There wasn’t an extra cent available, much as Dave Ramsey would like to have told us otherwise

As told to Leba Friedman

MY husband and I were in debt.

Not irresponsible, overspending, indulging debt. It was legitimate, reasonable debt. A medical crisis that required me to have surgery overseas. Outstanding college tuition from both my husband’s and my extensive training in our fields. Debt from buying a car, from paying for therapy, from our child with special needs.

After letting this debt accumulate over many years, I decided enough was enough — we had to get rid of this nuisance. Until now we’d swept it under the rug — it was that taboo topic we tiptoed around in day-to-day conversation. But it was getting to be too much pressure, living with this huge burden, and we needed to take the bull by its horns and move it out of our path.

The question was, how on earth would we swing it? We’re not talking $2,000 or $3,000. We’re talking upward of $20k. As it was, we were struggling to get through the month, even though both my husband and I worked full-time. There wasn’t an extra cent available, much as Dave Ramsey would like to have told us otherwise.