I have been saying all year that I would post about being on the Dave Ramsey plan, so here it is!
My mom has listened to Dave Ramsey's radio show and read his books for a long time now, so I knew of him, listened to him a few times and enjoyed his show. But our journey, mine and Josh's, actually started probably about 3 years ago. We moved to Allen, after selling our home in Forney, and Josh changing districts. We were living in an apartment because we were new to the area and wanted to take some time to learn more about it before we bought another house. We started watching Dave's tv show on the fox business channel every night. We learned more about his teachings and baby steps, made some goals of our own based on his principles, but didn't really go any further than that.
Our 1 year lease was coming up and our original plan was to sign another lease to give us more time to get situated financially. But I came across a house that we really liked that was under foreclosure. As we looked more into it, it got us excited about the possibility of looking for another house. It was a buyer's market and we got caught up in "the time is right...now" phenomenon. So we did what we have always done and jumped right in...throwing our goals right out the window.
Fast forward to 2010. We bought a house, got pregnant, bought financed brand new cars, and continued to live paycheck to paycheck using credit cards as part of our income. Dave would come knocking on our door every now again, saying "remember me?" So we decided to look into meeting with one of his financial counselors. We arranged consultations with a couple of them, but weren't ready to fully commit. It was around Christmas time when it got to the point for me that our finances consumed every waking and sleeping moment of my life. God really put it on my heart and I decided that something had to change. I was sick of being broke. I received his Total Money Makeover book as a gift for Christmas. I devoured it in a matter of days, signed us up for his Financial Peace University class, looked into setting up another consultation with one of his financial counselors, all while Josh was going along with it but still not 100% committed. After finally realizing the toll it was taking on me, he decided to read the book, and was hooked. This was it, no turning back.
We finished the class, and even made and remained friends with one of the other couples. We finished our 6 month counseling term. A couple of weeks ago, we saw Dave live in Dallas, and it gave us even more momentum as we finish this year out.
Hugs for Dave!
It is now October and so far this year, we have gotten rid of a little over $17,500 of our overall debt. I'm not gonna say exactly how much that overall debt is at this point, but it is a lot and will take us a few years to tackle it, but we are committed and know it will happen. We can't wait to call the Dave Ramsey show to count it down and scream "WE'RE DEBT FREE!" We might even make the trip to Financial Peace Plaza and shout it there! We're excited, mostly anxious, to be done with it all, but know it will take time.
I'd love to tell you that the baby steps are simple and easy and everyone can do it. Well I can tell you they are simple and everyone CAN do it, but it is FAR from easy. We have faced several obstacles and I know there will be more to overcome. Throughout these times when 'Murphy' has knocked on our door, I just reached out to fellow Dave Ramsey followers for inspiration. I also have his app on my phone and I read the most recent testimonies every day.
A fellow blogger and friend of mine, Annie from Arlington Mama, and her family have been on Dave's plan and are now debt free, including their house. I have gone back several times and read about their financial peace journey, to help stay on track. When they've had to choose between frugal living and seizing the day. When they've put things off as they keep in mind the big picture and their dreams. When they've come up with creative ways to save money. And when they've stayed true to their commitment of paying a 100% down on their next home. It has truly kept me going because there have been plenty of times when I've felt like it was just about impossible for us. Right now we are taking what seems like very small steps, but we know that in the overall scheme of becoming debt free, they are huge steps.
Sticking to our written budget is the hardest part for us. To be honest, we aren't as 'gazelle intense' as we should be when it comes to this, but we are MUCH better than we were this time last year, and we're getting better each month. In this recession we managed to increase our income this fall by more than 20%. Thank you God!
This plan has already changed our lives so much and I look forward to what it's going to look like a few years from now. We have found a church that is perfect for our family. That is also something that has been weighing on my heart for a while, and it feels wonderful to finally feel at home. It is changing something within us that is positive and exciting.
If you have any stresses over finances, I encourage you to run, not walk, to the bookstore and pick up one of Dave Ramsey's books. Start now, don't wait. You CAN do it :) I wish we would have started earlier than now. We can't change that, but we can and will keep it going forever. We will change our family tree!
