“Manage Your Money” Challenge from Enemy of Debt
My friend Brad Chaffee over at Enemy of Debt is launching a “Manage Your Money” Challenge starting Monday, March 1st. We’re well on our way to being debt free and are psyched to be participating in the challenge. Are you struggling with your budget? Do you have a budget? Sign up for the Challenge now!
This will be a 31 day challenge, that begins on March 1st and ends on March 31st. You may sign up now for your FREE Basic Membership, to familiarize yourself with the program. I have been given a complimentary 12 Month Premium Membership so that I may evaluate and learn the calendar-based budgeting system for myself. I will use this to my advantage, in order to better help you with your questions about the site and the budgeting software.
- Financial Peace University DVD Lesson: Cash Flow Planning (8th) $20 Value
- Financial Peace University DVD Lesson: Dumping Debt (15th) Awesomely inspirational!
- Financial Peace University DVD Lesson: Relating With Money (22nd)
- Financial Peace University DVD Lesson: The Great Misunderstanding (29th)
- Total Money Makeover (Dave Ramsey) book
- Financial Peace Revisited (Dave Ramsey) book
- Financial Peace Junior Kit (ages 3-12)
- No More Dreaded Mondays (Dan Miller) book
- A Gift To My Children (Jim Rogers) book
- $25 Gift Card (Staples)
- $25 Gift Card (Amazon)
- Two iPhone “Pay Off Debt” Debt Snowball Apps
- Two Android “Pay Off Debt” Debt Snowball Apps
Update on the Gentry Total $ Makeover
I’m writing this post for two reasons; the first to give everyone an update on how are family is coming along with our Total Money Makeover and second, to get your opinion on something.
First things first: we started our makeover in October 2009 with almost $70,000 of debt. In 4 1/2 months, we’ve paid off a little over $17,000. How? We sold lots of stuff and gave up lots of stuff. Once I had DVR, I thought I could never live without it. Now we don’t even have cable tv! I cut LOTS of coupons and match them to sale ads. And we exchanged a LOT of landscaping at my folks’ house for the use of my Dad’s ‘94 Grand Marquis. We are making sacrifices now so we can really live later! We are gazelle-intense focused on obtaining financial peace.
Now – here’s where I need you to weigh in. We are trying to sell our Durango. The retail value is about $14,000, the private party value is between $10-12,000, and the trade in value is between $8-9,800. A local dealership offered us $9300 for it. I want to hold out for a private party sale but my husband wants to sell it and move on. We are not in a financially desperate situation, but it is taking up space in our driveway. What would you do?
Brad And J’s 1st Annual Christmas Stimulus 2009
If you haven’t already, you need to check out the Enemy of Debt and Budgets Are Sexy blogs and enter for your chance to win $150 from each ($300 total possible!). The rules are simple. Brad at Enemy of Debt asks you to tell him at least 2 financial goals for 2010 and J. from Budgets Are Sexy wants to know a few things you are thankful for this year. I entered both and wanted to share my answers with you!
Financial Goals for 2010
We are on Baby Step #2, so our goals are to pay off our credit card debt and our cars. If we sell our Durango and my husband gets a bonus check, we should be able to accomplish both by April. At that point, we’ll start on Baby Step #3 – finishing our emergency fund. The most important thing to me is to reach Baby Step #5 – saving for my girls’ college funds.
If I win the money, I will not put it toward Baby Step #2 (we’re blessed enough to be able to finish that ourselves). I will give it to a family of 8 (single mom with 7 kids) living in East Nashville who doesn’t even have enough pots and pans to cook in, much less other necessities. Why? Because this year there will be less under my tree and more for others. http://bit.ly/5OIVJ4
I am thankful for…
C.S. Lewis said, “We ought to give thanks for all fortune; if it is “good” because it is good, if “bad” because it works in us patience, humility, and the contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country.”
This year, I am thankful for all the challenges God put before me in 2009. I was unemployed for 7 months but now have a great job. (More: http://bit.ly/4E7J0d)
My husband and I also launched our Total Money Makeover with great gazelle-intensity and are pretty sure we’ll have our credit card debt knocked out by April 2010 (a total of almost $29k in less than a year).
Finally, I am also thankful that this year, there will be less under our tree and more for a family of 8 in East Nashville who really needs it. (More: http://bit.ly/5OIVJ4)
Marriage, Family & Finance Blogs
WOW! There are some fantastic blogs out there! Check out my blog roll for some pretty awesome resources on marriage, family and finance. I’d like to thank Stu at The Marry Blogger for his list of marriage blogs (see his Top 10 List) and Top Mommy Blogs! for another great list of family/mommy blogs.
