Debt-proof living is a way of life—a financially disciplined lifestyle that produces peace and joy. Debt-proof living is your invitation to a rich and abundant life.
—Mary Hunt
I am asking you to make a decision right now that you will take the 7 Rules and use them to build a strong financial foundation into which you will drill deeply and drop the pilings of your life.
Learn the 7 Rules so well you can repeat them in your sleep. Hang on to them for dear life when your emotions go wild, when temptations overwhelm. Depend on them when everything in you wants to quit and go to that place that exists only in your imagination—where money is no object and you can spend with reckless abandon.
I can promise the foundation built on the 7 Rules will stand up under all kinds of circumstances. When the challenges come—and they will—your foundation will hold and you will come through strong.
I don’t want you to make this journey alone. To do that will be unnecessarily difficult. Harold and I did it alone, so I know what of I speak.
A much better idea is to take the trip with others who are making the same journey, some who’ve been at it for a while and want to share their experience, strength, and hope. I have an idea for how you can find that kind of community, with an invitation for you to join us. But first, I want to pick up my story where I left off in chapter 2.
The Rest of My Story
In 1992, following a full decade of paying down our debt, experiencing the joys of living below our means, and starting our own industrial real estate company—I was becoming increasingly anxious to get the debt paid in full so we could just forget it ever happened and go on with our lives. Harold and I had paid off more than $88,000 of toxic debt but $12,000 still remained, and I was losing patience.
I needed to find a way to raise that $12,000 fast. I wanted to get it over and done with. I was bent on finding a way to earn extra income through some kind of side job or endeavor. That’s when I got a wild idea to write a subscription newsletter, an idea that still makes me laugh. I’d never written anything but a real estate contract in my life! I was a trained musician, not a journalist. But still, the idea was there, and in my mind it held the promise I was looking for: the additional income we needed to rid ourselves of toxic debt.
My idea was to find 1,000 people to pay $12 to subscribe to my monthly newsletter, which would be on the topic of how to get out of debt and learn to live below your means—for one year. Sounded like $12,000 to me. That was the entirety of my business plan to found “Cheapskate Monthly.”
Never underestimate the value of a simple idea when exposed to God’s supernatural power. I know that idea didn’t originate with me. I believe I was divinely led to step out and do something this bold, if not a bit odd by human standards.
I wrote the first issue, a copy of which ended up in the hands of a reporter for the Los Angeles Times. That led to an article, published above-the-fold on May 15, 1992. That article launched a fledgling newsletter into a national phenomenon. It hit the wire service, resulting in interview requests from every major newspaper in the US and media attention the likes of which I never dreamed.
Subscriptions started pouring in from every state in the union, and foreign countries as well. People were hungry to learn how to get out of debt and live below their means.
By all rights, I should have closed up shop at the end of that first year. But something happened that I’d not anticipated: I developed a passion for personal finance and teaching my readers all I could learn. I discovered I had a talent to write, speak, and motivate people to take control of their financial situations, pulling their financial futures from the stranglehold of the consumer credit industry.
I did raise the $12,000 we needed, and we paid off that final toxic debt. And I hardly noticed because my new position as editor of a national newsletter was in full bloom.
Shortly after the article ran in the LA Times, I received an offer to write a book (usually it goes the other way, that a writer proposes to a publisher to write a book), then another and another. With each issue of the newsletter and interview request, more and more people joined our debt-free movement, and my mailbox filled to overflowing.
Soon I began hearing from my readers how they were getting out of debt by applying the principles and following the steps they were learning. The stories were so empowering and encouraging, they were like rocket boosters to keep me reaching out to help more people struggling with their financial issues.
In 1996 we secured our first website URL, and “Cheapskate Monthly” ventured into cyberspace under the corporate umbrella Debt-Proof Living. Several years later, I wrote another book, Debt-Proof Living, that has become the text for the money management method by the same name. Sure, I told my readers, it’s fabulous to cut expenses so we can live on the incomes we earn (I still have fun calling myself a “cheapskate”), but there is a bigger picture. We do this so that we can stop depending on credit to bail us out every time any little thing goes wrong or we face an unexpected expense. Debt-proofing our lives is about becoming financially responsible and not dependent on others to fund our lives—and to reach a point of financial independence.
DebtProofLiving.com has become an online community of untold thousands of people who are on the same journey to financial freedom. Some of the site is open to the public; however, members pay an annual fee to have full access to all of the member benefits, which include our exclusive online software for managing members’ Freedom Accounts (Rule 4 reserves). The member forums are where DPLers come daily to find strength and support for the journey.
DebtProofLiving.com is a massive website, with a library filled with the hundreds of newsletter back issues; thousands of handy tips for how to save money on just about everything you can possibly imagine; member forums; unique calculators; our exclusive online software; and so much more. It has become a sizable community of like-minded people, all of us making the same journey to solvency and financial freedom.
Debt-proof living is not a righteous call to deprivation. It is not defined by austerity, poverty, guilt, and fear. It is not about extremes, bizarre behavior, misery, hoarding, or finding ways to recycle dryer lint.
Debt-proof living is a lifestyle where you spend less than you earn; you give, save, and invest confidently and consistently; your financial decisions are purposeful; you turn away from compulsive behavior; you shun unsecured debt; you borrow cautiously; you anticipate the unexpected; you scrutinize your purchases and you reach for your goals by following a specific plan.
Debt-proof living is about generosity, gratitude, and obedience. It is about sound choices and effective decisions. To debt-proof your life means knowing exactly what to do with your money and having the freedom to earn and spend it when and how you choose.
