Financial Update

A friend of mine recommended Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover book last year. I bought the book, and didn’t touch it for a while. I finally read the book, and shared some thoughts and ideas with my husband, Brian. Well then Brian got really excited, and he read the book…in 4 days!

We have weekly financial talks about our finances now, and also about the future. We have set some goals, posted them around our home and have officially begun our 7 Steps to Financial Freedom in September 2009.

Baby Step # 2 – Debt Snowball
Here are some of our goals:
Credit Card #1 – September 2009
Credit Card #2 – December 2009
Car Loan – September 2010
Student Loans – March 2011

There is no way we could do this plan if we didn’t have a budget. I have a spreadsheet for our income and expenses, so I know exactly where our money is going. No cent is unaccounted for. We also pay cash for everything. We have a certain amount of money we spend each month for everything except bills, like groceries, entertainment, gas, etc. This is known as the “envelope method.” So far it’s working great!

Ironically enough, in the month of September our car has died twice. We had to get it towed both times, get a new battery, and get something electrical fixed. We started to freak out, BUT luckily we have a warranty…and we didn’t pay a single thing out of pocket. The tow truck, and both repairs were free of charge to us.

As of yet, we have paid off credit card #1, and are on schedule to pay off #2 in December…which is so exciting!!

Total Debt Paid Off: 14.92%