Hello Friend!

I’m so glad you stopped by my little world. I’m Holly aka Mrs. Savvy Saver. 🙂

My Story

 

Today I am very happy to tell you that we have paid off over $33,000 worth of debt and have enjoyed the freedom from school loan debt that use to hang over our heads like a heavy weight.

But life has not always been easy. Let me tell you more about my life.

The room was silent.

The doctors were working, my Mom was fervently praying but I was not breathing.

No newborn baby cry filled the room because the umbilical cord was wrapped around my little neck, cutting of my ability to breathe those first life giving breaths of air.

Finally, after a very painfully long first few minutes I began drawing in air for the first time.

My introduction into this place called earth was just the first step in realizing that what we call LIFE is not always easy. It comes with challenges.

As I grew older and began school it didn’t take long for my Mom to see that I was struggling with reading. Each day of home schooling my little mind showed her that I was seeing the words on the page in front of me but being able to comprehend them and say them correctly just was not possible. But why? Being the wonderful Mother that she is, she read everything she could get her hands on at the time.

Her research concluded that I was dyslexic. In my mind I was seeing all the words backwards. W A S appeared to me like S A W and so on. My brain did not see the words on the page the way that everyone else views them. Patience’s. Lots and lots of patience’s went into my schooling as my Mom helped me as I struggled to learn that reading actually was enjoyable and not something to hate.

There were many days filled with tears but slowly those tears were replaced by joy as I began grasping the letters and reading them correctly. What my Mom taught me along the way, more than anything else is to love learning. To this day my spelling is not the greatest. I mess up sometimes when I read but I LOVE to learn. The world has so many amazing and interesting things to discover! God has made an amazing place called Earth with so much to explore.

Fast forward a few years and my high school sweetheart and I were married. He had college loans and was still in college when we moved to beautiful Florida so he could finish his college and seminary.

The downside was the $33,000 worth of debt we had sitting on our shoulders as a young couple. It was now a factor in every decision we made. We had to have enough money to cover the loans plus everything else to live on.

Just like most college students I know, money was tight. We wanted to be debt free as soon as possible so we made the decision to begin paying, in cash for each semester, while he was in college. This challenged us to be very frugal with our money. Those college bills were large!!

This challenged us to be creative with our date nights, grocery budget, traveling etc. My husband likes to joke that I can take a penny and make .02 out of it. Yes, I like to see my money go as far as possible because we had a big goal.

To be debt free AND for me to be a stay at home wife.

At that time, we did not have any kids but we felt this was the direct the Lord wanted us to take, as my husband was studying to be a pastor and have a church some day, when he finished seminary.

This is not exactly a wealthy profession. 59% of churches have less than 99 people attending them and the average Protestant pastor makes around $31,234 a year.

Trusting the Lord for this, we stepped out in faith and I quite working at my very well paying job that I really did enjoy when he took his first small church. There were 12 members when we arrived.

Not the very best scenario for paying back a crazy amount of debt is it? I know!! Yet, we have!! We have no more school debt!!

Here is what I’ve learned:

• The Lord does provide when you put Him first.
• Money is not everything in life. You can live without MANY things. You can also be very happy living without those things, if you focus on what really matters. People.
• Yes, we have struggled at times but you know what? We all struggle!! Life is not easy! But what you do with those struggles is the most important thing!!

Friend, you may be reading this right now and your thinking, I’m struggling and overwhelmed with my life and finances are a big part of my struggle. I want to reach through your screen, give you a big hug and say, Friend, it will be ok. You can overcome!

YOU can overcome!

You CAN overcome!

You can OVERCOME!

That is why I started this blog.

I want to give hope to women struggling with finances, budgeting and bills. You CAN rise above the feeling of being overwhelmed. You can become debt free.

I will help you.

Yes, it does take hard work.

Yes it can be frustrating at time.

Yes it might even require sacrifice.

But if deep down inside of you, your hearts desire is to overcome your obstacle don’t let fear of the unknown hold you back.

If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.
Marcus Aurelius

 

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.
Eleanor Roosevel

 

Are you longing to overcome? Then I would love to have you join our Savvy Saver Tribe! If you want to contact me directly you can by emailing hello @ MrsSavvySaver.com and I will get back to you soon.

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