Debt-proof living is a way of life—a financially disciplined lifestyle that produces peace and joy. Debt-proof living is your invitation to a rich and abundant life.
Please consider this my personal invitation for you to join us at DebtProofLiving.com. Come and visit at your earliest opportunity. Grab some coffee, because you might want to stay for a while. It’s a huge site. As a visitor you will have limited access; as a member you will have full use and access to the entire site. See page 203 for a special offer for 7 Rules readers only.
I can’t wait to welcome you into my DPL Family!
People Are Talking
“As a DPL member, I’ve become a wise consumer, and I continue to pay down my debt and fund my Freedom Account. Last Christmas I even paid for everything in CASH! First time ever.” Connie
“First of all let me thank you for the opportunity to join your DPL family. These are the tools I needed to take control and put my finances in order. I’m just so excited and thrilled to have the tools to become financially responsible for the first time in my life.” Sue, England
“I was thrilled to read your tips and tricks for how to pay down the principal on consumer loans quickly. I paid off a car loan in half the time doing that. My dad paid off his house in seven years! We saved so much in interest. Thanks for all your tips.” Roseann
“Mary, I searched high and low all over the internet and could not find a Rapid Debt-Repayment Calculator as good as yours—not to mention all the wonderful articles and inspiration that we can have with you. Thanks.” Suzie V.
“Because of you, in the last 18 months my husband and I have paid off approximately $10,000 of unsecured debt. The feeling of freedom is indescribable! In one week we will be closing on a new home. If it were not for your advice and encouragement, we never would have made it. We have learned so much. Thank you!” Nicole
“Initially I left my very large student loan off my Rapid Debt-Repayment Plan (RDRP), thinking it would only depress me. However, the way it works I will pay off all debt, including the student loan, much faster than I ever would have thought. I’m excited now to find areas of spending that were careless and apply those funds to my RDRP.” Ralph
“I felt at ease after reading Mary’s story and finding the DPL Community Forums. I read for about 48 hours straight, nonstop! I have visited the Debt-Proof Living Forum every day since I first signed up, and I’ve gotten incredibly valuable information from regular posters who are in similar situations.” Ruby
“It is amazing how so many people you’ve never met or may never meet face to face can care so much about you and you about them. This has got to be the best group of people out there and I am thankful I found this place.” Debbie
“Thank you for your books, this newsletter, and all your advice. Five years ago we had a lot of credit card debt and a pretty bad credit score. Now we are well on our way to being able to pay cash for our retirement home someday, hopefully someplace warm. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart.” Patricia
“I began reading this newsletter about six years ago and began working on my debt and improving my credit score. Since that time I’ve paid off $30,000 of debt, have more money in savings than I’ve ever had in my life, and my credit score is 881, which is higher than 90 percent of the population. Mary gave me the steps for success and much-needed encouragement along the way. Thank you.” Pamela
“In 2005, I discovered Mary Hunt and read her book Debt-Proof Living. In it, Mary explains the value of giving and saving and how important it is to do this even when you carry debt.
“At that time, my life was debt-ridden, chaotic, and not going well, so I began applying Mary’s 10-10-80 formula.
“As a member of Debt-Proof Living online, once a week I posted my spending in the Community Forums area under “Live the Plan.” I still do that because it keeps me accountable.
“This DPL journey is continually unfolding. I read about the DPL Decade of Decision and my goal is to fully fund my Contingency Fund.
“I completed paying off my debts in 2008. I may not know what bumps or curves lay in the road ahead, but I do know that I have a valuable resource that I can rely on: Debt-Proof Living online.
“Thank you, Mary Hunt and DPL Central. So many minds working together. It’s a beautiful thing!” Stephen
“In November of 2002 my husband was let go from his ministry position due to financial difficulties within the church.
“Once the initial shock of our situation wore off, we sat down together and came up with our game plan. My husband and I have been following the principles of Debt-Proof Living for several years. We had our Freedom Account and a fully funded Contingency Fund.
“Thankfully, we believed that the principles of Debt-Proof Living would put us in the best possible position to go through such a situation, and when it happened we did not panic.
“Debt-proof living principles and Mary’s monthly encouragement gave us the strength to keep from falling into despair. This has truly been our miracle year.” Andrea
“I want to thank Mary for sharing her debt story. I almost missed marrying a wonderful man because I was financially irresponsible.
“Signing up for membership at Mary’s DebtProofLiving.com was one of the best investments I have ever made toward my financial health and peace of mind.
“When I first read Debt-Proof Living I was so far in debt that I was told by my fiancé that if I didn’t do something about my finances I was going to lose the house I was buying. I didn’t even have enough money for groceries, so I would buy food with a credit card.
“I am grateful that Mary was humble enough to admit how bad her financial situation was because it showed me how to use the tools to become debt free. It just feels better to pay off what I owe than to claim bankruptcy.” Theresa
“One day I sat and added up every bill I had—everything from student loans to car loans and everything between. The final number was over $35,000.
“I sought advice and read some books. Some of it was good, but most of it was really bad. One of today’s top financial gurus suggested using my credit card to buy groceries! It sounded wrong so I returned the book and looked around some more.
“I found myself on Mary Hunt’s website. Many of the other books made me feel hurt, embarrassed, and ashamed that I’d gotten into this place. Mary was like a warm hug. I destroyed $35,000 of debt in just four years.
“The principles of DPL still work even if you’re not drowning in debt!” E.J.