Yes. Different. New Again.

My wife and I just celebrated our third anniversary of Debt-FREEDOM. My debt freedom date ended 20 years of indebtedness, counting my college school loan days. Virtually all of my adult life was spent owing money to various banks, car dealers, mortgage companies, credit card issuers, department stores. The last time I can remember not owing money was when I was a freshman in college. When my life journey was just starting. When the future was unfettered by the past.

As humans, it seems we can get used to anything, even when it’s detrimental, irrational, illogical, and sucks the life out of tomorrow. We cheerfully signup for a lifetime of fear for the immediate gratification of today, and in doing so we impoverish our future. Someone much wiser than me once said,”We are what we repeatedly do.”

Life after debt is different. It’s a lot like life before debt…if you can remember that far back. Except it’s different. Life after prison, I imagine, is a lot like life before prison, except it’s different. The experience leaves you changed. You are happy for the change of scenery, yet the knowledge of the loss of so many years of productive life – for what is money if not the embodiment of time – weighs heavy on your soul. You seek forgiveness from your creator for your poor stewardship of his gifts.

But it’s also New Again. It’s like before. It’s like before you knew about credit, debt, loans, interest, bankruptcy — except it’s different. You DO know about these things. And what’s more, you know you have defeated them. And you know that the future is once again unfettered by the past.