This is not advice or a we are right and anyone who doesn't do this is wrong story. This is our story and the actions we have taken to do what we felt was right for our family. It may not work for other people and everyone has to do what works for them and their family.
Today I am talking about BUDGETING! When Joey and I first got married, my dad kept telling us about Dave Ramey. Check out his site HERE! We honestly were not that interested in hearing about some guy with a radio show who tells people how to spend and save their money. Fast forward almost 3 years later and we had two car payments, a loan, 2 credit cards, and a Lowe's card. We just brought Ella home from the hospital and were discussing our finances with the new baby and we looked at how much we were paying towards all this debt. We felt like we didn't have a lot for savings, no emergency fund, and I had no limits when it came to spending. If I wanted it, I would buy it. I remember going to Nordstrom and buying $400 purses, clothes, shopping at Tiffany's....all because I felt like it. I may secretly miss those days....haha! I did this quite often.
We knew something had to change and fast. Joey felt really convicted about having debt. He also was concerned about what would happen if something happened to him or vice versa. He also wanted to have the peace of being able to help other people more.
So, one day we made the choice to do the Dave Ramsey plan. We tweaked it a little to what worked for us. Some people will work extra jobs, minimize all of the extra, eat pb&j every night. We knew that we wanted to balance being smart and enjoying things with our kids, like trips to Disneyworld. We just knew we had to go about it in a different way. So we sat down and created a budget. It truly is amazing how well Joey does with it. He has a color coded spreadsheet that documents everything that goes in and out of our accounts.
For Dave Ramsey's plan, the first thing you have to do is create a budget or a plan. So we budget our living expenses, savings, and categories (Melanie's spending, Misc, Clothes, Birthdays, Outings, etc) every month. You then write down your debt in order from smallest to largest and you attack the smallest with all of the extra you have. When that is paid off you apply everything you paid on that plus what you are currently paying on the next loan. Almost 3 years later, we have paid around 40 something THOUSAND dollars of debt off including the cars, credit cards, loans, etc. It is an amazing feeling.
But don't get me wrong, it was SO hard at first and can still be hard. I have a love/hate relationship with it at times. One reason being I am a shopper. It takes one strong person in the marriage to stick with it and be accountable. That would be my hubby. Yet, we have enjoyed vacations and building a new house and other things the good ol' fashion way....by saving money. We cut up all of our credit cards and it has been freeing to not owe anything but our house.
You may be reading this and thinking BLESS HER HEART, I could not imagine. It may not work for you or you may think we are crazy. It all comes down to doing what you feel works for you and for us... being able to bless others and having the financial security and freedom was something we really want to work towards.
Hopefully this helps some of you have asked about it to hear about the plan. Dave Ramsey also has a lot of cd's, books, and videos that may really help!
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at melroseacker@yahoo.com
Don't forget to check out my sister in law's super cute post about what her kids wear HERE!! I know I am horrible...I tell you about saving money only to direct you to a post about shopping Hey, it's a balance, right?
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