I am quite sure that every US citizen is aware of our current government shutdown. {Don't worry, I'm not about to go on a political rant here}.
If you didn't think you knew anyone whose job was one of those affected, well, now you do! Matt works for the goverment and his office closed on Tuesday. This, of course, means he's not getting paid. And though some government employees will get retroactive pay when Washington is up and running again, not everyone will, and we anticipate that Matt will not be one of them.
We are trying to stay positive over here!
Some ways we are making lemonade:
1. Yesterday was Matt's birthday, and he didn't have to work.
2. Lots of good family time and Makenna getting some extra Daddy-Daughter time!
3. Getting some projects done around the house.
4. Matt is getting to kick up his feet a bit and he's been enjoying playing Xbox, which he doesn't do much anymore. {Trust me when I say Matt deserves this...he works so very hard to provide for our family and I appreciate his work ethic to no end.}
We were going over finances today...not going to lie--this has been a big financial year for us, and not always in the best way. However, we are still very blessed to have emergency savings for situations such as this.
I was feeling so blessed despite our current situation that I decided to write to the Dave Ramsey website to share a bit of our story, and low and behold, they published it right away! Look for the story titled "Peace in the Midst of a Stormy Financial Year."
Check it out here:
http://www.daveramsey.com/articles/article-list/category/lifeandmoney_wedidit_user_generated/
I will urge any and all of you once again to implement the life money-principles Dave Ramsey teaches. It's hard spending and saving so very deliberately, but I promise it is all worth it.
Matt and I have a pretty unique story in regards to how we were able to eliminate our debt. You can ready plenty of other testimonies to see how other people have become debt-free.
We heart Dave Ramsey!
Showing posts with label Dave Ramsey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dave Ramsey. Show all posts
October 3, 2013
March 27, 2012
In Other News
Our apartment got so chilly today that I decided I needed to warm myself with a hoodie. We're hoping not to have to turn our heat back on since we stopped using it several weeks back.
In other news, my 2001 Mazda Tribute started having all sorts of problems--one of them being a huge oil leak that saturated the entire bottom of the car and caused lots of smoking. Then the service center diagnosed tons of other {expensive} problems that would basically equate Matt and I putting more money in to repairing my car than it's worth. So, this past weekend, we traded it in. I won't lie...I was a little sad. I really loved that car.
And here's my new {used!} car--this Saturn Vue!
I must confess that I am most excited about the color. Green is my favorite and I fell in love with the particular shade of green on this car. Plus, it compliments my red hair quite nicely!
The downside to all of this was, of course, the unforeseen cost of replacing one of our cars. The Mazda Tribute was paid off years ago and I had mentioned that as of last year, Matt and I were able to become completely debt-free. Thankfully, as avid Dave Ramsey followers, Matt and I have a "Three to Six Months Emergency Fund" which is where families save up for the event of a job loss, thus having enough savings on hand to sustain the family's necessities {food, clothing, shelter, etc.} for a three to six month period.
Out of that fund, we were able to pay up-front for my new car. {Although I should mention as a side note that, according to Dave Ramsey's planning, we should have a car fund that has enough money in it to cover replacing vehicles. We have a car-repair fund, but not a replacement fund. Better start on that!} The big blessing is that we didn't have to go back into debt for this car. However, we now have to make monthly payments back to ourselves in order to replenish our Three to Six Months Emergency Fund.
If you're not familiar with Dave Ramsey and his family financial planning, I urge you to check him out and learn from him. Matt and I have learned so much and Dave has equipped us with endless amounts of smart financial knowledge, which in turn is helping us towards financial stability for {God-willing} the rest of our lives.
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In other news, my 2001 Mazda Tribute started having all sorts of problems--one of them being a huge oil leak that saturated the entire bottom of the car and caused lots of smoking. Then the service center diagnosed tons of other {expensive} problems that would basically equate Matt and I putting more money in to repairing my car than it's worth. So, this past weekend, we traded it in. I won't lie...I was a little sad. I really loved that car.
And here's my new {used!} car--this Saturn Vue!
I must confess that I am most excited about the color. Green is my favorite and I fell in love with the particular shade of green on this car. Plus, it compliments my red hair quite nicely!
The downside to all of this was, of course, the unforeseen cost of replacing one of our cars. The Mazda Tribute was paid off years ago and I had mentioned that as of last year, Matt and I were able to become completely debt-free. Thankfully, as avid Dave Ramsey followers, Matt and I have a "Three to Six Months Emergency Fund" which is where families save up for the event of a job loss, thus having enough savings on hand to sustain the family's necessities {food, clothing, shelter, etc.} for a three to six month period.
