Financial Freedom for the New Year

Start the new year with financial freedom! These are the tools that David and I used to become debt free with a 5 year plan to pay off our 30 year mortgage! 

We may have drove a really ugly truck for a while, however that sacrifice and others have changed our mindset forever, and soon we will be mortgage free to. This is by far the best decision we have made for our family.  One that has freed us from being a slave to the lender.

Most of the information is free, he has books as well and his radio show on KMJNOW from 11a-2p or you can live stream it  at the Dave Ramsey web page.

What an amazing freeing feeling we have to be cash only, save to buy new car with cash, investing, build a retirement, debt free college for our kiddo, and build a legacy for our daughter that she may never know debt. These were concepts that were always foreign to us, however now this is our reality.  Our income didn't change but our ideals changed.  

Today begin your journey.  This can be done at ANY income level... BE FREE!

http://www.daveramsey.com/category/tools/

Insurance

This whole insurance thing scares so me... how do you know what to get. And life insurance is just really insane, because of my disabilities, and other factors, it is high. Right now it is too high while we are paying off bills so I am trying to find alternatives.

I was looking at Mortgage insurance but it is kindof a rip off, because the monthly fee never goes down but the value of the policy goes down. But maybe it would be okay for the short term. I hate to waste money, but I am afraid to go on any further and be not covered. So today I am going to call in to the Dave Ramsey radio show and get his opinion on this. I will update this this afternoon....

My first card

I still remember my first credit card... it was a citibank card and I was at COS and they had there little card table set up, and I was snared. It wasn't even hard for them. I was only 19-20 I had an apartment with a friend, that I couldn't afford so my husband-to-be (as it turned out) was paying for it.

So of course I could get a card, and did you know they gave me a $2000 dollar limit. I mean me, I was bringing home maybe $200 a month! I was excited and of course, I put it away for emergencies, like shoes, and pizza. But no worries cause every time I got to my max limit, you know those nice people raised my credit limit, so I wouldn't have to worry. But that doesn't really end there because after I got married, I still found myself enamored by credit cards. I felt grown up, like I was officially an adult. I would be at the mall and see those credit card tables with free items, and I would plow people over just to get in and fill it out.

Soon, the debt was very high. We were losing control, and several years later as we stood in bankruptcy court worried that someone was going to show up, that credit card card had grown to over $20,000... yes there are 5 digits there... I really did hate to see that go, but maybe it is more about failure than it is loyalty. Maybe if I can hold on a little more then I could fix this mess I made.

But that was a long time ago, and unfortunately not the last of my financial mistakes, and now we are on track for greener pastures.

Money & kids

This new vision is something I want to ensure that our kiddo not only knows but that it is a way of life. No student loans, credit cars, saving up for a car and not buying into credit card debt, and maybe just maybe even paying for a house with cash. Doesn't that sound a little ridiculous, I thought so too, however, I hear about it quite often now... now that I have opened my ears to it. We have been told for so long that we must save for a down payment, buy a car with no money down, get a credit card and make regular payments, preserve your credit score, that we know no different. But we are determined to change that for her, to ensure that her life is different, and better, save your money for a car, save your money for that new furniture, be patient and your reward is that your life will never be chained down to another person, and the economy will survive. Because the economy is not dependent upon your credit card, it is dependent upon your ability to spend responsible.

When I think about what I learned from my parents growing up, there is not much to write about. We were very poor, lived off welfare, "government cheese", and other such things. So saving wasn't at the top of the list, if there was a list. Not to say they didn't try, I was raised by my grandparents, and the were disabled and retired, and struggled. But they tried, God love em' Not a cycle I wish to repeat.

Marriage and money? oi!

So we are working on Marriage and money. This topic is quite touchy some say it is the number one reason for divorce, which is very scary considering a future with the person you love is hinged on a checkbook. I don't think so... instead I wonder if it is the lack of communication or a plan concerning finances, and a secure future. How far can we go in a boat without a navigation system, or at least a compass.

One of the topics covered in this lesson was separate checking accounts. I hear about many couples who keep separate accounts, bills, even divvy up household expenses. That concept is something I couldn't see working in our household. I feel like that would also drive separation within the marriage, once you begin to tear a sheet of paper, it is weakened, and soon will begin to further split, maybe into 2 pieces. Now that we budget for entertainment and pocket money, I feel like I get to spend a little more freely, a little more equally (I'm a shopper).

