Finances--On the Fast Track to Freedom

In late spring I was REALLY discouraged about money.  I began praying about what to do.  In our first 2 1/2 years of marriage my husband and I made some really dumb financial decisions.  We had no kids at the time and both worked, so we decided to treat my husband's income as our income and mine as the "extra income" because we wanted to set ourselves up to be in a position where I could stay home and take care of our kids some day when we had them.  Unfortunately, my husband's income was not enough for us to live on, so my income was necessary.  Because we treated my income as "extra" we were "forced" to put "emergencies" on a credit card, pay our school debt down slowly, and made a choice to take out a car loan for a reliable used, but clearly-out-of-our-price-range vehicle.  This set us up for a big debt problem.  I realize that our debt load was probably not much compared to others our age, but at 23 and 24, our debt was already a burden to us.  We committed in 2008 to no longer go into further debt, but here we are in 2014 and we're STILL in debt.

Dave Ramsey preaches that if you "live like no one else, then you can live like no one else."  I felt as though we were living in a place of tightness financially for quite some time with no pay offs.  Sure, we have paid things off over time: our vehicles last year were fully paid for, we've paid off medical bills and other things, smaller debts.  But we still have this looming burden over our heads that cause most months to be paycheck-to-paycheck months. It's frustrating.  And so here I was late spring praying and I felt like God was impressing on me/saying to me, we can cut back more.  Dave Ramsey encourages "gazelle intensity" in paying off debt which is based on Proverbs 6:1-5 in the Bible (*Take Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University for more info. on that.) and here we were cutting back, but snailing along in reducing our debt load.  All of our minimum payments were being made but as the years kept rolling along, it was frustrating to see the pay-off YEARS down the road at our current rates-of-pay. 

SO--God impressed on me that we can save MUCH more than we were, by cutting back to the bare bones short-term so that we can become debt-free MUCH sooner.  And so that is what we have been doing since May.  Bare bones budgeting.  I did the math and as long as there are no more emergencies that arise between now and then, becoming 100% debt free should be a reality in about August of 2015.  By bare bones, I do mean bare bones, as in: no budget for hair cuts, gifts, parties, dates, gym memberships, cable, clothes, etc.  Bare bones means our budget consists of our regular bills, rent, insurance, gas, groceries, and diapers, saving a little each month for oil changes and doctoring throughout the year, and the one splurge of the internet, but it means in bigger fashion paying down debt and that is pretty much it.  I will make another post about an exciting bill I just paid for in cash, and also will post our progress, but this is where we're at:  on the fast track to freedom.  :)

A year from where I started I begin again

Here I am.  I'm back.  In a way a totally different person at a different place in life than last year.  In a way, I'm the same girl.  One of the major life changes I've had this last year was turning 30.  For some reason, 30 has been the one age where I actually "feel different."  I'm no longer "young."  Okay, I know that 30 isn't old and no longer do I even think of 65 as being old, but think about it:  when you were in high school what age did you consider old?  30.  My baby sister turned 18 this year and even she said, "You're gonna be 30?! You're old!"  I'm no longer in my twenties, and I literally feel that several months ago when people learned I was "only" 29, they saw me as younger.  Only a few months later I am 30, and suddenly not a YOUNG adult anymore.  Now I'm full-blown adult status.  I don't mind.  I've never been one to wish myself to be older or younger.  I want to savor each age and stage and year.  Life goes fast.  It truly is a breath or a vapor, if I remember the Bible's description right.   

To sum up my life from last September until this one in two words:  Baby and busy.  Baby, because I just had my 4th baby in just under five years and let me tell you, that pretty much sums up my life these days.  My #1 job, role, and identity label is stay-at-home mommy these days.  And busy because my little ones are all super busy and that keeps me on my toes all. of. the. time.  But, I'm back and I think I'm at a better place to share life with you.  Enjoy my blog.  I certainly hope to.  :)