Promises, promises!

Well you know when you announce a commitment to the world, somethings gonna happen to try and mess it all up :).  Actually, nothing really happened other than - I FORGOT!!  In my eagerness to move to the next "baby step", I forgot about a large purchase we've been needing to make.  So, that just means I'm going to be doing some fancy footwork to meet my goal of moving to the next step in 6 months.  I'm not throwing in the towel!

It's all about commitment, planning, responsibility.  I blew the planning this time.  It happens.

Un-cool name

My son just came home from school and informed me that "CFO Mom" is not a cool enough blog name.  Everyone's a critic, huh?

Being financially abnormal, by America’s standards

So, what’s “normal” for the American family in 2011?  Two incomes, two kids, two vehicles, nice house, big mortgage, exciting vacations, and all the kids’ activities to fill up otherwise free time.  Sounds good to me!  That’s how the typical American family lives.  That’s normal!

I’m not knocking any of those things; I’ve just described my own family.  But what are some of the negative effects of this normal lifestyle we live?  I hinted to one already – big mortgage.  How about debt, stress, exhaustion, and being a slave to your 45+ hour a week job?  What’s worse than that, in my opinion, is that we’re teaching our children that this is normal; that it’s just the way we live here in America.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.  At least that’s what Dave Ramsey told me.  I just discovered Dave a few years ago.  His motto goes something like “you have to be willing to live like no one else now, so that you can LIVE like no one else later”.  You have to be willing to make some sacrifices and risk being chastised by friends and family now; but the rewards are so worth it.  Dave has some phenomenal earth shattering ideas like: eliminating debt, saving for a rainy day, living within your means.  Wow, why didn’t I think of that?  I am an accountant!

For me, I think the two biggest reasons for living like the typical American family are (1)It’s normal, and I don’t want to be abnormal.  And (2)I felt like I DESERVED these things.  I went to college; therefore I should have a career.  I work my butt off at my career, therefore I deserve stuff!  Makes perfect sense to me.  But Dave set me straight on both of those.  First, if normal means in debt up to my eyeballs, why would I want to be normal?  Second, I don’t deserve stuff.  I deserve to be responsible, provide for my family and our future, and to set a good example for my children.  No one deserves to live beyond their means.  That’s just dumb.

No, I didn’t make an overnight transformation that made my friends and family think I’d gone crazy.  (Sorry Dave).   I still like stuff and I still fear being too abnormal.  But my outlook has changed.  What if my husband or I lost our job?  How long could we survive on one income?  With $0 in savings, a mortgage, and two car notes….. not very long.  About those car notes, society tells me I’ll always have a car note.  I mean, pay cash for a vehicle – who does that?  I’m going to do that!!!!  Yep, within the next six months, our only debt will be our mortgage.  Do you have any idea how good that feels?  How awesome will that be when my paycheck isn’t spent before it hits my checking account!  Woo hoo!

I just committed to all of you to be debt free except the mortgage in six months (step 2 in Dave’s baby steps).  So I might as well go out on a limb and commit to having 3 to 6 months savings (step 3) by June 2012!!  If you’ve already accomplished this, quit laughing at me.  It’s a big deal for me J.

If you want to learn more about Dave’s baby steps, go to his website www.daveramsey.com