Screaming on Dave Ramsey

Around three or four years ago, we discovered Dave Ramsey. We attended Financial Peace University, a class which contains very good advice on managing expenses and getting out of debt. We agreed with the ideas, but it was difficult changing our habits on our own. So, two years later, we hired a personal financial counselor for six months. He helped us tremendously by evaluating our personal financial situation, showing us our "stinking thinking" in some areas, and challenging us to shift our paradigms where acquiring payments is concerned. (I can still hear that guy in my head, which is a good thing.) At that point, we rededicated ourselves to paying off credit card debt, which had gotten to $17,000. Throw in our car note, and the total at the time was $21,000 actually it was more like $25,000 with the car note-- little math error there. Read my previous personal finance posts here.

Anyhoo, all that background to say-- we are still working toward freedom from financial debt. We listen to Dave's show whenever it is on and we are in the van, and just love hearing people tell their stories and scream, "We're debt free!" with their families. We want to be one of those families next December. (Even the kids. When we hear a family scream, one of the girls will say, "That's gonna be us some day," or "When do you think we'll get to do that, Mom?")

Our total amount of credit card debt stands at $10,820, around $900 less than it was in August. With the car note (which is scheduled to be paid in full within seven months) our total to pay off by December is $13,420.

$3,685 of that is with the wicked company that refused to lower its usurious rate of 29.99% last August. Needless to say, this is the account on which we pay extra. It is my goal to have it completely cleaned up and closed by the end of February, and I think we can do it with a tax refund and Mr. Honey's bonus. This account costs us around $100 in finance charges every month. (Contrast that with $11 per month interest on the car note and $60 per month on the other credit card account-- the account that carries the bulk of our debt!)

Once we get that monster out of the way, the snowball ought to speed down the hill, yippee! As long as we stay focused. As long as *I* stay focused. Summer and fall are our most expensive seasons of the year, so we must be very gazelle-intense this winter and spring if we are to meet this goal.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. We have not been gazelle-intense like Dave says to be. We have let trips and gift purchases and lovely books get in the way. Murphy has hit us with theft and health issues and car repairs. But if we keep plugging away at it, we will have this debt gone by the end of the year. We will be *that family* screaming, "We're debt free!" on Dave Ramsey next December.

Prayers would be wonderful. If you feel so led, will you pray that I will be disciplined in the little things, that Mr. Honey be kept from temptation regarding occasional large purchases, that the kids will be patient with our frequent "no" to their financial requests, that I will be able to say "no" cheerfully, that the van's engine and transmission will stay healthy, that the house and appliances will remain in good shape, that ill health will not interfere, that Mr. Honey's job will continue stable, and that, whatever happens, we will keep our focus on the Lord.

Mr. Honey's sales position has remained remarkably stable during this time of economic crisis, which is a blessing from the Lord. He has given Mr. Honey determination and stamina to work harder and harder in order to be one of the salesmen that keeps his job, and He continues to provide sales.

We gotta do this. It is hard, and it takes so long, but in a way I am glad it is taking a long time-- I do not ever want to go back to a debt lifestyle, and all these struggles are changing us into people who want to avoid that bondage more than we want stuff. At least, I pray it is so. I see the little ways I sabotage our efforts, and find one more thing to work on. All these 'one more things' add up to a different way of thinking that I hope we will maintain for the rest of our lives, giving us more ability to be a blessing to others.

Eat From The Pantry Challenge -or- Healthy Eating

When the kids were younger-- say, from before the time Aravis was born until around five or six years ago-- we were healthy eaters. By healthy eaters I mean we didn't eat much in the way of convenience food or fast food, cooked almost everything from scratch, consumed little in the way of sweets, and ate veggies with almost every meal. We were barely scraping by, so I purchased the least expensive, conventionally grown foods, including bologna, cheap milk, chicken leg quarters in bulk, etc., but other than that, we had a healthy diet. I even ground my own wheat berries for homemade bread for awhile there.

