Dandelions and Daydreams

Well we got our first challenge to financial peace. It’s a hard one too. For Brenton and me, family is just about the most important thing on this earth. Two of his brothers (and a sister-in-law) are meeting up in Colorado later this month. I’m sure the plan was to have a mini-family reunion. It hurts to say “No, we can’t make it. We are getting out of debt.” It had to be a hard challenge on the first try. I have to remind myself that we are doing this now so we don’t have to live like everyone else (paycheck to paycheck) for the rest of our lives. I am focusing on what we have right now and what we will be able to do with our money when we are out of debt.

Money problems are the number one factor listed in divorces in America today. By getting out of debt now (and refusing to go into debt ever again) we are significantly improving our chances of marital success for life. With the divorce rate rediculously high, there is something that is worth living like no one else for.

Last night my father-in-law called and was grieved about our debt. Yeah, I would rather be out of debt rather than $50,000 in the hole, but when I look at what we went to debt over, I’m not ashamed of it. Most of that is in student loans for Brenton and me. Knowing what I know now, if I could do it again I would go to a local college and get HOPE to pay for it. I still don’t regret my student loans. There is no way I could have gone to LU without taking student loans. At least I couldn’t do it and finish in any sort of reasonable amount of time. If I hadn’t gone to LU my life right now would be totally different. I cannot even begin to imagine where I would be right now if I had gone to college somewhere else. I can tell you that I would not be married to the best husband in the world and I think it’s a safe bet I wouldn’t be living in Idaho. I don’t think I would have a bad life if I hadn’t gone to LU, but it would be so different than the one I have that I really cannot imagine it.

I am not ashamed of the debt we have. At least it’s not $50,000 in credit card debts. Okay, so we probably should have bought a used car or waited until we could pay for it with cash, but we are saving enough money in gas to almost make the minimum car payments each month. No, really, I mean that. We were paying $250 per month just for gas on my truck to do minimal driving. Now we can drive twice as far on half the gas. Our car literally gets 3 times better gas mileage that my truck. We could sell my truck…but that’s my truck!

All things accounted for, we are where we are and that’s where we are starting from. Barring an emergency, we will dig our way out of debt from this point and find ourselves independent.

Whenever you make a commitment, I think God tests you. As of today, it’s official. Both our CD and DVD drives on the computer are not reading CD’s. One thing I am trying really hard to do is figure out non-traditional methods for solving a problem. If I was at LU, I would just send out a notice that I need a CD burner and get a used one from some friend for cheap.

Still trying to figure out how to survive in the real world

“In 10 years you will be the same person you are now, except for the books you read and the people you know.” –Dave Ramsey

We have about $50,000 in debt. Most of it is student loans. In about a month our small group is starting Financial Peace University. Brenton and I are getting a jump on it. We are ready to be free. The borrower is slave to the lender. I don’t want to be anybody’s slave. I want freedom.

I posted a few pictures on the door of our computer cabinet. An airplane, a Victorian home, today I am going to find a picture of a baby that needs adoption. We have big dreams that we can’t accomplish if we live like the rest of America.

Dave says, “Live like no one else, so you can live like no one else.”

I am going to start posting here about our progress, struggles, and setbacks. I need a cheap hobby. As of tonight the hobby money is gone for a while.

I guess I never posted that we got a new car. Well, we bout a 2006 Kia Rio (pictures to come soon). In 4 weeks we have put 3000 miles on it including our Columbus Day weekend trip to Glacier National Park.

The trip and several plane tickets later (for some trips coming up later) and money is a little tight. No big deal though. I’ve got a plan. It’s an alternative savings plan called, “Don’t go to walmart”.

The way I see it, if I don’t see it I won’t buy it. So no more wally world for me.