This was such an excellent article by Simple Mom on "The Emotional Benefits of Becoming Debt-Free". Here's a little snippet:
solves everything. Economic setbacks still happen. Layoffs still
happen. And unexpected money pits still happen. But being debt-free means those things don’t hit you like a mack truck – they’re an annoyance.
They don’t have to change our entire lifestyle – they can further
confirm our conviction that living without debt means having more
options, having more peace.
And while we may never be rich, we can be wealthy in those areas
where we want to be wealthy – in relationships, in experiences, and in
supporting causes that matter for eternity. I’ll take that over depending on Master Card, any day.
It takes work and effort to stay out of debt. Believe me, I know.
It takes sacrifice, it takes commitment, it takes self-discipline. It means you have to forgo some things others might think you're entitled to, you have to stop worrying what the Jones family thinks, and you probably will come across as rather weird to a number of people.
But it is every bit worth it to be free from the bondage of payments. To not have to worry so much if you are hit with unexpected things like job loss (we've been there twice in the last few years), or a big medical bill (we've had that, too, more than once in the last few years), or an accident which totals your one reliable vehicle (yep, we had that happen to us last year, too!).
We've hit a lot of financial rough spots in the six years my husband and I have been married and life has thrown us a number of unexpected curve balls. But that's life, isn't it? No one is free from crisis or difficulty in some form or another.
There were many times along the way when pulling out a credit card to pay for an unexpected bill or taking out a loan to pay for a bigger expense would have been really easy to do. There have been times when we've both faltered and wanted to throw in the towel. But by the grace of God, we've stayed true to our commitment to stay out of debt–even when we didn't know how those ends were going to meet at the end of the month.
And you know what? Committing to stay out of debt from day one of our marriage has been one of the best decisions we've ever made. After years of scrimping and sacrifice, we're reaping the benefits now of being able to live significantly below our means because we don't have any payments. We're not only able to take care of the needs of our own family, save for our childrens' future, our retirement, and our first paid-for home, but we're also able to give abundantly to our church, to missions, to causes we believe in, and to those who are needy.
To us, that is what it's all about–"living like no one else, so we can live and give like no one else".
Enough said. Go read the article by Simple Mom here.