Raise Your Glass!

Okay, so I admit, I'm a huge Pink fan. Her lyrics (although crude & often unnecessary) always have a deeper, heartfelt meaning & the beat to her songs always make me want to workout harder or run faster or in this case ... raise my glass.

So, what's the dealio?

Shad & I did it (well, God did). We are debt-free! Uh huh, no car payments, no credit card payments, & no student loan payments. (We do still have a mortgage payment, but for the sake of having a celebration, that doesn't count right now.)

So, don't be fancy, just get dancey! (You've gotta know the song)

Anyway, how'd we do it? Well, as I had mentioned in previous posts, I read Dave Ramsey's book, The Total Money Makeover late in 2008. Shad had been trying super hard to talk finances with me for 11 years prior to that & had no luck. I'd just cry (go figure) because I felt there was no hope. We'd never win the battle because no one in America wins the battle. You live with debt because that's just what Americans do & if you can't afford it, you don't say no - you slap it on the plastic! (Or so that's what I thought.)

And probably $30k in credit card debit, 2 car payments & 2 degrees later + a mortgage, I had finally decided to sit & listen ... to someone else first ... Dave Ramsey. Then, I decided to let Shad in on the secret ... that I was ready to listen to him.

I don't think Shad could have been more elated. It definitely takes two to tango when it comes to buckling down to a budget. It has been a tough year & a half, but they say a habit forms only after 30 days, so as time passed it became easier to avoid the mall. And after ~540 days, I can say that although it was tough, it was well worth it. As Dave says, "Live now like no one else so you can live like no one else later."

We're not exactly where we want to be in order to be "living like no one else" on the flip side of all this. We do still have a mortgage to pay off & a bigger savings to build, but what an accomplishment. Dave would be proud.

So, won't you come on, and come on & RAISE YOUR GLASS for me!