Out of that fund, we were able to pay up-front for my new car. {Although I should mention as a side note that, according to Dave Ramsey's planning, we should have a car fund that has enough money in it to cover replacing vehicles. We have a car-repair fund, but not a replacement fund. Better start on that!} The big blessing is that we didn't have to go back into debt for this car. However, we now have to make monthly payments back to ourselves in order to replenish our Three to Six Months Emergency Fund.
If you're not familiar with Dave Ramsey and his family financial planning, I urge you to check him out and learn from him. Matt and I have learned so much and Dave has equipped us with endless amounts of smart financial knowledge, which in turn is helping us towards financial stability for {God-willing} the rest of our lives.
December 9, 2011
Scrooges
J.O.Y. has been filling our mailbox in the form of Christmas cards and letters. As I have mentioned previously, I am a huge fan of old-fashioned correspondence, so perhaps the joy of snail mail is even a little bit greater for me.
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There are three simple reasons for this:
1. Matt and I pretty much look the same; we have no children to show off/baby bump to announce; we have no house to display.
2. Most of our family and friends read this blog, so they pretty much are up-to-date on what is going on in the world of Matt/Deanne/Annabelle.
3. We are on a budget this Christmas {thanks to Dave Ramsey}, and with the aforesaid reasons, we have decided to put our money {which would be used for cards and postage} to give to those in real need this time of year. Our charity of choice--the Angel Tree.
So yes, we are {in a way} being Scrooges. You will not be receiving a Christmas card from us this year, but please, please, don't take offense, thinking we sent out cards to some and not others. However, we feel pretty certain that you understand in our choosing to give to the needy.
Also, very big kudos to all of you out there who have planned your budgets well enough to send out fun Christmas cards AND give to those in need! {I'm sure that's most of you!}
And just know how much extra we will enjoy receiving your Christmas greetings this year. {The cards all go on display!} Merry Christmas!
June 23, 2011
On the Road to Financial Freedom
As of yesterday, Matt and I made a monumental step in our lives: we are now officially debt-free.
No more car payments. No more student loans. And we're never going back.
Our quest for ridding our lives of debt once and for all began in 2009 when we completed a program called 'Financial Peace University' by financial guru Dave Ramsey. We completed the program after weekly lessons over a course of several months, and it truly was a life-changer for us.
Dave teaches on topics ranging from having an emergency fund, to college funds, to real estate, and investing. But one of the biggest thing Dave emphasises is living life debt-free.
His principle on not having debt is as simple as can be: if you don't have the money to buy something, don't buy it. Of course, Americans have been programmed over the past few decades that it is just a part of life--to buy things on credit and take out loans as needed/wanted. But we haven't been taught the repercussions of living this way. Most Americans have debt and to an extent that it seems like a dream to imagine not living life from paycheck to paycheck. Dave teaches that aside from purchasing a house, nothing should be purchased that you don't pay for up front.
We've learned to have a totally new outlook on finances and the possibilities for our financial future. I'll be honest though...living life on a budget....it's not easy and it's not fun. But the results are beyond worth it, and that's what keeps us on track.
We are so thankful for the principles we've learned from Dave's program. I would very highly recommend this program to anyone, or at least recommend to take the time to learn from Dave's principles. You can check it out here.
No more car payments. No more student loans. And we're never going back.
Our quest for ridding our lives of debt once and for all began in 2009 when we completed a program called 'Financial Peace University' by financial guru Dave Ramsey. We completed the program after weekly lessons over a course of several months, and it truly was a life-changer for us.
Dave teaches on topics ranging from having an emergency fund, to college funds, to real estate, and investing. But one of the biggest thing Dave emphasises is living life debt-free.
His principle on not having debt is as simple as can be: if you don't have the money to buy something, don't buy it. Of course, Americans have been programmed over the past few decades that it is just a part of life--to buy things on credit and take out loans as needed/wanted. But we haven't been taught the repercussions of living this way. Most Americans have debt and to an extent that it seems like a dream to imagine not living life from paycheck to paycheck. Dave teaches that aside from purchasing a house, nothing should be purchased that you don't pay for up front.
We've learned to have a totally new outlook on finances and the possibilities for our financial future. I'll be honest though...living life on a budget....it's not easy and it's not fun. But the results are beyond worth it, and that's what keeps us on track.
We are so thankful for the principles we've learned from Dave's program. I would very highly recommend this program to anyone, or at least recommend to take the time to learn from Dave's principles. You can check it out here.
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