For some reason, when we moved into our current home, our eating habits began to deteriorate, which is another post altogether. Mr. Honey and I began drinking coffee, which we only like sweetened. My grain mill broke. I began purchasing more convenience foods and lowered the guard on sugar intake for myself and the children. (I still watch it, but I used to only allow sweets maybe once or twice per week-- now, for some reason, it has slipped into once or twice per day.)

In the last week, Mr. Honey and I and the kids have come together in our desire to eat better (which is also another post), and want to change our poor eating habits. We are almost out of sugar, and do not plan to stock up. Coffee, I think, is going away, due to our desire to enjoy it with sugar. We are going to eat more whole grains and less "white" foods.

And we want to start purchasing more organics as the budget allows. We experience lethargy and forgetfulness on a regular basis at our house, as well as mood swings. (In a home where four out of five people are female, who is surprised? But still.) Also, Mr. Honey and I are both unhappy with our weight. A lot of this has to do with sugar consumption, but I wonder what would happen if we ate foods grown without pesticides and other contaminants?

So, so, so--

There is a group of bloggers doing an Eat From The Pantry Challenge in the month of January, and I thought we could join in. (Mama Squirrel is joining in, too, which makes me feel more comfy about joining in online-- I 'know' someone else who is participating!)


We have decided to use up our food stores in the month of January and restock with organics. We got Omaha Steaks from a family member for Christmas (!) and have a lot of beef right now, as well as some ham and three pounds of chicken. (I do not think we will eat all of this meat in one month! I am only listing it to show that we won't have to purchase meat.) We also have quite a bit of grain-- white and wheat flour, semolina, cornmeal, oats, millet, brown rice, a bag of pasta, two packages of flour tortillas and one loaf of bread.

Every family gets to make their own rules for the Pantry Challenge, so here are ours:

1. Purchase only organic dairy, produce and grains in the month of January
2. Limit the grains purchased to one bag of pasta and five loaves of bread (Mr. Honey does not have access to a heating element for his lunch and eats sandwiches much of the time)
3. Purchase a wide mouth thermos for Mr. Honey so he can carry soups and chili and other good things in his lunch
4. Go to the grocery store four times total in the month
5. Use the money we save to restock with organics at the end of the month

I have never purchased much in the way of organics because it is expensive, and we have been debtors for most of our married life. But this website says organics are only 20% more expensive than conventionally grown foods, so we should have room for the increase in cost simply by eliminating junk and filler foods. My measuring stick for purchasing organics will be that the item is no more than 20% more expensive than its conventional counterpart. I really think things like milk, eggs and meat will fall outside this limit, but I know purchasing those items organic is highly recommended. What do you think? Do you purchase organics, and if so, what are your guidelines for deciding on organic or conventional?

Trampoline Pictures

It is snowing for the second time in a week, which is pretty rare for North Texas. I was out in it earlier, but now we are all inside waiting for Mr. Honey to get home from work. Cornflower is making cookies, Mariel is playing a computer game and Aravis is working on her science fair project. They are singing intermittently, mostly their own words to musical theater tunes, complete with girl-belting-voices.

I have boiled eggs and started some veggie soup and a pot of pinto beans for lunches/dinners for this week. Cold weather makes me want to simmer things on the stove. ;o) I should be updating the checkbook, but I have Put It Off for the time being.

So-- what I *really* wanted to post about was the trampoline the kids got for Christmas. Here are some photos of Mr. Honey and the kids setting it up!

(You may notice a distinct lack of Mariel in these pictures. She was visiting her Grammy that day.)

On Christmas morning, the tramp was still in its box, owing to the ice and snow that fell on Christmas Eve. Santa left a note on the white board.



A couple of days later, Mr. Honey and Cornflower braved the mud and freezing temperatures to set it up.





Aravis joined in after a bit.



And then-- they danced! They have christened it The Globe Theater.




And today, it is graced with a dusting of snow.