We bought CeCe the Financial Peace Junior Kit and have already started it with her! There are so many amazing products out there for kids, teens, and young adults that Dave Ramsey and his team have created.
Here is CeCe separating out her money into the Give, Save and Spend banks!
We've also started reading the books with her. They have them on audio so we listen and read along. They are really advanced for her age, even though the junior program starts at age 3, but she still loves to look at the pictures and can understand some of what they are talking about. We started using the commissions chart, which if you ever have read anything or plan to read anything of Dave's he always talks about giving commission for work done, rather than allowance. There are things she does to earn money, like clean up. She is also really into picking out her own clothes now, so when she helps with sorting and putting up her laundry, she earns a commission. On the other hand, she gets fined for unwanted behavior. Her two big ones these days are not listening and whining. So we use that instead of time outs!
As you can see, this is a family adventure and we LOVE livin' like no one else, so that later we can live, give, save, and spend like no one else!
Today was fair day for the Allen crew! Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Eddie came with us! Although we got rained out, it was still a fun time...as usual! LOVE the fair :)
Can she be any cuter?!
Love this girl :)
Double the cuteness and sweetness!
Uncle Eddie and the girls...and Big Tex!
At the Butterfly Garden, we got to see the Monarchs get tagged
CeCe got to release a tagged Monarch butterfly. She was the youngest he's ever had release one!
She did such a great job! Didn't need any help. Such a big girl :)
Ladybug tea party (inside the butterfly gardens)
Not sure what this face is about, but she is looking at the butterflies through a magnifying glass
Cricket band
Flamenco dancers
I took CeCe to the Dallas Aquarium, while the rest of the group went to the car show. Here's the octopus. All I could think about was the octopus scene in Popeye. Ewww!
Sharks!
CeCe's favorite...Purple fish
CeCe changing the light colors in the jellyfish tank
Hermit crab
Stingray Bay. They are so slimy. CeCe would put her hand in the water but wouldn't touch any.
This alligator was freaky. People said it was alive but I'm not so sure of it. CeCe had no fear!
Fried goodness we had this year:
Fletcher's Corn Dog - of course!
Chicken strips
Fried Biscuit and Gravy - Josh really liked it, but I wasn't much of a fan
Fried Banana Split - Pretty tasty, but won't get it again.
Fried Grilled Cheese - I looked for it last year but couldn't find it. This is absolutely my favorite!
That's all we had time for before the rain got the best of us. I'm hoping we'll be able to go back again before it ends.
Today, we met up with Carrie and Bradie and went to a Pumpkin Patch in Forney! It was so much fun. It wasn't too crowded, the weather was nice (a little windy, but felt good with the sun shine), and the girls were pretty good, despite them waking up early and Vivi missing her morning nap.
Vivi walked right into see the goats and had no fear, until one started nibbling on her hand. It was a hungry one and we didn't have any food!
CeCe was pretty cautious, especially after Vivi got bit. Bradie was all about it!
On to the bounce house! Everyone enjoyed this part!
Next was the playground! They tried out just about everything. CeCe especially loved the sandbox and the slides.
That was CeCe inviting everyone to go to the sandbox and reminding them to be careful as they got out. Such a leader ;)
CeCe and Bradie counting and lining up the pumpkins!
A little boy kindly shared his pony ride with these two beauties!
And then sister shared her ride. So sweet!
[Real] Pony Ride! Such a big girl
Lots of sharing going on today! Vivi loved it :)
Vivi picking out pumpkins while sister waited in the face painting line.
No surprise that she got a purple butterfly.
Not pictured was the train tractor ride. They had these carts attached to a tractor and drove around the property. Perfect for snack time!
As we were leaving, CeCe had to go potty. The only bathroom we saw was a port a potty and I refused to let her use that. I asked if she could wait until we got back to Bradie's house and even though she said yes, her tone of voice and face told me differently. As I was getting Vivi in the car, I could really tell she needed to go so I squatted her down right outside the car door and let her go on the dirt. She got a kick out of it. She was telling me "don't let Bradie step in it" and as I was getting her in the car, she said "I'm gonna tell daddy I tee teed in the dirt!" So funny.
We went back to Carrie and Bradie's house to eat lunch and let the girls play before we headed home.
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