Tag: money


Mar
2015

How to Protect Your Marriage from One of the Most Common Causes of Divorce

categories: financial freedom, marriage, our financial story

No one gets married thinking about divorce, but we know it happens to so many couples. If we could figure out what causes it, would we try to avoid it? OF COURSE WE WOULD. We’re not dumb. There it is in black and white, on every list of the most common causes of divorce: money and financial issues. Here’s the thing – it isn’t a lack of money that makes the list. It’s the issues that come from not being on the same page financially with your spouse – not seeing eye to eye about money. Maybe one spouse is a spender while the other is a saver, or one insists on controlling every aspect of the finances without letting the other have a say. What is comes down to is that if you aren’t on the same page, with the same vision of your financial future as your spouse, there will be issues. So, how do you get on the same page?

How to Protect Your Marriage from One of the Most Common Causes of Divorce

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Oct
2011

Frugal Friday – A Little Fall Color

categories: budget, decorating, our financial story

I like to decorate with natural elements whenever possibly, and I love a fall display. One of the components of our first date was a pumpkin patch, so Jed knows pretty gourds are the way to my heart. He brought home a whole bushel of various pumpkins and cute gourds from his trip to Lubbock last weekend. Thank you, sir. The best part was that he got them all for just $10. Woohoo! I’ve got gourds coming out my ears but our budget didn’t take hit. I’ve put them all over the house and still have a ton to give away.

How do you decorate on a budget?


Apr
2010

frugal friday – cash money honey

categories: finances, financial freedom

i am now starting my 4th month as a blogger, and i’m trying to find a focus for this thing. i added a tagline to the top – living free in Christ and free of debt. i’m starting this weekend with a frugal friday post about the 2nd part of that tagline. what does it mean to live debt free, to me? freedom.

i am terrible with money. terrible. my financial past is dark and scary. i fought this whole budget thing pretty hard, until i listened to the dave ramsey show one time. i was hooked. i am a free spirit and thought that a budget would make me feel trapped and fenced in. in fact, now that we are on a budget i feel more free than ever.

we operate on a cash system now. i carry a “financial peace university” wallet that came with cash envelopes for just this purpose. it was really difficult at first to get used to cash again. i mean, has anyone used it since they first got a credit or debit card? no, ma’am. here’s the crazy thing – when you use cash, you spend less. it is science, people. your pain receptors (in your brain) are triggered when you spend cash, but don’t feel a thing when you use a credit or debit card.

with the cash system we are using, we do our budget at the beginning of each month. we then go to the bank and pull out the cash. it goes into our envelopes, and makes sticking to the budget so easy. if all the dining out money is gone, we eat at home. if all the grocery money is spent, we make due with what we have already purchased. if my “mad money” has dwindled, i’ll have to delay the purchase of that cute new dress. self control is a good thing.

you would be amazed by the looks i get when i pull out cash. people are annoyed because it takes 30 seconds longer, cashiers think i’m crazy. that’s ok. we are taking control of our financial future, and it is ok if others think we are weird. we are weird. normal people are swimming in credit card debt, and we don’t want to be normal.

what are you doing to be frugal? what system does your house use? i’m so interested in finding out what other people are doing. share your wisdom, friends.

here is a link to some of dave ramsey’s budgeting software:


Mar
2010

freedom

categories: finances

jed and i are on the road to financial freedom, and we have a few people to thank. thank you dave ramsey, sam and michelle (jed’s brother and his wife who told us about dave). after a year of hearing about sam and michelle paying off their debts, we finally listened to dave’s radio show. all it took was one hour before we drank the kool-aid.
in just four months of attacking our debt, we paid off $11,000 and became debt free. now we have over 2 months of expenses saved in an emergency fund and it feels amazing. i have never been good with money, and it feels fantastic to have no debt and a huge safety net. doing the total money makeover has been the best decision we’ve made since our wedding day.
dave’s total money makeover has 7 baby steps, and we are on step 3. this saturday we are going to see dave live at the potter’s house. our hope is that it will keep us inspired to finish the baby steps and reach true financial freedom.
you can check out dave’s full plan here: