We finally celebrated our debt-free party, after making the final payment on our credit cards today. I wanted to make sure that it was really special and that the kids would be an active participant in our joy and elation of all we did to work towards this day.
Above is our centerpiece for the event. As cheesy as it was, it was symbolic of the fruits of our labor. I put the amount of money that we paid off into the basket to show Ethan what a big sum it was and how excited we were that we didn’t have to pay this anymore. The money came from our Monopoly game and we were able to let him count it out and also used it to show how borrowing money works. This made things more tangible for him and we tried to make this a great teaching opportunity for why debt it so bad.
What should a debt-free family eat for their celebration dinner? Steak, of course! I used this marinade recipe and marinated the steaks while I prepared the rest of the ingredients for the meal. I got a big loaf of crusty bread with oil to dip it in, I made this Creamy Spinach Ravioli (minus the dill and prepared with half & half instead of milk), and I made a big batch of brownies for dessert.
Even Emily seemed to appreciate my modest culinary efforts. Most of the ingredients came right from the pantry so it was still an affordable dinner. The writing didn’t turn out on the brownies, but we devoured them anyway. That will teach me to get anxious and pipe before they are throughly cooled.
What’s a party without a good toast? I got a bottle of wine for our celebration and used our cut up credit card as an accent to our wine glasses. I poured pink lemonade for Ethan in the fancy wine glass so he could celebrate a toast with us.
We clinked glasses several times to get the best shot for you! Ethan loved clinking the glasses so he didn’t mind the extra takes.
I finished the evening by reading my entry that I wrote about our happy return to the land of no credit cards. It actually was quite emotional for me to read it out loud to my husband because we went through so much to get to this point.
Thank you all for sharing in our journey with us and for supporting our efforts on the site. Cheers to you!
That is so wonderful Amy. What a wonderful celebration that is well deserved!!
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Congratulations!!!
You need to do the Dave Ramsey yell- “I’m debt FREEEEEEE!!!!”
~Amy
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YEAH!!!! Congrats to you!
xo ~K
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I recently started reading your blog and this post and the American Dream post are awesome!! So are the others but those two hit home. I too stay home in an affordable home, driving paid off cars and carry no credit debt. I too have faced layoffs and worry but sometimes when I see other moms in their designer jeans, fancy SUV’s, pottery barn model homes, gap children—it is easy to be jealous just for a bit.
While some can easily afford it, other’s I have listened to the tales of debt, never seeing their over worked spouse, complaining of spoiled children—makes me smile, hug my husband a little tighter when he gets home in time for dinner and totally love on my child who could care less where her clothes come from.
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Congratulations on making this goal! And, what a great way to celebrate the achievement! Way to go, friend!
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Yay for you guys! Congratualtions! Isn’t it wondeful to see the fruits of your labor?!
What a fun meal and great ideas!
Many blessings!!!
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Congratulations, Amy! Thanks for sharing your journey.
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congratulations, Amy. Hard work pays off.
In one year, I’ll be writing a similra post. For now, I just have to keep on keeping on.
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Awesome, Amy! Congratulations!
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As you know, I love a great debt-free celebration! Congratulations on your accomplishment, and on heading into the next phase of your life minus credit card debt! What a beautiful thing.
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Congratulations! That is awesome!
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Congratulations! truly something worth celebrating.
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Congratulations, Amy! You are an inspiration to all of us in debt reduction. The party was a cute idea, a great way to get your kids involved.
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Congrats – you are an inspiration to me. – Robyn from GM
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i’m so glad for you. That’s incredible! And what a gift for you to have shared and taught your children!
i “clink” my glass you, too!
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Congratulations, Amy on your hard work and realizing this goal! You deserved this celebration.:-)
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Congrats!! Enjoy YOUR American Dream!!
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Congrats! It looks like you and your family had a fun time! Way to go! Steak is ALWAYS the best way to celebrate.
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Congratulations! We are trying to get our debt paid, so it’s always a boost to read when people have reached their goals. Very inspiring.
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That is so awesome! You are an inspiration! And I really appreciate your honestly about how hard it’s been – too many of the “professional” finance people skim over what a sacrifice it is to pay off your debt. Thanks for a great site!
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Congrats -you are so right.
Love your blog!
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Congratulations Amy!!!
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Congrats to you Amy!! Hopefully, I will be able to have the same celebaration soon.
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how awesome!!
you should send this in to Dave!
congratulations!!! we hope to be doing the same kind of party in a few years too.
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I hope to be in your shoes soon!
what a wonderful ending to that chapter of your life… on to the next chapter and sequals to come!
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Good for you, Amy!!!!
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oh maybe we should have one too. We finally became debt free last week too. Now all we need to do is save enought money for a good down payment and get into debt..um… I mean a morgage! Yeaaaa
CONGRATS!
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Congratulations! And, in regard to your previous stuff, I love reading your tales of your family, your frugal journey, et al.
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Congratulations!
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That is so awesome. We are doing the Dave Ramsey Peace University right now. It’s going on at church and we are doing it. Don’t have lots of debt, but want to live like no one else lives. Hopefully in about 1 year, we’ll be able to have a debt free party too!!!!!!!! It’s so exciting — I’m so proud of you and your family!
April in Louisiana
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Congratulations!!!!
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Oh, Amy, I’m so happy for you! What an accomplishment. Congratulations and thanks for sharing it with us!
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Amy – That is so exciting!!! I was listening online to Dave Ramsey’s “talk show” and heard several people screaming “Were debt freeee!!!” It brings tears to my eyes each time I hear one of these stories! We are just about there! Can’t wait!
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I am soooooo happy for you!!!!!!
That is great.
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Amy, that’s SO great! I’m very happy for you…what a feeling (great, now I hear the Fame song in my head). I know you’ve been striving for this for a while now…but in the big scheme of things it really did not take you all THAT long…amazing. You should do a quick summary post of how you guys did it…or maybe you have before. Or a post with references to your past blog entries that apply to being debt free!
Congratulations
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What an absolutely adorable idea. . . to throw that party! Congratulations on having “no more debt.” It is, I can attest, the most wonderful feeling in the world!
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This is awesome I am just at the beginning of the journey to try and be debt free but on a very LOW budget so it’s a long journey LOL…I am going to be reading past posts to see how you did it.
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Congratulations! We just started our own road to debt freedom. We know it will be about 2 years, but, it will so be worth it! What a great party that must have been!
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Congrats on your successful journey to being debt free!
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congrats congrats congrats
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that’s awesome! i was just thinking last night of what we’d do for our celebration and thought along the same lines as you did.
thanks for sharing your inspirational story!
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Congrats, congrats, congrats!
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What an awesome party, big congrats to you!
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