Debt-Free to Deep-Debt: The Hard Truth About Financial Setbacks

Have You Ever Fallen Back into Old Habits After Reaching a Big Goal?

Maybe it was a weight loss goal, a sales milestone at work, training for a competition, or finally paying off a big debt. You work hard, stay disciplined, and push yourself—only to cross the finish line and slowly drift away from the very habits that got you there.

Not on purpose, of course. Just a little compromise here… and a little compromise there. And then one day, you wake up and realize you’re right back where you started.

This pattern isn’t new—it’s something people have struggled with for centuries. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 7:19:
👉 “I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.”

That was written nearly 2,000 years ago! Clearly, it’s a battle we all face in some way. And when it came to staying debt-free, we were no exception.

So how did we slip back into the pit… and just how deep did it go this time?

The High of Becoming Debt-Free

If you missed How We Began Our Journey to Financial Freedom, go read that first! But for those of you who’ve been following along, let’s pick up where we left off…

After paying off over $30,000 in consumer debt, we were ready to celebrate! 🎉 And what better way than a debt-free trip to Disney World—paid for in cash!

This vacation had been my motivation during the last stretch of our debt payoff, and I couldn’t wait to surprise our kids. (You can watch their adorable reaction here—we didn’t tell them until we reached the Florida state line!)

But after Disney, we made a huge mistake: we didn’t set a new financial goal.

We were supposed to move on to Baby Step 3—saving 3–6 months of living expenses in an emergency fund.

Instead, we told ourselves, We deserve a break from budgeting. We deserve to celebrate a little longer.

It was the same mindset I have when working out—I exercised today, so I deserve a cookie… or several. 😬 And just like that, we started making compromises.

We weren’t reckless. We weren’t splurging on luxury cars or designer bags. We were just living like everyone else—eating out, shopping, traveling. But little by little, we slid back into living paycheck to paycheck.

House Fever Hits Hard

Then came the daydreaming. We had this vision of a home in the country—a place where we could have a garden, chickens, and plenty of space for our kids to run. A peaceful retreat where Nick could decompress after tough shifts at work.

We knew we weren’t in a financial position to move. But then… we found THE house.

And we had to have it.

Was our house even on the market yet? Nope.

But our realtor assured us we could put in a contingent offer, meaning we’d buy the new house if ours sold first. So we rushed to list our home. We had several open houses and even a serious buyer.

But then—someone else made a better offer on our dream house.

You’d think we would have taken that as a sign to pause, regroup, and save up properly. But nope. We kept looking.

And then we found an even better house. This time, our house sold quickly, and we jumped in. Still not financially prepared—but moving forward anyway.

Some people have to learn the hard way… and by "some people," I mean Nick and Teanna Lambert. 😅

The Door to Debt Swings Wide Open

Like our first home, this new house was a fixer-upper. Plumbing, carpet, electrical work—you name it, it needed fixing.

We didn’t have the savings to cover these costs, so we opened store credit cards to pay for materials.

It’s only $2,500.
We’ll pay it off quickly.

Except we maxed them out. Paid them down. Used them again. And again.

These credit cards were the gateway drug to our second round of debt.

Then, disaster struck.

Nick drove through floodwaters during a storm, and our paid-for Honda Accord was totaled.

Since we had our dream house now, we figured we deserved to upgrade our car too. So, we bought a used Lexus ES350—and took on a hefty car loan in the process.

And just like that, we made another compromise.

The Domino Effect of "Deserving"

After that, the floodgates opened.

🚗 Nick’s "Little Truck Syndrome" hit hard—he was driving an old Ford Ranger while his coworkers had shiny, new trucks. His solution? Finance a new one.

🏕️ Camping dreams grew bigger—so we upgraded from tent camping to a travel trailer… with another loan.

🚙 Then the Lexus had issues—so I deserved a brand-new Honda.

🏕️ And why stop there? Nick didn’t like towing the trailer, so we traded it in for a shorter, brand-new travel trailer… and financed that too.

Our once firmly closed "no more debt" door was now completely off its hinges.

A $100,000 Wake-Up Call

Over the course of seven years, we dug ourselves into a $100,000 pit of debt.

This time, it wasn’t just me. We walked into this mess together, hand in hand.

We told no one.

Even close friends and family reading this may be learning for the first time just how deep in debt we were.

I can’t speak for Nick, but for me, the shame and guilt were overwhelming.

Because we had been here before. And we had vowed never to do this again.

So, Where Are We Now?

Are we still in debt? If not, how did we climb out of this massive hole again?

I desperately wanted to wrap up our story in this post… but there’s so much left to tell.

👉 The next chapter of our financial adventure is coming soon! Don’t miss it—subscribe to our email list to have it delivered right to your inbox.

And if you’re struggling with debt or living paycheck to paycheck, you don’t have to go through this alone.

💡 Schedule a FREE Financial Strategy Session with me today. It would be an honor to help you find your way to financial freedom.

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