So the hubs called on his way to work today. The check engine light had popped on a few days ago in our “family vehicle”. With our current logistical shakeup, we had planned to take it in on Thursday. But… the best laid plans are often only great in theory, right? So, after the engine power reduced during his drivetime and he could only scoot along at 30 miles per hour, the car that was supposed to be taking him swiftly to work, instead made its way to the shop.
A year ago, this would have sent me into hysterics. Because I would have been wrought with anxiety as to how we were going to cover this expense. Because it’s Christmas. And we have a baby coming. And {insert life happening here}.
But this year, we’re in a different place. Not because we’ve experienced a windfall. But because one year ago, we decided to take a different approach to our finances. And that’s when we welcomed Mr. Ramsey into our marriage. Not into the bedroom {I know where you went with that}. But into our home. And not just in the, “step in the front door and see the clean front room” sort of way. But like in …to see the underpinnings of the entire outfit. And it has honestly changed our lives. And I have to say it… I love you, Mr. Ramsey.
I know. I know. I am so not this person. I am not a person who usually gets all preachy on matters of religion or money. It’s just not my style. It’s not the wrong style, it’s just not mine. But Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace class has been that fabulous, that I’m willing to go out on a limb {which is just a funny visual. me. 8 months pregnant. on a limb}.
I’d heard people talk about Financial Peace for several years at our church. But I thought it was for fun haters … I thought that if you took a class about your personal money, and moreover, took this class, it meant one of two things:
1. You must stop having a life. There would be no spending of money. Only saving. And eating Ramen. And staying in. And being the people who resented their budgets.
2. You had to talk, in-depth, with other people who were not involved in your finances about the ins and outs of your finances. Share incomes, share debt, share all of your pitfalls. And give transparency to strangers.
Those two things sounded awful to me.
But being in debt felt awful. Yes… Confession, we have debt. School debt. Car debt. Debt debt. Agh! And knowing that we should have more money than we did at the end of every month felt absurd. And was anxiety-inducing. Especially with two kids and at the beginning of last year, one on the way. So in an effort to get involved in our new congregation, we paid the class fee. We decided we’d give it a whirl. And for 11 weeks, each Sunday afternoon, we trotted off to our Pastor’s house for the class. And joined the quest for Financial Peace.
And CRAZY ALERT: It worked.
I know, right?
We started by assessing all of the aspects of our personal finances. The hubs and I have never been ones to fight about money. Truly, never. But because of some of my anxiety, we never really talked that openly about our finances. And that was the first step.
And you know what? Not that scary. We actually didn’t have to talk about our finances in front of the group but rather about our attitude around money and exercises to see why we spend the way we do. We also had to do a budget. And not like a fake one. But a zero balance budget. Where every single penny of income for every single paycheck is accounted for, given a home and given a purpose. And we had some home exercises. And we committed to doing each step, knowing that if we were going to have any success, at least for the duration of the class, we needed to be all in.
And you know what was crazy? We still got to have a life. And before we knew it, we were rocking living off the envelope system. For the last year, we’ve used only cash {like physical cash… not debit cards} for all of the following expenditures:
1. Groceries
2. Restaurants
3. Clothing – separate envelope for husby, me, and kids
4. Entertainment
5. Spending cash – separate envelope for husby and me
6. Sephora {yep. you read that right}
7. Golf {yep. you read that right, too}
8. Sporting events
9. Childcare
10. Babysitting
Everything else {bills, bills, bills} gets paid out of our checking account from pockets of the budget … Hair appointments, car wash, Amazon/Target, charity/donations etc. And nothing gets put on a credit card. No 20-month financing, no birthday gift, no emergency car expenses. Nothing gets purchased unless we have the physical bucks to pay for it. Old-fashioned, right? It sounds restrictive, doesn’t it? And elaborate? And a little nutty mcnuttertons? Right?
But it isn’t. I swear. I would tell you… you know that about me. It’s honestly ingenious… we spend so much less money because we physically possess the money. It’s not elaborate… it does take energy each month for Adam to put together the proposed budget, for us to hold our budget “meeting” and to then get the cash and divvy it out … but of all of the things in life that we give time to, I’d say our finances are something that are deserving of our energy. And as far as feeling restricted… welp… I actually feel liberated. I know, you want to call BS on that. But I’m fo real. I feel freer knowing that when the kids need new shoes, the money is either right there where I can see it. And if it isn’t, we wait to purchase it. Novel concept, eh?
So yeah, we’re Dave Ramsey doers. We are Financial Peacers. We be baby stepping. And the best thing that has come from this budgeting is that whether it was because of Dave or because of diligence, we now communicate openly about money. It’s not the big, white elephant in the room that we just assume will walk out if we ignore it. And it makes things easier.
So today, when the check engine light came on. Or two weeks ago, when I got rear-ended. Or when we want to take the kids to a movie. Or when the Holidays “come-up”. We actually have money to pay for it. Because we budgeted in for car repairs. Car emergencies. Entertainment. And gifts. And so we don’t have to feel stressed about the financial piece, because we’ve been given Financial Peace. Seriously. No joke.
Whether single, married or parents, do you budget in your house? Does Dave Ramsey just sound like common sense to you? {yeah… It is… But you know what they say, common sense is becoming less and less common}. What tricks and tips do you use to stay in the black?
