Debt...

It's a vicious, cyclical beast.

A beast, that in our household, has finally been tamed.

And taken to the doghouse.

Take that! You beast!

We've never had a huge amount of consumer debt.  We've owned one credit card through our local credit union that we put a $1000 max limit on.

It's what we would use in emergencies, or for an occasional purchase when our normal paycheck just didn't stretch far enough.

But it was debt.  And it was annoying.  And burdensome.  It was a cyclical dirty, rotten beast.  Cyclical, because it would always get paid off (usually with part of the tax return), but then it would start all over again.  There was almost always an amount on that card, whether it be: doctor or dentist bills, tires or repairs on the car, clothes or shoes for a new school year, etc.

Well, since I have been taking the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University course, our financial outlook has been a lot brighter.  (I only have about a month left in the class - I don't want it to end!)  I've had quite a few people ask me about Dave Ramsey and his class, so I thought I would share some of the things that have made me a FIRM believer in his system:

-We finally have a budget that actually works, using the zero-based budget plan.  Now the 'ants' don't carry away that last little bit of money that is left over when we do our budget every two weeks.

-Using the cash envelope system has made a HUGE difference in how we spend our money.  It is so much harder to spend cash!  And now we use cash envelopes to pay for all groceries, gas, doctors visits, misc items, etc.  When the cash is gone, it's gone.

-Having a $1000 emergency fund (Baby Step #1) has saved our hides this past month or so.  With the miscarriage, and broken washing machine, we were able to pay for both of these unexpected events without touching a credit card.   I must say though, it was really hard to dip into that fund to pay for these things.  We didn't want to touch it because we worked so hard to get it.  But, of course we did, and now we are actively building that fund back up to $1000.

-We no longer have debt except for our mortgage! (Baby Step #2).  And we look forward to working on paying the mortgage down quicker after we finish a few more baby steps.  The goal is to never have a 30 year mortgage again.  Ever.

-We hope to have our 6 month expenses Emergency Fund by summer.  This will be in case Bill were to lose his job or other BIG things like serious illness, natural disaster, etc.   We would be able to live for 6 months (or more, if we stretched it) on this emergency money supply.  This will feel really, really good to have done.

I think overall, we have just been able to play offense with our money rather than being on the defensive when 'stuff' happens.  Money has not looked the same since taking this course.  We treat and handle it differently.

 And it is reciprocating.  

Here's to Dave Ramsey and keeping the beast in the doghouse for life!

**My only complaint is that I wish I would have known about it sooner.  I shudder to think how much further along we would be if we had known about this going into college.

good ol' Dave

I've enrolled in a 13 week class on Wednesday nights from 8-10 p.m.  (I tuck Evelyn in bed, say good bye to Porter and Bill and head out the door).

I'm attending the  Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University.

I've gone twice so far.

LOVE. IT.

Since I have started going, I feel empowered.  Hopeful.  I think about money in a completely different light.

The people that I am taking the class with are awesome.  I love our discussions.  I learn so much from them and walk away each class so renewed and ready to face our family's finances.  We all come from different backgrounds.  But the theme is resounding with each of us - and that is, no matter how much money one makes, we are all looking for ways to become at peace with our finances, using a budget, reducing our debts, being generous with our money, and building wealth.

Dave Ramsey's motto is "If you will live like no one else, Later you can live like no one else.

I love that tithing to one's church is a huge part of Dave's philosophy and one of his steps.  I also love how important it is to him that we teach our children these concepts and that we make the words "debt, 401K, mutual funds, savings, compound interest, etc.," a part of our family's daily vocabulary and conversation.

We've made some really good strides.  But because we are on such a tight budget to begin with, we've had to make some cut backs in other areas of our life in order to be able to follow the steps in Dave's Financial Peace course.  Here are some that we have been doing:

-Our family has only eaten out once in the last couple of months  (We have usually eaten out about once a paycheck).  We havn't missed it.


-I am making larger portions of the foods my family likes so that we can try and eat these meals a couple of times during the week.  Plus, I'm still making my own bread.


-I've seriously cut back on buying fruit snacks, granola bars, crackers and other expensive snacks.  (I've always had a love/hate relationship with them anyway - loved that they were convenient, but hated how unhealthy they are)  My kids are, well.....coping.  In our Sunday morning family council where we discuss family matters, Porter has helped us come up with some healthier, more economical snacking ideas which has helped.


-I've set my washing machine to cold and I'm using homemade powdered laundry soap and having great results!


-And yes.  I've done the unfathomable.   I have seriously cut down my trips to Costco.   (Since it has come to town, my grocery budget has really gone up and I havn't necessarily seen HUGE savings)  I am very loyal to WinCo (a large discount grocery chain in my area) and I know their prices by heart, so I feel, at least for the time, that I will be saving money by loading up at Winco and having an occasional trip to Walmart or Costco.


-Nothing is going on the credit card.  Nothing.  It's not an option.


-We have down-scaled Christmas.  A lot.  But we look forward to being together and sharing in our many wonderful traditions.  Plus, we can't wait to give away the homemade gifts that we have made together this year.  They rock.


We are working hard at heading towards financial peace as a family.  It feels really good.  And I have Dave Ramsey to thank for reminding me of the things I already know, but he puts them into such a fun and innovative light, that it seriously has given me a completely new perspective on handling each and every dollar that comes in.