I spent the better part of today being frustrated with yours truly. A year ago my husband and I were reading Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover for the very first time. How things have changed since we started his program in July of '08...well at least some things. One thing that has not changed is the fact that neither my husband nor myself have any will-power what-so-ever.
Looking back I wish we had done better on our debt snowball. If we are to meet our goal of being debt free in two years (by August 2010) we should have paid off half our debt this past year, instead we have paid off only around 15%. At this rate we are not going to make it and will have to extend our debt payoff date by probably another year, which means another year of not buying our own house which I am really ready to do.
During the past 10.5 months since we have been working our debt snowball we have always paid our snowball payment with whatever money we had left-over at the end of the month. Usually it was next to nothing, and sometimes nothing at all, because we have no will-power and spent all the money on other things (going out-to-eat is one of the biggest offenders). It is time to change this dreadful cycle! Don't get me wrong we are worlds ahead of where we were financially a year ago and have made some really good changes in the way we think about our money, but I want to get done with this part of the program so that we can move on to the next step and the longer we drag this out the more frustrating it becomes.
Starting in July we will be paying our snowball payment first along with the rest of our bills, that way the money is not sitting in the account just waiting for our sticky little fingers to get a hold of it. I will let you know how this goes.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Self Reflection Day
Posted by Tracy at 9:54 PM
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7 comments:
That sounds like a great plan -- but know that you are not alone in your thinking ~ dh & I are the same... I am very dissappointed on how we have been doing as well. it is definately time to shape up for sure... good luck & I know you can do it :)
i laughed at your comment about your daughter "being incredibly smart"..... every parent thinks their kid is the brightest, cutest, etc.... all kids are normal.... please don't treat your kid as a prima donna, just because you may think she is "gifted"... you will be doing a dis-service to her if you do....
Thanks jpkittie! Let's keep each other encouraged!
PGW: Hmmm, not sure if I should be offended by this. First, I do consider my daughter to be a normal child. Second, I do know that every parent is partial to their kids...and I think that is the way it should be. When I say she is incredibly smart it is because she has always been WAY ahead of the normal range for her age (like speaking in clear concise sentences between 12 and 18 months!). Her little sister is 13 months and says about 7 words (about average for her age). Both of our girls are completely normal children, but I do believe the older one IS "gifted". However, that does not mean she gets treated any differently than her sister!
Third, we love both of our daughters unconditionally! We think they are both the best thing that has ever happened to us, and they are the little lights in our lives. Also, I think it is a parents job to raise a confident child...but that doesn't mean we treat her as a prima donna. She has to do her chores, go to bed at 8, exercise and eat well, etc.
If my girls are happy, healthy, honest, kind, giving, confident, and full of life we will have done a decent job at raising them.
I think you've made an amazing amount of progress - and heck, think about all the unnexpected challenges you faced head on this year and you are worried about the progress of your snowball?! So many families would have answered a layoff with a credit card with a low APR - You are still hanging in there fighting the Dave Ramsey fight!
I've been thinking of you lately because we just bought way more house than we wanted to so we could get in at the bottom of the market in our new city. I'm not so sure it was the right choice, and it is a choice that is going to be with us for a long time. Debt is a lot like pregnancy weight or any of those other things that take a while to build up - it takes a lot of time and dedication to get rid of it.
Re-eating out: if this is your major spending area, I guess just take some time to think about when you eat out/what you get out of it. I think you know most of the solutions out there for eating at home or using coupons, etc. I just wonder if there is something you get out of eating out that you really need - i.e. time with family that is relaxing or something that is just for "you", etc.
Melanie,
You are always so kind!
I totally understand the urge to "get in while the market is down" on a house! You may remember we were in the process of buying when my husband was laid off last year. As a result of the lay-off we didn't buy, and looking back it was probably a good thing because that house was really more than we should have been spending. I am happy for you that you found your family a house, and I hope that it proves to have been the right move in the long run. Buying a house is a huge decision, and it can be scary!
Going out-to-eat...you bring up a good point, I am going to think about this. Maybe I will write down what it is about it that makes it so important to us. Sounds like a good exercise!
Hi Tracy, have you tried snowballing at the end of each week rather than monthly? This is how i am planning to start. Why not divide up your disposable income into 4/5 weeks (however many weekends there are in the month until next payday) and then what you don't spend at the end of the week, snowball it! This way even if you have one or two 'bad' weeks it's not a total loss. Keep up the good work!
Carol, that is a great idea! We have actually been talking about snowballing our payment twice a month (once with each payday), but maybe taking it week by week would be even better. I will let you know what we decide.
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