Hi everyone!
You may have noticed that the activity on EOD has been very minimal. This will change I promise. I have been busy doing preliminary training for the half-marathon I plan to run in April. Boy do I have some work to do. Out of shape is the understatement of the year. I am also not happy with my set up here and have had trouble learning how to change the things that bug me. On top of that I am trying as hard as I can to become super gazelle so we can knock out the rest of our debt.
What happens when past decisions and disorganization come back to haunt you?
We hit a snag with our debt snowball. We started with $7,000 according to our records and my progress chart that I posted last week. We were even able to pay off almost $900 in November. That’s the good news! The bad news is this. We found out (again), that we had another $2,000 in student loans. I say again because this happened before when we were down to what we thought was $5,000. At that time, we got our loan statement and it had the full amount. We were so disorganized when we got the loans we didn’t keep track of what we got and when. Some money was used to pay for books and tuition and we didn’t keep track of any of it.
The truth is we had no idea how much we borrowed and more importantly could not begin to tell you where it all went. This was of course pre-dave. The additional $2,000 was directly from the community college apart from the other balance we knew about. I thought this amount was added to the $5,000 and the records were billed together. Not the case. So now we owe slightly over $8,100. This amount is FINAL! This time we double checked. I will update my progress chart soon.
Why am I telling you this?
I am telling you this because this is the perfect example of how our old ways of handling money have come back to haunt us. We didn’t have a plan or ANY accountability whatsoever. We were normal as Dave Ramsey would say. Normal is RIGHT! We didn’t tell our money where to go so it got up and left.
Start NOW! Do a budget and have a plan. Use envelopes and keep track of every single penny. This is hard to do and we struggle with it at times. Our nature tells us to act on impulse because that is what makes us happy, at least temporarily. Real happiness is knowing that your family is on the right path. Real happiness is not being in debt to every company that wants to throw money your way. Real happiness is not in the stuff you acquire along the way. It is in your heart and contentment is its driving force.
So what makes you happy?
Does living paycheck to paycheck make you happy? Does making larger than you can afford house payments make you happy? Does that really nice car payment parked in your driveway make you happy? Do your credit card bills make you smile each month? Be honest with yourself!
What is contentment?
Contentment is having a plan. Contentment is having a house that you can truly afford. Contentment is driving a car that simply gets you from the driveway to your destination safely. Contentment is having 3/6 months of expenses saved up, a retirement plan in place, money being set aside for kids college, and having the option to actually build wealth without struggle. Contentment is being able to GIVE without restraint and fear. Are you content?
Do your budget!
Click on the NERD below to start budgeting today. Read some of my older articles. Become a gazelle so that you can prepare your family for whatever is thrown your way.
Thanks for your patience! I will try to make this site better and better in the future. Look forward to easier navigation, improved content, and a completely different set up. Thanks!
