Mike is a big fan of Dave Ramsey on talk radio and Dave has a book called the Total Money Makeover. Mike has been talking about his book for a couple of years and he said he wanted us to do it. Mike told me that I should read it so we can start because lets be realistic, Mike wasn't going to read it. So I ordered it in January and we started in February.
The premise of the book is living/paying for things with cash only. He dispels a lot of debt myths and reveals the nonsecrets of the rich and explains the steps of his plan. It isn't a short term thing that can be accomplished in a few weeks but a long term plan that takes some sacrifice now to live comfortable in the future. There are a lot of personal stories that are very inspiring.
Mike and I have had a budget but we were never strict. We always carried our debit card and if we went over our allocated budget amount we always had our debit card. I could always transfer money from our savings to checking. I never carry a balance on my credit card but just having one to use makes it easier to buy something now and pay for it later.
Now we use the cash system and once the money runs out we have to stop shopping. It was a little difficult to give up the debit card but it has helped so much. Now that I only have cash I hoard it a lot more than I do when I spent my money on my debit card. It makes us really think about our purchases and even though it has only been two months it has definitely helped us manage our money better. And in my personal opinion I have always been good with my money.
Monday, April 6, 2009
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6 comments:
And in my opinion I have been lousy with money.
My father in law was just telling us about this. He's getting copies of it for all his kids. What a coincidence!!
I've made HUGE financial changes since I've been married. Jon is a finance wizard with perfect credit. My credit has definitely improved since we've been engaged and luckily we were still able to qualify for a good loan to buy a house sometime this year :)
We love Dave! My and Zac listened to his book on CD while going to and from my mom's house and i learned SO much.
We definately need to be better about using cash only...today I went $20 over my budget for groceries...time to sit down and redetermine ourselves to cash only. :)
This may sound funny, but I actually spend more with cash than with a card! I think in my mind I've associated cards with debt and I don't want to get into debt so I freak out more using a card than cash. Of course it doesn't stop me from overspending...guess it's time to sit down and really figure out how much I waste.
I love this book! It is great! We need to do the cash thing though. I think that would help us be better with our money!
Wow, that sounds great! I don't know if it is something I could do...and you have to be dedicated to do it. Kit and I are fine right now...hooray for paying off our car! We're out of debt, but we do need to get our credit score up...bleh...I hate thinking/talking of money!
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