Live Like No One Else

"Live like no one else, so you can live like no one else." 

For anyone who is a Dave Ramsey fan or regular listener is nodding affirmatively right now. Dave Ramsey is one of the most recognizable financial guys in the industry right now - and not because he knows how to make money (which he does), but because he knows how to teach people to get out of debt and use wisdom and responsibility to bring about financial peace in everyday life. 

Strom and I are currently attending a Financial Peace University workshop at our church and have really been enjoying it. Thankfully, we are in a good place with our finances (that is unless the world collapses and the dollar is worthless, then we're ALL in trouble...but I won't go there today!). But as all married people know, money is a sore subject between a husband and a wife, so we wanted to nip that one in the bud and get on the same page - before we were ripping pages left and right out of spite! Although being on a Dave Ramsey budget sucks, we have clear boundaries and goals in the near and distant future.   

The debt problem in this nation (and the world for that matter) is atrocious. In our FPU class (approximately 35 people) alone, there is an estimated $7 million in debt held by the attendees. Million!! Debt is not a privileged, but a product. A product of living outside our means as a people. Of thinking that we can place that purchase on a credit card and worry about it later. Well, later is now - especially as a nation. I don't know if you follow the state of our economy or not, but it's bad. Really bad. We're so in debt up to our eyeballs that we'll never see the light of day. And as individuals and as a family unit, we're not much better. Did you know that 25% of families have a negative net worth? Or that 33% of people owe more on their car than it is worth? More young adults file for bankruptcy than graduate from college. Do you see a problem here? Here are a few facts to digest:

• The total American consumer debt is more than $2.7 trillion.
• There are over 1.3 billion credit cards in circulation in America.
• The credit card industry mails out over 6 billion credit card offers each year, sending an average of 6 offers a month to each American household 
• The credit card industry takes in $43 billion per year in additional, unexpected fees from the consumer, such as late payment, over-the-limit, and balance transfer fees. Late fees alone bring in more than $11 billion.
• The average balance per credit card-holding household is more than $9,300
• Overall, American households spend over $412 billion in credit card charges each year. 

I could go on and on here. We as a nation are a slave to our debt. We can't think outside the box and see a life without that plastic. Our culture and society praise credit as something that is great to have and to use, but did you know that even Henry Ford hated debt? Sears once believed that "buying on credit is folly," and our founding fathers praised frugality. The founder of JCPenny was often known as James "Cash" Penny. These people got it! They understood the danger of credit. Credit = debt. It's hard to see it in such a light, but when Dave Ramsey is yelling at you with such intensity and clarity, it all somehow clicks. 

Wouldn't it be nice to know every dollar coming in and know where it belonged? Wouldn't you find peace in seeing your budget balance? (ahh such a terrifying 'B' word!). I don't know about you, but I hate standing at the grocery store check out swimming in guilt because I don't know if I'm spending rent money on the food, or buying clothes when maybe we need to pay the utilities first... Whatever the reason, the guilt is hardly there when you have a budget! Yeah, it sucks at first, but you get used to it! And when you see the money staying around a bit longer, you realize how easy it is to save! It's pretty simple, people. 

Dave Ramsey breaks the whole process down into 7 Baby Steps, but I will just start with the first 3 (since we haven't reached the next 4 yet!): 

Step 1: Get $1,000 into an emergency fund. (You won't need to go to that credit card if something goes wrong, you just pull the money from your fund. That's why it's there).

Step 2: Pay off all debt except the house utilizing the debt snowball (take the FPU course, look for the snowball technique online. However you do it, do it!).

Step 3: Set up 3-6 months of expenses in savings (life happens, be prepared. You won't need your plastic if you're prepared!).

Once you have your life under control... You can start to dream. Sometimes on the drive home from FPU, Strom and I will dream about the things we would love to have some day. They seem a bit far off, and perhaps we'll never have the chance to achieve them... But I promise you this, we're going to do it the right way and save our little butts off for them.

What are some of my dreams, you ask? Well... It'll take forever, but I'm dreaming of lenses. My wish list includes a Canon 50mm f1.2, a 70-200 f2.8L, and a 24mm f1.4. Yup, I'm that girl! =) 

And of course... a house to call our own. Renting is fine, but I dream of the day where I can paint my walls. And I wouldn't object if it looks something like this: 

With a kitchen that looked like one of these: 

And maybe a trip to here: (That's Ireland, by the way!)

(Insert giggling here ___ Because I realize how silly this part seems. But I'm dreaming here, so let me dream!) 

So! We are going to honor God with our finances and live like no one else (even when it's less than fun) so we can one day live like no one else! I challenge you to check it out and do the same. 

 "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender." - Proverbs 22:6-7