During a wonderful visit with friends, I was more properly introduced to Dave Ramsey...not in person but rather, his ideas. If you haven't heard of him, I recommend looking him up. I bought his book The Total Money Makeover. Some of the stories in there are absolutely frightening. Young couples making $40,000 combined with $150,000 in debt! There are even stories of older couples, the age of my parents, who are in just as much debt.
Now don't get me wrong, we don't have debt like that. We don't own our own home and we are not making car payments. Student loans are what run us into the ground. But after reading these stories about how these people made it out of debt....within a FEW years makes it super encouraging that we could possibly do that too. (Those of you who are Ramsey enthusiasts are saying "DO IT! DO IT!") but it's definitely scary. I like his "tagline" so to speak "live today like no one else so you can live tomorrow like no one else". When I see people our age buying houses or nice cars I definitely tend to think "oh man, that would be nice...maybe next year" in a sad melancholy voice in my head. Again, don't get me wrong. I love our life. But I'm not perfect and just like the human race, will always tend to want something I don't have...even if it's just cooking skills. I'm definitely not trying to knock those people who already have a house and the new car. I'm just wondering if I want that too...right NOW.
If you're not familiar with Dave Ramsey, let me give you the first few steps...before step 1 he tells you to make a budget then numero uno...save a small emergency fund for those rainy day mishaps. Two...start paying off that debt. This step takes years but if you stick to your guns and decide you will not buy that new tv, dress, or go out to dinner every week, this is entirely possible. There are many more steps but this is about as far as we are. I'm just not sure how gun-ho I can actually BE about it. I LIKE enjoying a nice dinner every once in a while, I LIKE going to H&M...and the list continues. BUT I LOVE the idea of having no debt by the time we're 30 even more. By deciding to jump on board I am resigned to the fact that my extra funds from doing extra jobs around work will go to paying off our loans...not dinner out. Again, I'm not sure how well we'll do but I'm willing to give it a try. I know in the book it says unless you have "gazelle intensity" you will not make it out of debt...I'm hoping this "gazelle intensity" comes after we can cross off that first loan (I have about 5 for school)...crossing fingers....my personal goal is December! Then, when Wes finishes school we can start tackling his loans. At the moment it's a little weird to start listening to Dave Ramsey because he doesn't want you to have debt or loans but that is how we are able to put Wes in school now. No, the loans are not going to pay for loans...that's stupid. But it's really weird to think that we want to pay off some loans and then it's like...oh yea, we're taking out loans right now. It's comically hypocritical. But at the same time we truly believe God is placing us on this path of Wes being in school so that eases my heart rate quite a bit.
I'm still not sure about all this and how I will do with the temptation to buy a new sweater or two when fall comes around, but it was definitely encouraging when I gave the book to my dad, whom I highly respect, and he agreed with the 90% of things that I did in the book (eventually Dave Ramsey says to live without credit cards completely and Wes and I just can't agree with that in our society) and he even encouraged us to do it!
I have to say I am also HIGHLY encouraged by the couple (a very close friend) who told me about all of this. They are doing it with "gazelle intensity" and I feel like there is very little fear, just the realization that they don't want to be paying off two cars, a home, etc etc. They want to live like no one else now so they can live like no one else later. It's even more encouraging knowing they have a child and it's possible to live this way with a kid! That baby will not remember giving up going out to eat...but that 10 year old will remember her parents sitting over the kitchen table calculating the mortgage plus the new car and wondering how they will pay for vacation and summer camp...
A friend and I were talking about entitlement the other day. Our generation feels entitled to the things our parents had, but worked years for. We feel that we DESERVE a house by the time we're 25, we DESERVE a new car every 4 or 5 years. But in reality, we DESERVE nothing and with that mind-set, perhaps it will be easier to jump on that gazelle...
I'm still not sure where I am on all of this. But I am enjoying hearing about this new way to live.
Nothing wrong with still not being sure about Dave, after all he is EXTREMELY intense! And as you know, I'm still not 100%, but I'm trying really hard because it's important to Kelly. Not to mention, the idea of being out of debt a lot sooner rather than later is quite exciting.
ReplyDeleteI'm with ya when it comes to finding out someone our age bought a house or a new car - makes me feel somewhat envious, but then I remember "I am glad we won't be in debt for X amount of years more because of this large purchase." I find comfort in knowing that buying a house will happen some day, but it'll happen when we can pay cash for all or most of it.
Also, both Kelly & I know Dave says the only time you should be stepping into a restaurat is if you're working there, but we still find that to be a challenge. Like you, we enjoy going out occasionally. And for clothing, Dave's not against buying clothes, if it's needed. We've simply managed to budget those sort of things into our budget - and it really helps when you do the cash system because it prevents you from using a debit/credit card to go out to eat on a whim or to buy a shirt on impulse.
The Total Money Makeover is certainly a challenge and not everyone is up for that challenge - I just hope you and Wes are so "you can live like no one else, so later you can live like no one else." Stay strong, Annie. You can do it!