Jeff and his wife are passing down a priceless legacy to their boys by working hard and making many sacrifices along their debt-free journey.
Placing your pride at the door for the sake of others' wellbeing—especially your family—is an amazing gift to give.
Anyone who’s let pride get in the way of taking a second job can take a lesson from Jeff Kosola, blogger, Dave fan, and part-time pizza delivery guy. On his blog, deliverawaydebt.com, he tracks his progress in destroying his debt “one delivery at a time.”
In May 2008, Jeff and his wife decided it was time to get out of debt, but with the tally surpassing the $100,000 mark, it was going to take some sacrifice to get it done.
“Pizza delivery is what Dave Ramsey has been talking about for years,” Jeff wrote on his blog. “So I decided to give it a try.”
According to the blog, the Kosola family has plowed through nearly 35% of their debt, and the goal is to be debt-free, except the house, by August 2011.
Adventures In Pizza Delivery
Jeff says his pizza delivery gig has been eye-opening in many ways. As a manager making a good salary by day, he found the $6-per-hour pay difficult at first, but he soon found he could average $20 per hour with delivery bonuses and tips. In fact, in the seven months he’s been tracking his income from pizza delivery, he’s averaged about $1,500 a month!
“I record my earnings on my blog in the hopes it will help others decide to take on a second job as a pizza delivery person,” he said.
Jeff discovered how dedicated he is to eliminating his family’s debt when he had to deliver pizza to the homes of former coworkers. “Walking up to a house and seeing the face of a person who—at one time—worked for you is quite shocking,” he said. “Once the retirees find out that you deliver pizza, it can spread like wild fire through an organization!”
Some of his former coworkers even called their wives to the door to meet their old boss. “It’s a humbling experience to say the least,” Jeff said.
And, like most people in food service, Jeff has had to swallow his pride when customers don’t—or won’t—tip. Without naming names, Jeff relieves some of the frustration by leaving clear messages to these customers on his blog.
Is It Worth It?
Jeff also wrote on his blog: “Are these sacrifices worth it? Yes! I ‘flash forward’ all the time and think about the things I’ll be able to enjoy once I’m debt-free!
“The fact that delivering pizzas as a second job is getting me out of debt is the only motivation I need to get through these pride-bursting moments,” he said.
His positive attitude about pizza delivery doesn’t end there. Jeff says he loves it! “I give the direction during the day at job number one, and I take direction by night at job number two,” he said. “When the night is over, nothing follows me home,” he continued. “I don’t worry about the store. I don’t lose sleep about the store. I just know I worked hard and made some extra money to help my family get out of debt.”
Now that is truly giving your family an amazing gift!
A Future In Pizza?
So, once the debt is gone, will he put pizza behind him forever?
“As I look into my debt-free future, I would like to own a few pizza shops,” Jeff said. “I just love the business.
“Of course, I’ll have to open them with cash. No more debt for this pizza guy!”
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