Cole Speaks (Writes)

So, people have been reading this and I bet they are wondering, how is the wife REALLY going along with all this? So, I thought I would add my two cents. Yes, this is Nicole posting this time! Kinda scary. Dan is definitely the writer in this family.

Some people may think only a crazy person would do such things like cut up your credit cards or put yourself on a $10 a week budget. Well, I never said I was normal. Like Dave Ramsey says, “If you live like no one else, later you can live like no one else.” I have really learned to love that quote.

It is true, at one point, we put our selves on a $10 a week budget. This was not for the necessities. We did have a budget for household items that we needed to live, but our $10 was if we wanted to go out for lunch or buy something that we really did not need. After some time had passed, I had a big fat envelope and I thought, this is stupid. I am not spending this money so why do I keep taking it out of the bank when I can keep it in the bank to make interest. See, this is how I think. I am the saver, Dan is the spender. Until now!

For years I have wanted to do this. I was never a typical woman who loved to shop. Don’t get me wrong, I do like nice things and I would not turn down a new outfit, but I need my security first. As I was growing up I saw many people struggle with money. Everyone had “too much month at the end of the money.” I said I never want to be like that. I always saved for those “what ifs.” There were many times Dan called me a money hoarder. So after meeting Barry Cameron, and listening to Dave Ramsey I feel like I have brought Dan over to my side! No, he is not a money hoarder with me, but we have found a good balance and are on our way to being financially free.

I admit there are some hard things, like the credit card. I did not think this would be hard for me, but it is. We have always had two credit cards. One was a Discover card. This is what I used all the time, and the other was a Master Card because every now and then I would go somewhere that would not accept Discover. We always paid them off every month. I don’t understand why, if I had the money, I needed to charge it instead of just paying cash. But like everyone does in our culture, I’d charge it. Canceling the Master Card was easy because I didn’t use it. But the Discover is a hard one. It goes back to that security thing I mentioned before. Oh, and did I mention I don’t like change. But I am not using that card now. I am using cash or my debit card. I think I need to reassure myself that this is ok before I can cut that card.

So to sum up on how I really feel about all this. To all the wives out there, you really can change your husbands! With a little help from God of course:).

Our Peace Tested

Something happened this week that would test Cole and I's financial peace. Do we really have peace or does it just sound good to say. On Thursday morning Cole was told by her boss that they might have to cut her down to just 3 days a week. At first there was a twinge of momentary panick. After taking a minute to gather her thoughts she called to let me know what was going on. I too had an instant panic race through me. Her income was just cut by 40% starting next week. Can we pay the bills?

You see we had been living so close to "the Edge" of finiancial chaos for so long that our minds instantly triggered a negative reaction to this news. Over the last year we've backed away from "The Edge." In just a minute or so we both realized that this could be a blessing.

First of all, we have an emergency fund. Thanks to Dave Ramsey's advice we have about 3 months of living expenses saved for emergencies. We are working our way up to 6 months but as it sits we have about 3 months. We could continue at our current spending for months before that ran out. Her boss was thinking this would only be for a couple of weeks to maybe a month. They had some work coming in starting in April and then things would return to normal. It was beginning to look like a vacation and not a lay-off.

Second, we have been saving 14% of our total income every month or about 32% of Cole's income. Chances are we wouldn't even have to touch our emergency fund, but rather just slow up our savings rate and maybe trim the budget back a bit more. Couple that with Cole not driving the 100 or so extra miles and we'd save in fuel as well. We were starting to like the sound of a 3 day work week.

Lastly, as we talked through it, we felt that Cole getting a couple of days off every week would be really helpful. She's been running like crazy for a few weeks now and could use a break. The extra couple of days would allow her to catch up on some things and mostly just relax for a bit. We were beginning to view this as a gift and not a tragedy. There would still be some things to work out but, it was not an emergency. Proving Dave Ramsey correct once again, that when you have the emergency fund in place, suddenly you have a lot fewer emergencies.

About the time we had made our peace with the situation her boss changed his mind. During the course of the day a couple of new jobs came in and then one big contract was signed and he decided against the 3 day week. We were actually disappointed. I am very glad this came up though. It really showed us that we do have Financial Peace. We are living a little more free and becoming more freed up everyday. The principles we've been following are working. Many thanks to Dave Ramsey, Barry Cameron, and the Live Free Team at Church for their teaching, support, and encouragement as we journey together!