A 2010 project

Sometime in January, I stumbled across Dave Ramsey and his book 'Total Money Makeover'. And for some strange reason, I ordered it online from Amazon and then read it in less than 4 days. This may not sound so amazing to you but if you know me, I have a terrible time reading anything non-fiction. I can probably count on one hand the amount of non-fiction books I've read from start to finish in my ENTIRE life. And a book about money? Sounds like a good time... ha!

I've started quite a few books on a variety of topics with strong intentions of learning and then finishing them. However, somewhere along the way, I get distracted by a really good story and end up forgetting all about whatever it was that originally drew me to the non-fiction book in the first place. It's just bad news with me and books that are supposed to make me learn something. To read this book on money in 4 days was quite an accomplishment. So much so, that my husband decided maybe he should read it too.

And once we had both finished the book, we made some MAJOR changes in our lives.

We cut up our credit cards.

Don't believe me?

Here's proof.

And then I had an emotional breakdown. You try cutting up credit cards with a commitment to not use them ever again. Right before having a baby... and nothing purchased for the baby yet.

Needless to say, it was really crazy but after I got over myself, I was really excited! Luke and I have gotten really committed to getting totally out of debt, including our mortgage. This may sound like a crazy thing to even aspire to but we got onto it right away. Here's what we've done so far...

1. We've sold some stuff in our house.

2. We've sold our stocks, which weren't necessarily an amazing amount BUT made a small dent.

3. We've cut our budget amount in half for food and fun and all of that. (NOT fun but worth it)

And then we started paying stuff off! It's kind of addicting! And it's working... we are kicking some major butt and I can say with confidence that aside from our mortgage, we'll be totally out of debt by the end of the year. Including cars. And student loans. Yup. There, I said it! It's a big project but I know we can do it.

So... with all this said, does anyone want to join us? Had somebody asked me this question before I read Dave's book, I would've laughed and rolled my eyes. But you really can do it. It's doable. Really. And I must admit that after I read this book, I wanted to buy it for everyone... everywhere... but Luke made a good point. If you really want this badly enough, you will want to buy the book yourself.

Good point.