Debt Free Dreams: Plan for a Carefree, Abundant Future Full of Possibilities

By Julie Brown and Joanne F Miller

Debt Free Dreams

So, what's the problem with debt?

We stop dreaming all together because we become

• Language: English
• Publisher: Author Academy Elite
• Release date: Aug 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9781647466688

Julie Brown

Julie Brown is a creator, mother, and teacher who loves reading to her students and children. She earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from Ithaca College and a master’s degree in teaching from LeMoyne College. Julie resides in Upstate New York with her husband and two children. Kara Lynn Daviau is an award-winning fine artist who earned a BFA and MS in art education from Syracuse University. She currently teaches high school art in a suburb of Syracuse, New York. Kara lives in Upstate New York with her two sons and basset hound.

Book preview

Endorsements

Julie Brown has combined her years of experience and passion for helping those who struggle with their finances to create a guide for achieving financial freedom. She speaks encouragement and wisdom to those desperately trying to figure out where their money has gone. The sooner you read this book, the sooner you will be able to take charge of your hard-earned money. What are you waiting for?

—Deborah Roemisch

I’ll never forget the first day I met Julie. There was light and hope in her eyes, showing greatness on the horizon for her. And now, she’s sharing that light and hope with you in the pages of her wonderful new book, Debt Free Dreams.

The wisdom she has in the area of finances is second to none. As a Senior Leader of Financial Peace University classes, she’s helped many people gain confidence and clarity about their money habits and goals.

Not only is Julie wise about money, she is also attentive, an excellent listener, and truly cares about your results. She has the heart of a teacher, and she has one of the most genuine and pure hearts of anyone I know.

Money affects all of us, so this book is one that you’ll want to read from cover to cover. Confession: In reading a few advance chapters, I must admit—I had to count myself extra blessed because I was getting some financial coaching of my own just from reading her words! I applied what she taught to my finances—and it worked!

There is something in this book for all of us. If money has been a challenge for you, if you need more of it (don’t we all), want to manage it well, and be a good steward of what you have, this book is the roadmap that will help get you there. Julie will teach you how to crush debt once and for all and start building wealth for a future you can be proud of.

Julie’s personal stories, along with the practical steps she shares, will be just what you need to take you from where you are to where you want to be. Not only is she a Ramsey Preferred Coach, but she also truly loves God and wants to see you win. Read the chapters, do the work, apply the action steps, and then get ready . . . because your financial future just got a whole lot brighter!

—Dr. Jevonnah Lady J Ellison

Leading Business Coach

Founder, The Thrive Mastermind & Thrive Summit

Host of The Thrive Podcast

In Debt Free Dreams: Plan For a Carefree, Abundant Future Full of Possibilities, Julie Brown offers a refreshing look at wise and fruitful money management. She offers her readers a new perspective on how to manage our money. Julie shows us that money is a tool, not a god. She provides a clear picture of how financial freedom looks.

. . . you will come to the place of freedom—freedom from owing anyone anything.

Julie’s easy-to-understand steps, passion, and transparency are a breath of fresh air in a topic that many find stale and academic.

—Ted Pugh

Debt Free Dreams

Plan For a Carefree, Abundant Future Full of Possibilities

By

Julie A. Brown

Debt Free Dreams © 2021 by Julie Brown. All rights reserved.

Published by Author Academy Elite

PO Box 43, Powell, OH 43065

www.AuthorAcademyElite.com

All rights reserved. This book contains material protected under international and federal copyright laws and treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without express written permission from the author.

Identifiers:

Paperback: 978-1-64746-666-4

Hardback: 978-1-64746-667-1

Ebook: 978-1-64746-668-8

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020926052

Available in paperback, hardback, e-book, and audiobook

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan.

All rights reserved worldwide.

Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers printed in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Author Academy Elite, nor does Author Academy Elite vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.

Dedication

To my husband and teaching partner, Bill, and all of our former Financial Peace University class members:

Over the years, you’ve learned and applied this knowledge. At times, you’ve been wise enough to come back through the class again to stay on track with your money. I’ve had the privilege of coaching some of you one-on-one.

I have grown and learned from you along the way, and your stories have inspired and encouraged me. They are a reminder that no matter where we are on our financial journeys, there is always room for improvement and the opportunity to encourage others to join mission with us.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Section 1:

Dilemmas Derail Our Dreams

Chapter 1: Where Did the Money Go?

Chapter 2: I Don’t Have Any Money

Chapter 3: Can You Handle It?

Section 2:

Dreams Can Become Your Reality

Chapter 4: Questions Are Scary; Ask Them Anyway

Chapter 5: What Is Your Dream?

Chapter 6: Limitless Hope

Chapter 7: Freedom Is the Result

Chapter 8: It’s an Emergency

Section 3:

Details—The Nitty Gritty of Life

Chapter 9: Don’t Say the B-Word!

Chapter 10: Digging Out of Debt One Step at a Time

Chapter 11: Follow the Money Plan

Section 4:

Deciding the Life of Your Dreams

Chapter 12: Plan Your Dream

Chapter 13: Giving Grace

Chapter 14: Mindset Money Sets You Free

End Notes

About the Author

Foreword

I grew up knowing absolutely zilch about money, except understanding we never had any. My mother was divorced with three small children, and we were on welfare most of my early years. When I entered fourth grade, my mother enrolled in one of the few tuition-free colleges in the U.S.

She figured having a college education might help her secure a better future for us. Most students worked on campus to offset tuition, but because Mom was a unique student with her little family, she was exempt from the work requirement. She applied herself and was on the dean’s list all through her college years. After graduation, she became a high-school English and Spanish teacher.

We were no longer on welfare, but money was always tight. I remember how Mom proudly cherished the new maple furniture she bought for our tiny upstairs apartment. It was the beginning of her abuse of every Dave Ramsey financial principle. She maxed out credit cards and piled up student loan debt to obtain more degrees.

I had a lot to learn about financial issues. My husband’s family lived frugally, but Dan had no financial training whatsoever. What a match we were!

In her early seventies, Mom began the slow decline of Alzheimer’s disease. Dan and I took on the caregiver’s job and quickly realized the money she had inherited from her father and had invested in mutual funds had dwindled to very little.

Upon investigation, Mom’s naiveté had allowed a well-known broker to profit from her investment by moving her money around. We also discovered she had outstanding student loans amounting to tens of thousands of dollars. In her seventies, she was grossly in debt and didn’t have the presence of mind to understand what she had done. She thought she was wealthy. Fortunately, we had learned how to manage our money better by then and negotiated the balance of Mom’s student loans to pay it off.

Julie Brown has helped many people, just like my mother, through her involvement with Dave Ramsey’s organization. Like the two of us, many people have no clue how to