The marathon to freedom from debt has, once again, begun. We have, in the past, started our journey and stalled out. However, this time, it feels different. Maybe it's the baby that's coming - maybe it's wanting to change our family tree so that our children don't have to struggle with the issues we're struggling with now (cough, cough, SALLIEMAE). Whatever the reason, this time, we really feel the fire burning. We hope and pray we can keep it burning intensely day in and day out for the rest of our lives. This blog will be about our journey to financial freedom: freedom from debt, no longer being a slave to money (having our money own us), and learning to spend, give, and manage our finances with wisdom from the Lord. Of course, this is an extremely personal and sensitive subject - but John and I have thought about this and really feel the desire to share our story, hoping that in doing so, we will be encouraged and encourage others as well. So, here goes!
The beginning, a very good place to start
A little (financial) background on the both of us to fill you in. John and I are both college graduates from OU. John, graduating in 5 years (2006) and myself graduating in 8 (2007). We didn't plan ahead for school, or at least the part where you pay for it, and both came out with, yes, you guessed it, student loans. John's were less than mine (do the math, people, 5 years vs. 8) and he was able to pay for some of his schooling outright with jobs and help from his family. I, on the other hand, never wrote one check to a school until AFTER I graduated. I did, however, receive a few Pell grants along the way. Let's just say, I was NOT smart with money. Did I mention I attended 4 different schools? Yikes, that's a lot of money! When I did get my loans, they were never enough to cover me for the semester and this resulted in my turning to private loans to fulfill the remaining tuition costs and money to just live. Additionally, I had family helping me pay my rent and feed me. And I had a job (except for the last couple of years). It's how I managed what I did have available to me that makes me sick. While I wasn't one of those students who went out and bought a house with her student loans (yes, people really do this), I did buy so many frivolous things in that 8 year time span. Talk about regret! I never looked far enough down the road. Not that people didn't warn me, more that I just didn't listen. And, wow, I really hope my kids won't be as stupid as I was! I won't disclose the exact amount we owe, but I will say that it is a 6-figure number. Shocked? We were! I knew it was going to be bad when I graduated, I just had not imagined it to this extent. And you can imagine the salary of a nurse doesn't make up for all those years I took out loans to get that BSN. Add these loans, plus our cars, plus the credit card balance that never seems to budge, plus a house, and it's a big fat mess! Oh, and did I mention we're expecting our first child in June? Things HAVE to change. Living paycheck to paycheck is no longer and option (and should never have been in the first place, by the way). So, how do we go about changing the way we handle and view our money? How do we become these responsible adults our parents always wanted us to be?
We have a budget. We have a plan. And we have Dave Ramsey (actually, we have the first two because of Dave Ramsey). We are currently working through his program, Financial Peace University. We've done this before and it has helped us in the past, but we decided we really needed a refresher to get us back on track where we need to be with our finances. It's so discouraging when you do your taxes and see that you've made all of this money and.....where did it go?? We start by giving every dollar a name and telling it where to go. Owning our money and not letting our money own us. Another thing we've started doing is paying cash for everything. Gas, food, you name it. If we don't have the cash set aside for it, we can't have it. One reason for this is paying in cash HURTS! It's so easy to swipe a card and lose track of how much you've spent in an hour, day, week, etc. It's also a great visual for you to actually see where your money is going. Do I really need that extra (-)? More often than not, the answer is "no", you don't need it. You may really, really want it. But odds are you'll be just fine without whatever "it" is. Nobody really WANTS to be on a budget, but they want the results of being on one - a nice house, a nice car you can pay for in cash, other fun "toys", great vacations. Think of it like a diet. You want the results but no one actually wants to diet. You know it's good for you and you feel better when you do it and incorporate it, making it a lifestyle change instead of a momentary change. So why is it so hard? Dave says it's a "dessert first" mentality that we've adapted - we love to microwave things and have what we want right then, consequences be damned! This has gotten us all into a lot of trouble! No, you don't deserve that new car, but you get it anyway because, well, you can get a loan for it, so why not? Do you really want to spend the rest of your life owing other people your hard earned money? I sure hope not. We don't. Another one of my favorite quotes by DR is "Children do what feels good; adults devise a plan and follow it". How many of us live by this, I wonder? I'm sure by the end of this blog, you'll be tired of my talking about Dave Ramsey this and Dave Ramsey that. But it helps me. It helps us.
In the weeks and months to come, We hope to share more with you about our journey toward freedom from debt and the bumps along the way. We're in a valley right now, as Dave's wife, Sharon, says, but on the other side, there's a beautiful mountain and sunshine.
Faithfully,
The Culbreaths
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