrapment. Don’t choose the dark. Choose community and freedom. Through the words of this book, I pray you can begin the well-lit path to freedom.

Hans Christian Andersen said, “Every person’s life is a fairy tale written by God’s fingers.” God wants to tell a story through my life. God wants to tell a story through your life. He even wants to tell it through your bank account. I want to invite you into my family’s story, to hear our battle tales and to see the weapons we used to defeat our dragons. However, even more than that, I want you to step into your own story. Have hope that God can deliver you from debt and that He cares about every hair on your head and every penny in the bank. If He can keep the universe from spinning out of control, He can certainly handle the fact that you have amassed more financial obligations than you would care to admit on your Facebook status. He will provide for you if you take His hand and trust Him.

Our story is not your story. I have a feeling I will want to hear your story someday, because it is designed uniquely for who you are and the plan God has for your life.

Step into your story. Your financial happily ever after can begin today.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

JOHN 1:5, ESV