At LoveMoreLiveBetter.com, Jerrill and Emily share the secrets to their marital and financial success. After seeing their friends privately struggling in the rough waters of life they have successfully navigated, they were looking for ways to help without invading their privacy. They decided to go out on a limb and share their lives more publicly, and perhaps help even more people in the process.

Jerrill had completed electrical engineering and computer science degrees at the University of Kentucky in 1999 and was working as a network designer in the cable television industry. Emily was a student at UK pursuing a Spanish degree. They met on a blind date at TGI Fridays on January 13, 2001 and have been together ever since.

Jerrill decided to change jobs in April 2002, but jumped ship before securing another job. That placed stress on his already tight financial situation, and as a couple they were accumulating more debt to pay for their upcoming wedding. Jerrill found a new job a couple of months later as a computer programmer in the electronic security industry, and they were married on October 5, 2002 in Georgetown, KY.

Newly married and living in the home that Jerrill had bought with practically zero money down on an 80/20 mortgage one year after graduating college, they found themselves deeply in debt.

Both realized that their strained finances were becoming a distraction, in addition to the regular stresses of a young marriage. However, they didn’t have a clear plan to attack their debt that they could both agree on.

Emily’s mother introduced them to Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University in early 2003. His no-nonsense approach to personal finance, debt-reduction, and wealth building appealed to both of them. They started on Ramsey’s baby steps of building an emergency fund, paying off debt, building an even bigger emergency fund, increasing their retirement savings and paying down their mortgage. With the help of the inspirational calls on Ramsey’s radio and television shows, they were able to stick to the plan over the next several years.

In 2008, Jerrill and Emily are debt free except for the home mortgage which is within a couple of years of being paid off. In the mean time, Emily graduated from UK with no student loans, and we recently tapped our emergency fund to purchase a used 2006 Chevy Equinox to replace our “Dave Ramsey car,” a 1979 Chevy Malibu.

Over the first few years of their marriage, they’ve learned some secrets to a happy marriage. It’s not so much which plan you’re on, but rather that you’re both on a plan together. It’s important that you both set goals together and make one plan to get there. Once the plan is in place, sit down to the hard work of building a happy marriage and let the plan take care of itself.

They hope that this site encourages others to make a plan to take control of their lives and marriages. Jerrill and Emily are here to answer your questions and share their insights and some southern wisdom to help you love more and live better!