Sixteen months give or take a few weeks. That’s how long we’ve been doing this Damn Ramsey thing. Have I mentioned how hard it is? Have I mentioned that sometimes it’s a lot of fun? But most of the time it sucks big time. The budget, the restraint, the saying NO to everything, the giving up this and that and the stinkin’ envelopes!
But then….
at some point all that hard work and sacrifice pays off. That’s when you can start to celebrate a little.
And by celebrate I mean you go to Sonic and everyone gets a milkshake even though you really want a steak dinner and a nice bottle of wine.
We paid off our first debt. That red truck is now officially ours. We paid it off a little early too. Which was a really good thing because….
our mortgage payment went up quite a bit. Wow, Debbie Downer, man. Hey Clay! Stop your gosh darn bouncin’ around and get back to work Dude, we got bills to pay!
Here’s what we’ve done in those sixteen months.
1. Started writing a budget for every month.
2. Implemented the envelope system.
3. Saved $1000 for an emergency fun.
4. Used the emergency fund 4 times
5. Refunded that emergency fund and bumped it up a bit.
6. Paid down debt, concentrating on any extra money going to the truck.
7. Paid off the stinkin’ truck.
One down…more to go.
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Clay’s contortions perfectly communicated the joy y’all must feel at having achieved this milestone.
April, y’all are truly an inspiration for me. Your humorous take on the whole concept of “doing without” has inspired my husband and me to draft a budget and (GASP!!!) stick to it. It ain’t fun, and I frequently feel sorry for myself. I have a little mini-pity party, then I remember your and Clay’s commitment to being debt-free and I go back and read some of your entries. It’s amazing how much it helps knowing other folks are going through the same thing.
Boy, April, do I know what you mean. I have been doing the Dave Ramsey plan now for a looooonnnng time. I have had several emergencies too. Now i have about $1000 in the emergency fund and my husband wants to buy a new mattress because the one we are sleeping on, you can feel the springs about to pop out. Do you think this is an emergency? I say, no. As soon as i would spend $1000 for a new king size mattress, our refrigerator is likely to die. So I am holding out and holding on.
)
You know, if i ever get to the point of calling Dave to say “I’m debt free” the screener would ask too many questions about how long did it take, how much did you pay off. I just don’t know. I just roll with the punches. I know you are better at keeeping track as you said you were a church financial secretary.
Good blog…I enjoy immensely…wish you could post more.
Blessings,
charlotte
Clay’s a hoot! You’ve got a great guy there. And congrats on getting the truck paid off! I will be so glad to SOMEDAY not have a mortgage anymore. Does anyone have mortgage burning parties anymore? Is it too “show-offy” or is it just that no one ever gets their mortgages paid off anymore?
He’s a human ping pong ball!
Living below your means is a wonderful thing. Keep up the good work.
YAY for you, that is so exciting!!! Good job!
Good job! I’m doing this too, and it is a lot of work. It’s encouraging to see that other people are grinding it out, too.
Charlotte – I can’t believe that you don’t know how much you had to pay off when you started. I need to remind myself of that number to help stay motivated!