I Didn’t Wanted to Pay off my Debt Until I Did

Why do I have to pay off debt? 🤔

Isn’t going straight to investing the best and most logical way? 📈💭

That’s how stupid the way I used to think back then 😅.

I didn’t want to pay off my debt until I discovered Dave Ramsey’s 7 Baby Steps, specifically Baby Step #2 👣.

To be honest, I skipped straight to Baby Step #4 because I wanted to try time deposits 🏦, thinking at least my money would earn a bit of interest 💰. Not to mention I was in my 30's already back then and I really want time to be on my side. That so-called “investing” felt slow 🐢, while my debt kept creeping back into my mind 👀💳.

That’s when it started to feel like Dave Ramsey was actually right.

“The borrower is slave to the lender.” 📖⚖️

That verse haunted every money decision I made 🧠💸.

To give more context, I had two kinds of debt:

• SSS loan 🏛️

• Personal loan from a family member 🤝

I felt that Bible verse the most with the second loan.

For context, my brother was kind enough to fund my ticket so I could work overseas ✈️🌍. But after three years abroad, I still didn’t have enough money to pay him back 😔. Maybe I’ll make another post about my OFW life as an update someday.

Back to the topic. As the years passed, I began to understand what Dave often says on his show 🎙️—suddenly, every money decision becomes a big deal.

Even though I was spending my own money, I constantly felt like I was being judged on every decision I made 😶‍🌫️. Because I had debt to my brother, every comment felt like strict judgment. I know the intention was good, but the pain of unsolicited comments affects me.

I truly felt like a slave ⛓️.

The borrower is slave to the lender.

Proverbs 22:7

After two years of thinking about it and putting off the idea of paying, in 2023, I finally had the courage to pay my brother in full 💪💵. My budget felt tight 😬, but I pushed through.

And I’m glad I did ✨.

No more feeling judged by my family 🙌.
For the first time, it felt like I had a backbone 🦴.

I know I’m still lacking in many aspects, but I’m grateful that I finally got this debt out of the way 🙏.

That’s it for now ✨

Thanks for reading all the way!