My personal top 2 faves in each category are:
Marriage: The Marry Blogger and Engaged Marriage
Family: Extraordinary Mommy and Vanderbilt Wife
Finance: Enemy of Debt and Faithful Provisions
Give Thanks in all Circumstances
This will probably be my only post this week ~ between my “day job,”my new business and the holidays, this week is pretty packed. But I’ll do my best to stay in touch!
As we near Thanksgiving, we all begin thinking about what we are thankful for…our family, our friends, our jobs, our warm homes filled with love… But what about the other things that have happened this year that weren’t so warm and fuzzy? Have you ever stopped to think about 2009’s trials and tribulations and give thanks for those?
C.S. Lewis said, “We ought to give thanks for all fortune; if it is “good” because it is good, if “bad” because it works in us patience, humility, and the contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country.”
I had a ROUGH year this year. I was laid off from my job in January (3 months after giving birth to my second child) and fell into a deep depression. My marriage struggled (and that’s an understatement), my children suffered, and I finally sought both marriage counseling and psychiatric help. Nothing really worked.
So finally, I turned to God for help. The passage we discussed at the first church service I attended was this: “Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess 5:16-18) It was like the pastor was speaking directly to me; that God was telling me to have faith. And so I did.
I rallied. We put our kids back in daycare so I could focus on finding a job. I learned new things and “marketed” myself to potential employers with intensity. “Let’s not get tired of doing what is good, for at the right time we will reap a harvest – if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9) And in God’s faithfulness, I landed a job in a month’s time.
If it weren’t for 6 months of complete hell, I wouldn’t have found my way back to God. And so I am THANKFUL for God’s faithfulness and love, even when I wasn’t faithful or obedient. I wasn’t sure I would get out alive; and now here I am, much happier than I was at this time last year. Because now I understand that when God takes something from your grasp, He is not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better.
And yet, I have some “warm and fuzzy” things to be thankful for too:
- A stronger, happier marriage (see “A Total Money Makeover Saved My Marriage”)
- Two beautiful daughters, growing strong in God’s grace
- A new personal goal to be generous with my time, talent and treasure
- A new business (I’m a “mompreneur”!) which will help me attain my goal ~ 10% of all sales will go to different charities throughout the year (November = Operation Shower)
But most of all, I am thankful for the struggle I endured during the first 6-7 months of 2009. Without it, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
May God bless you this holiday season!
How Desperate Are You to Get Out of Debt?
We’re pretty desperate. Or “gazelle-intense” as Dave Ramsey would say. One of the biggest areas of debt is our vehicles. We were spending $1052 every month on car payments – not including insurance or gas! We bought into the belief that we’d always have 2 car payments, that it was “normal” to ALWAYS have a car payment. Well, if this is normal, we want to be weird!
We’re selling our Durango and have borrowed my Dad’s 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis. The Mercury is the kind of car that needs a name, so we now have “Ben Matlock” in our driveway and the 2005 Dodge Durango SLT is parked on the curb with “For Sale” painted on the windows. Selling the Durango will allow us to knock out our largest credit card bill. That’s going to be a great feeling!
Are you interested in buying our Durango? It only has 50,000 miles on it and is looking for a good home! Call Drew at (615) 428-8250 for a test drive. Click here to see the Craig’s List Ad >>
A Total Money Makeover Saved My Marriage
Is “budget” a four-letter-word in your house? Money management ~ or should I say, agreeing on how the family income should be spent ~ plays a significant role in a happy and healthy marriage. Really? Yes, and here’s why…
I was laid off from my job back in January and it took me 7 full months to find another job. We realized, during that time, that we could not live off of one income. We had too much house, too much car and TOO MUCH DEBT. Our marriage was hanging on by a thread and not even marriage counseling helped.
Enter Dave Ramsey and his book, Total Money Makeover. After I got a job, we began to put the principles into action. Now, we spend every penny on paper on purpose before the month begins. We agree on our budget and do our best to stick to it (we’re not perfect, but we try!). The simple act of working together toward the common goal of getting out of debt brought us back from the brink.
There are 7 “Baby Steps” to financial freedom. Follow our family as we walk (and somtimes stumble) through our plan to be debt free. You can keep up with us on the Finances page of our website.
Fantastic related guest blog post from @EnemyofDebt on@EngagedMarriage blog: Marriage And Money: How To Improve Communication And Minimize Money Fights
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