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!
In a previous post, or perhaps when you and I were talking on the phone, you asked the question, "After all this financial adjustment, when will we be able to live?" I suggested that you are living each and every day with each passing moment, which you knew, in reality. We both understood that you were referring to a time when your financial security would be solid enough that you would have freedom and peace in your decision making, experience joy, even fun. I would suggest that as of this post, you and Nicole are in fact "living" now! Wonderful!
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome post! This truly shows the reality of the new life - in living free. We talk about it, teach about it, learn about it,....but you guys lived it out this past week. Thank you for your generous gift of honesty. I am inspired to continue to live free and stand by your side on this great journey!
ReplyDeleteWhen we finish Baby Step 3 (Emergency Fund of 3-6 months expenses) maybe I'll stop feeling like a budget nazi!
ReplyDelete