What It Means to Live Debt Free

I was blessed to figure out what I wanted to do with my life at an early age. Since I was a kid, my passion has revolved around the financial principles my parents taught me.

When you grow up as Dave Ramsey’s daughter, you better believe you learn a lot about how to handle money God’s way. So viewing money through the lens of Scripture was always a priority in our house.

When I was 15, I started traveling with my dad and speaking at some of his live events. One of the comments I heard all the time, and I still hear today is, “I wish I had known this when I was younger!”

That’s a phrase that has stuck with me since I was a teenager, and it really struck a chord when I first went off to college. During my first week, I met a girl at freshman orientation. We hit it off right away. She had an awesome, brand-new luxury car. When I told her how much I loved her car, she said, “Thanks! I got it for high school graduation and had to get a car loan. It’s my first loan, and I feel like an adult!”

As Dave Ramsey’s kid, you know what I was thinking: "You have a car loan? Do you know that the average car payment in North America today is $482 a month? If you put that into a good growth stock mutual fund, averaging 12% from age 18 to 65, you could have $5.2 million!"

That’s what I was thinking. But, for her sake, I didn’t go into “lecture mode” right on the spot. I suddenly realized how little teenagers know about handling money.

I remember asking myself questions like, "Why aren’t we taught these things when we’re kids? Why do our parents have no problem teaching us to drive when we’re 16, but completely ignore the basics of dealing with money? Wouldn’t it be awesome if every high school and college student knew what I knew about money?"

That’s my calling. That’s what I feel like God has given me the passion and the ability to do. I want to share this message of hope with my generation, which is the most indebted generation in history! That’s not something we should want to be known for.

Proverbs 22:7 says, “The borrower is slave to the lender,” and I believe that wholeheartedly. Going into debt not only makes us a slave financially, but it makes us one spiritually and emotionally as well.

Matthew 6:24 says, “You cannot serve both God and money.” When the credit card company is your “master,” it’s incredibly hard to go and do the things you were called to do.

The world will tell you that debt is normal, but I believe God has more for you than a life of living paycheck to paycheck. I believe my generation can be a generation of change, a generation that’s different, a generation that kicks the status quo to the curb and starts managing money, and our lives, the way God has called us to.

I’m so thankful, and I feel so blessed, that God has chosen me to carry out this message in a small way. Every time I hear someone talk about being debt-free, I see more from them than just a life without payments. I also see opportunity.

I see opportunities for them to take a portion of their paycheck and, instead of sending it Mastercard or Sallie Mae, write a check to help build an orphanage in Africa, or use that money to help an underprivileged family at their local church.

I see someone who can now begin building their kids’ college funds instead of sending monthly car payments to the bank. I see someone who is changing their family tree forever.

So don’t misunderstand my message. We teach people how to get out of debt not just for the sake of getting out of debt. We teach them these principles so they can change their futures and, most importantly, help other people.

I’m on a God-given mission to share this message with as many people as possible, and I hope you’ll join me!