When we got married, Neal and I were given a book called "The Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey by one of my family friends. I had heard of Dave Ramsey, but we weren't in a "financially bad" place, so we put it in a book shelf and forgot about it.
In November, Neal and I had a pretty large financial stumble that put us into more credit card debt than we had ever been in. We had just bought our house less than 6 months previous, and we didn't have any way to pay for the issue besides our credit card. We had just gone down to one income when Joey was born, so we were still adjusting to our new means. It scared us.
One day, when Joey was taking a nap, I found Dave Ramsey's book on our book shelf and figured it wouldn't hurt to read it. I was amazed by what I found. Although we had never been in a financially unstable place before, I learned that we also hadn't been making financially wise decisions. As I was reading the book, I especially loved that the majority of the plan followed the financial counsel our church leaders had given our church.
After I finished the book, I told Neal some of the principles I had learned while reading, and we decided to implement parts of what I had learned, but we didn't fully implement the plan. A couple months into us working on paying off our debt, Neal's friend and his wife who had followed the program came to stay at our house. We had several discussions with them about finances and where we were at, and they later graciously offered to put us through Dave Ramsey's class "Financial Peace University."
We learned SO much going through that class!! We learned about a lot of lies we had been taught about finances, how to get out of debt and STAY out of debt, how to fortify our marriage by eliminating financial distress in our marriage, and how to truly build wealth so that we can do what we'd like to and give like we'd like to. We learned that we had to "live like no one else, now, so that later we could live like no once else."
So here we are now. We've had to say "no" to a lot of fun things, a lot of things we've wanted but couldn't afford, and we've had some people question our sanity. BUT, we are so close to being out of debt. We are currently saving up to pay for what we will owe in medical expenses IN CASH when the baby is born. We are hoping to have enough to pay off the last of our debt once the baby is born. Then, the ONLY debt we will have is the mortgage on our house, and we will be able to pay off our house early following the plan that we have made.
How would you feel if you had zero consumer debt payments? How would you feel if you KNEW you could pay your house off early? How would you feel if you could give every time you thought to yourself "Oh I would be willing to give if only I had the money." What if you had the money?
I'm telling you, our end is in sight, and I already feel FREE. Our marriage feels FREE - free of fights, arguments, and fear. We're able to be open and honest with each other because there is zero dishonesty about our finances with each other. All of our needs are met every month because we actually sit down together and THINK and TALK about what we all need instead of spending and spending and hoping we have enough to cover what we realize we need half way through the month. I feel empowered. I feel excited. I feel like I can dream again.
So why am I posting this? Two reasons: 1 - to let you know what's going on in our lives so that when we say "no" to something you've invited us to do, it's not because we are being stuck up or we don't want to spend time with you or because we don't think its fun, etc., etc., etc.. Its because we have a goal, and we are trying to do whatever we can to reach it because it's important to us. 2 - because I have talked to so many people who feel weighted down, in bondage, and afraid of their finances. I want you to know there is a way out. It is possible. We've found a way that works for us and I'd be glad to talk to you, in more detail, about what has worked for us and why I think it would work for you.
