SpoonFullofJelly

We read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeup in July 2015 after knowing about the program for a year. We have Dissed a good amount of debt over the past 9 months. We made every effort to cut expenses all around. We reduced our utilities, cut back on groceries and saved money in envelopes for common overly spent categories. This allowed us to place $500 on each current debt per month. Honestly this hasn't been easy. Dave Ramasy said that if you are making people made around you and have people looking at you like you're crazy, then you are doing it right. Well we must be doing it right because our families cannot understand why we are dealing with cash and tracking every payment. I learned about Dave's plan is unusual ways and I keep sharing him in unusual ways. I have told people in stores, at social events and even to employees. Everyone deserves to know that living in debt doesn't have to be your norm and that living debt free isn't a dream. It's a reality

Two weeks ago I was chopping pineapples with a friend from church. We flew from one topic to the next during our two day shopping trip and 4 hour brunch prep. I got to learn a brand new side to her and her life. She, like many women had a hard time getting pregnant. She lost a baby in the first trimester and it took another two years to conceive again. I finally opened up and told another person, that Hubby and I have been battling infertility for 5 years. Holding back my tears, I placed on a smile and explained how we are just defeated for trying so much. I explained our road and how we are dead broke. I told her that we are on to plan C, adoption. I went on to explain that its so expensive that I'm surprised it's legal. She told me that a family member of her's adopted 10 years ago and everyone chipped in. She gets it! She knows what it's like to go years and years without something that you worked and prayed for. She even had a family member to go through the same

Give yourself an allowance. You know you deserve it! What is an allowance? It is a set amount of money that one can spend anyway they chose. Children are often associated to this wonderful concepts, while adults forget to pay themselves. Wait! We get up early, get dressed against our inner will, drive to work in questionable conditions, earn money and then don't pay ourselves?! That is backwards right? (I can hear the peanut gallery now..) A great tip for everyone is to pay themselves. Hubby and I carve out $40 a month in our budget for ourselves. We buy whatever we want or save it if we please. Can you say coffee on a lazy Saturday afternoon or lunch out with my friends? An allowance is freedom to enjoy things when life is on a strict budget. It's freedom to enjoy spontaneous activities and events without regretting it the next month. This amount is not a set percentage of our income and it changes when we redo our bills biannually. At the end of 2015, it was only $25

We saved $60 a month switching car insurance. I sound like a commercial don't I? But yes, we actually saved $60 a month by visiting the ELP (endorsed local providers) from Dave Ramsey's website . We were shocked that we were paying so much for car and rental insurance. We have never been quoted such a low price before. We have been with one company for 3.5 years and watched our rates go up $40. That particular company blamed it on the fact that our vehicle type has been in a lot of car accidents recently. So we were bring penalized for other's actions! Good-bye! This change has certainly increase our debt dissing monthly amount. This came at a great time because Hubby's surgery bills have been coming in. I say, give it a try. The ELP is able to look at a variety of companies to find deals that fit what you need covered. They don't work for one particular insurance company and are dedicated to helping you rather than a certain company's monthly goals.