Random
The past couple days I've been spending too much time reading other peoples' blogs and neglecting my own:o) A lot has been going on, and I've got a lot on my mind right now...so this post will be a hodge-podge. Bear with me:o)
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Razorbackmama said:
I hear ya on the debt!!! Ei yi yi!!! Most of it is from student loans (my dh is a veterinarian), but STILL!!!!!Have you ever looked into The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey? We are wanting to start doing it.
Then she said:
OK so like I'm a goober. I just noticed that you have Dave Ramsey's site linked on your sidebar. LOL!!!!!!
Yes, I do...and I'm glad she brought it up, because I've been wanting to mention him for a while now! We discovered him about a year ago now, when we picked up his book at 75% OFF Books for about $3 because it looked interesting. It was the best $3 we've ever spent. Considering now how much he's helped us, I would have paid full-price three times over!
Dave Ramsey has so much common sense that he seems radical. For us, it was a wake-up call! We had been devouring books about business and how start one (a long-time dream for us), most of which were advocating debt as a tool to build wealth. I felt uncomfortable with this, but it seemed like the only way. We were also being eaten up by the debt we had already accumulated. Not that we were crazy or extravagant spenders...but we did use debt to pay for school (bad!) and to get us through some lean times (bad bad!). We figured that if we could start the business, that could hopefully earn us enough to pay off the debts we had. Ramsey gave us a smack and made us realize that you can't dig yourself out of debt with more debt (duh!).
Due to a period of unemployment and our current situation with Micah's job (he is in the tough beginning stages of a new private-contractor type position in New Homes Inspection), we have not gotten as far on the plan as we would have liked. But we have succeeded thus far in our commitment to not take out any new debt (No new debt at all during the past year!) and we have paid off a couple of the smallest debts. We are planning all future purchases and business start-ups on a cash-only basis. As I mentioned before, we now have plans to live on Micah's income and pay off debt with mine. As Micah's income grows, we plan to throw some of his on the debt pile as well.
For those who have debt (including the basic usuals, like car loans) or want a finances tune-up, I can't recommend Dave Ramsey enough. He has a national weekday radio show, along with his books. Visit his website.
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Nichola said:
I hate to but I just had to make a comment about your internet. In my circumstance, where we don't make a monthly income because we are farmers, we decided to go for the slow internet. Plus we live in the country and the lines are not new. (Read: Hard to connect sometimes.) However, we pay $9.99 a month. That is for 50 hours of service. I am very happy with dial-up when I compare that with the $40-50 bills my friends pay. 50 hrs is plenty of time usually. If I am on more than that a month then I shouldn't be anyway.Just thought I would throw that idea in the pot for you.:-)
Thanks, Nichola...you're certainly right! Dial-up is cheaper! We've just gotten high-speed since we moved into our new home...always before, we had dial-up. This, for us, is our one "luxury". We don't have cable TV, hardly go out anywhere expensive, etc, so this is our little splurge. Micah found a good deal on a phone line / high-speed internet combo, so we went for it. We plan to use it for our home business ventures, so it will be practical as well. If it gets to be a financial drain to our budget we will consider canceling it.
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I wanted to mention something cool that happened at work today. My boss and I were talking, and she was showing an interest in things going on in my life. I didn't outright state it, but she must have derived that I am a Christian. She said: "I'm a Christian, too. And so are "H" and "A"--two other co-workers. I had guessed this, from observance, but it was neat that she wasn't afraid to share! We then talked about faith, church, ministry, homeschooling (she has two nieces who are) and even relationships. She's an older single, and is looking for a guy who will want to be involved in ministry at Church and who will want to be the spiritual leader in the marriage. She also hopes to be able to work from home using her writing, so she certainly supports that I have the same dream. She has been giving me a bunch of information about writers conferences, etc, to encourage me! I am glad to learn that God has placed me under a woman at work who is a Christian and a kindred spirit:o)
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Razorbackmama said:
I hear ya on the debt!!! Ei yi yi!!! Most of it is from student loans (my dh is a veterinarian), but STILL!!!!!Have you ever looked into The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey? We are wanting to start doing it.