Recently, I also posted our additional paid off debt. I have learned that it is now exciting to not only pay off debt but to close those accounts, checking the mail daily waiting for the letter of closure. I am however resisting the urge to frame them, my child does have friends, and I would like for them to not think that I am completely nuts (or at least know the truth). When I think about our communication style for money, I am happy that they have generally not been screaming matches, and we have been on the same page, however it was the wrong page! We never had financial goals other than, how to spend spend spend, and also finagle being able to run out and buy something that we wanted. With our budget in place I see our path and future, and it does feel secure, even clear.

FPU Quick Update!

We have paid off another credit card! Its so exciting we are on track and going, even in the face of Murphy standing on our doorstep a time or two!

New concept.... saving for emergencies and purchases! What is up with all this crazy talk!

Saving for emergencies AND purchases! I don't know, that seems foreign somehow. Who plans for emergencies anyhow, isn't that what insurance is for.... oh wait we're not talking about ambulances? You mean put money away so the next time you look at your tires, and determine that they must have made a mistake at the tire shop 8 years ago, and accidently put on racing skids!

I think our idea, and probably most peoples idea of an emergency fund is... pray like mad until something gives, or a loan shark... eh hem I mean loan company comes along and "helps". So here we are at class, and some questions are put forth. What was the last major unexpected financial crisis you face? How would that have gone differently is there was... gasp... money in a savings account?

Well I think the last major one was when I lost my job, our shop, and the car in the same quarter. Well that was quite the zinger, not to say that there was no other crisis, but when I think major that is what appears. So had we discovered Dave Ramsey earlier, and we had a fully funded emergency fund, it wouldn't have been so devastating. You know like being punched in the stomach and just for kicks rip out the carpet from your feet so it was easier to kick you in the ribs cause your flat on your back... oh sorry rambling a little.

Maybe things would have been different altogether, you know saved up cash for the car instead of financing, or at the very least, rather than panic about those events, taken a deep breathe, and thought about the next step, rather than run around like a crazy person.

Now my favorite questions are "dream big ones" you know what would you do if you won the lottery! Well I am a little small town so I am okay with this one: What if you were debt free (except your home) and had $10,000 sitting in the bank just for emergencies? How would your life be different? How would you be different?

Dreams would come true... I would be sitting in my studio downtown, throwing and firing all day beautiful pottery and sculptures, painting on occasion. Selling my art and maybe others too, but at a bargain so that everyone can see it. Then go home wait for my family to come home, cook dinner, and enjoy seeing them, and hanging out. Thinking about this for a moment makes me smile. I get excited, cause in a short time and with these little goals my husband and I have acheived already, I think that this is reality, this can actually happen. This is motivation! This I can do. I would never get a loan again, and in fact when I think about this little dream I start rolling around numbers in my head thinking... how much do I need to put away to make this happen, what can I do to acheive this goal and how long will it work.

This new thought process is funny because when I would think of this before I would think to myself, how can I crunch the numbers for the bank, how can I convince them to loan me the money. This concept of paying cash and saving for things is not extreme thinking anymore, just different thinking. I hear the testimonies on the radio everyday. This is real cause right now it's happening to us, little by little we are progressing from the depths of financial despair to financial freedom.

This is awesome!

Big dose of Financial reality or Financial Peace University lesson 1

Today is lesson one of financial peace university. It was relatively easy to go through, the layout was very nice, easy to use. I had video issues, but learned it was because I had left a ton of stuff on my desktop running in the background.

So far we are off to a good start, the emergency fund is in place. Though we had to dip into it, it is nice knowing that it was there, no panic! We will have to budget tonite and be ready to stay on path.

I had an ah-ha moment today when I was looking at quickbooks... it seems we really eat out alot, now I consider ubakes and as well or anything like that, not fully prepared by me as dining out. it is my weakness.. my solution is to time manage better and to cook better meals, or some that kind of similiar to what we get when we go out. Maybe I will even squeeze in some healthier stuff!

So though tonite will be boring and busy, I look forward to moving through these steps to financial freedom!

Financial Peace... the experience

Dave Ramsey has been a blessed discovery in our lives, and during veterans day, they gave a way to all veterans a free 16 week course to the Financial peace online class! My husband and I are both veterans of the United States Marine Corp and I am excited to start this session.

I decided that I will be posting my experience of taking this class on this blog, now I won't be posting the class, however I will be posting the experience as I process this new direction in our lives. I am excited that we will be able to teach this to our daughter so that by the time she becomes an adult, she will have a strong foundation to begin her life.