“There is a verse in 1 Timothy that says, ‘But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that,’ (6:8)” Raychaelle Horner says. “The experience of getting out of debt has helped us to be content with what God has given us.” 

Six years ago Devin and Raychaelle Horner were typical American newlyweds – young, still in school, and already deeply in debt – when they decided living with debt long-term was not okay with them. 

“It was something I was never not looking to do, but Raychaelle is the first person I knew who was like, ‘Hey, we should get gung-ho about getting out of debt!’”

“Right before we got married, I read Dave Ramsey’s book, The Total Money Makeover,” Raychaelle says. “So when we got back from our honeymoon, we started to make a budget. We had a lot of debt though and added some more before we got it done. We paid off $100,000 in May and celebrated!” 

That included school loans, cars payments, credit card debt, and more. They are still paying off their mortgage, but other than that and utilities, Raychaelle says, “The money that’s coming in now is ours do with whatever God calls us to do.”

The habits set over the last 6 years are still part of their routine. “We set a budget and faithfully check it every week,” the Horners explain. “Then every month, we have a big sit-down to reflect on the month and plan for the next. And we do lots of frugal things like cutting our hair at home or shutting off the lights and having a night be candlelight. We did a lot of little things that added up.”

“We also communicate. People will think this is weird, but we ask each other before spending money. Not on gas or essential things, but ‘Can I get a $1 donut from Dunkin Donuts?’ for example. It’s not like the other one is going to say no usually, but it keeps us on the same page and it shows respect. It’s our money, not his or hers. It’s good for our communication and that’s been good for our marriage.”

“One of the ways that God has shown up for us in this process is our jobs,” Devin says. “We’ve been able to get jobs we really like. I had one where there just weren’t enough hours and I was thinking on the drive home one day that it would be fun to work in a running shop – I’m an avid runner – so I drove over to the shop and was hired on the spot. My boss was losing a race timer so they gave me that position as well and it’s been a huge help.”

“We’ve both gone to school,” Raychaelle says. “I was the first to go back for my degree and we paid for it in cash as we went instead of taking out more debt. When I was done, we started doing the same for Devin.”

“This last year, he took more classes so it was going to be more expensive than ever. I said, ‘I don’t know how we’re going to do this, but let’s dive in.’ And God showed up. The day after that, Devin went to work and someone had fresh corn for us. That was dinner. Stuff like that happened a lot. It was amazing.”

“We had a chance to pay off our debt last year,” Devin says, “but we prayed about it and God gave us wisdom. We didn’t pay it off and put the money toward pre-paying a lot of my school instead. Eight months later, when the lockdown put us in a hole financially, we had enough for what we needed and school was paid for.”

“There are things you have to sacrifice,” Devin says. “The one that stands out to me is going out to eat. We didn’t do that, except when we’d go out with our Life Group or with friends to celebrate something, but then we’d hold back on what we ordered or we’d split something. Then people offer you stuff because they don’t really understand.”

“It was ‘Oh, Raychaelle and Devin don’t have any money,’ but that’s not it,” Raychaelle says. “We choose to do different things with our money. Even now, we have new goals for our money.”

“We’re saving for bigger things like a vacation and seeing people,” Devin says. The Horners haven’t had so much as a weekend getaway since their honeymoon. “Separate from our tithe, we have a giving fund that we’ve always wanted to be able to have.”

“We decided on an amount for the giving fund each month and we find ways to use that to help others,” Raychaelle adds. “We have both worked in restaurants so we really want to bless servers so we leave an extra-large tip when we go out to eat now.”

“I’ve been convicted about our giving fund lately. One of the best sermons I’ve heard at Calvary was ‘A Greater Treasure’ in the Thy Kingdom Come series. There was a quote from C. S. Lewis about how he didn’t know how much people ought to be giving, but he thought the right answer would be that you know it’s right when you feel pinched. I’m happy we’re able to do this, but I don’t feel pinched. So I’m wondering if we need to change it.”

“Even as I’m saying that, I’m worried about how it’s going to sound. I don’t want any of this to sounds like ‘Look what we’ve done.’ It’s not what we’ve done. It’s what God has allowed us to do. One of the things we’ve done from the start is tithe consistently and never less than 10-percent. There were times I would look at the budget and think, ‘What if I put the tithe towards the debt? We’d get out of debt sooner.’ It was tempting, but I didn’t do it. And honestly, I think a huge part of why we’ve been so blessed is because of that.”

“Devin talked about sacrifice. For me, sometimes I would look around our living room and everything we have has been free, given to us, or garbage picked. I’d go to a girlfriend’s house and it’s all brand-new. They can get whatever they want, or at least that’s how it felt. But then here is what I am reminded of: God has given us so much for free and from people who love us. He poured out on us to help us pay off our debt.”

It’s still hard to spend money, the Horners say, and they are glad for that. “We feel a little bit too free sometimes now and have to remember that we have bigger things that we’re looking to do. We’ve talked about how Satan uses opportunities like this to swoop in.” 

“Now that we have more to give, I find myself being selfish and I want to get what I want to get,” Raychaelle says. “I have to check myself. Something else I heard in that treasure sermon is that when you’re generous, you really have to be intentional about it. It’s a discipline, which is 100-percent true.”

“Doing the work to be debt-free means you have control over what you would like to do with your money,” Devin says. “If you’re called to do something, to help someone out or make yourself available to someone, you’re in a position to do that. This has helped us to not idolize things. We’ve gotten really good at letting things go. We know we can get by without things, anything you can think of. I don’t want to lose that now that there is money available.”

“I love that,” Raychaelle says. “I feel the same way. It’s helped us set our eyes on things ahead and things above. Some days it’s really hard, but it is so worth it.”