Then she said:
OK so like I'm a goober. I just noticed that you have Dave Ramsey's site linked on your sidebar. LOL!!!!!!
Yes, I do...and I'm glad she brought it up, because I've been wanting to mention him for a while now! We discovered him about a year ago now, when we picked up his book at 75% OFF Books for about $3 because it looked interesting. It was the best $3 we've ever spent. Considering now how much he's helped us, I would have paid full-price three times over!
Dave Ramsey has so much common sense that he seems radical. For us, it was a wake-up call! We had been devouring books about business and how start one (a long-time dream for us), most of which were advocating debt as a tool to build wealth. I felt uncomfortable with this, but it seemed like the only way. We were also being eaten up by the debt we had already accumulated. Not that we were crazy or extravagant spenders...but we did use debt to pay for school (bad!) and to get us through some lean times (bad bad!). We figured that if we could start the business, that could hopefully earn us enough to pay off the debts we had. Ramsey gave us a smack and made us realize that you can't dig yourself out of debt with more debt (duh!).
Due to a period of unemployment and our current situation with Micah's job (he is in the tough beginning stages of a new private-contractor type position in New Homes Inspection), we have not gotten as far on the plan as we would have liked. But we have succeeded thus far in our commitment to not take out any new debt (No new debt at all during the past year!) and we have paid off a couple of the smallest debts. We are planning all future purchases and business start-ups on a cash-only basis. As I mentioned before, we now have plans to live on Micah's income and pay off debt with mine. As Micah's income grows, we plan to throw some of his on the debt pile as well.
For those who have debt (including the basic usuals, like car loans) or want a finances tune-up, I can't recommend Dave Ramsey enough. He has a national weekday radio show, along with his books. Visit his website.
--------------------------------------
Nichola said:
I hate to but I just had to make a comment about your internet. In my circumstance, where we don't make a monthly income because we are farmers, we decided to go for the slow internet. Plus we live in the country and the lines are not new. (Read: Hard to connect sometimes.) However, we pay $9.99 a month. That is for 50 hours of service. I am very happy with dial-up when I compare that with the $40-50 bills my friends pay. 50 hrs is plenty of time usually. If I am on more than that a month then I shouldn't be anyway.Just thought I would throw that idea in the pot for you.:-)
Thanks, Nichola...you're certainly right! Dial-up is cheaper! We've just gotten high-speed since we moved into our new home...always before, we had dial-up. This, for us, is our one "luxury". We don't have cable TV, hardly go out anywhere expensive, etc, so this is our little splurge. Micah found a good deal on a phone line / high-speed internet combo, so we went for it. We plan to use it for our home business ventures, so it will be practical as well. If it gets to be a financial drain to our budget we will consider canceling it.
-----------------------------------------
I wanted to mention something cool that happened at work today. My boss and I were talking, and she was showing an interest in things going on in my life. I didn't outright state it, but she must have derived that I am a Christian. She said: "I'm a Christian, too. And so are "H" and "A"--two other co-workers. I had guessed this, from observance, but it was neat that she wasn't afraid to share! We then talked about faith, church, ministry, homeschooling (she has two nieces who are) and even relationships. She's an older single, and is looking for a guy who will want to be involved in ministry at Church and who will want to be the spiritual leader in the marriage. She also hopes to be able to work from home using her writing, so she certainly supports that I have the same dream. She has been giving me a bunch of information about writers conferences, etc, to encourage me! I am glad to learn that God has placed me under a woman at work who is a Christian and a kindred spirit:o)
posted by Erin | 6:57 PM
1 Comments:
Dollface, I'm big-time proud of you for working to deep-six your debt. Dave's plan makes tons of sense, doesn't it? Thanks for spreading the debt-free word. Good luck and great job, baby! www.debtective.com
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