Ellie Kay, better known as "America's Family Financial Expert," loves to teach people how to find financial freedom. In this Financial UPGRADE, she focuses on three steps that can help 
anyone find that freedom in the coming year, and she shares her "financial testimony" to make this personal and practical.
“Sacrificing for a short time helped us gain financial freedom in the long run," Ellie says.
I (Dawn) think financial freedom is a wonderful tool for growth and ministry. Why? Because, as Ellie Kay shows in her own life and teaches so powerfully, there is so much we can do for the Lord if we're not deeply in debt!
Ellie continues . . .
In Romans 13:8 it says, “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loves another has fulfilled the law.”
What does financial freedom mean to you?
When I think of the times I’ve felt truly free, it’s when I’m on a roller coaster, bungee jumping or on a zip line. These “adventures” are full of letting go, experiencing the moment and screaming until I’m hoarse!
Financial freedom is very similar, because it can be a roller coaster filled up ups, downs and unexpected turns. But it is also the freedom to let go of worry, live life in the moment and enjoy the adventure around the next bend.
Financial freedom doesn’t necessarily mean an early retirement, but it does mean you are financially healthy.
But that’s hard to do when living paycheck to paycheck or with excessive debt.
Conquering consumer debt can be as daunting as stepping into a roller coaster or stepping off the bungee platform . But it doesn’t have to be an overwhelming experience if you take a few easy steps to get started.
1. Assess Your Debt.
The first step toward financial freedom is to find out where you are in your journey and how far you need to go to reach your goal.
Start by ordering your credit report for free at annual credit report. Use this report to add all your consumer debt (for both spouses if married). Most consumers don't know how much debt they have, which is why this step is so important.
2. APR Reduction
This is where the miracle of compounding interest happens and it can either work for you or against you.
If you’ve been working on your credit score and still have high interest rates on your credit cards, then it may be time to call your credit card provider to ask them to reduce your APR. A lower APR can save hundreds of dollars a year. Just tell the customer service person you want to reduce your APR because your FICO has improved, you’ve been paying on time for many months and you could transfer the balance to a different card (outside of their company) if they can’t help you.
If you don’t get the answer you want, kindly ask to speak to a manager. Then repeat the process. You’d be surprised at how often this works.
3. Absolute Commitment
When my husband and I had 40K in consumer debt early in our marriage, we had to fully commit to getting out of debt. This helped us pay off that debt, on only one income, in 2 years.
This means all the money saved will go toward consumer debt including tax refunds, bonus checks, birthday dollars and items you sell. We even sold one of our cars, when we lived on base, and my husband rode his bike to work or car pooled for a year.
We realized that we couldn’t have debt and a lot of extras at the same time. Sacrificing for a short time helped us gain financial freedom in the long run.
What is one step you can take today to be financially free in 2018?
Ellie Kay is the best-selling author of 15 books, veteran of 2800 media interviews and podcaster of The Money Millhouse. She is the founder of 
Heroes at Home, a non-profit organization that provides financial education to military members. She’s married to Bob and they have seven millennial children.
Graphic adapted, courtesy of stevepb at Pixabay.