Hello all you faithful readers (all 8 of you)!
I've been away a long time (no, I wasn't in the big house), I have had a busy few months since buying my house and the ever present job that I attend every day. Since I last updated I have taken my
LCAS exam and passed it (
Thankya Jesus!)! That was a killer test and I am so thankful to be finished studying for it and have it out of the way. I had to go to South Carolina to take the test and went 3 days early with the plan of holing up in a motel room and sitting around the pool studying until test day. Well... I booked the room on line in advance and when I arrived, no pool. The situation went from bad to worse after I got in the room and the toilet flooded on the first flush, but the real craziness was the guy that came to my door in nothing but cutoff shorts and a towel around his neck asking if I had any toothpaste that he could borrow... Say What? You want to borrow tooth paste? Now I've heard it all. Well, that and some other creepy stuff convinced me that it was time to go and I found another hotel to stay at- with a pool so I was able to settle down and study. I took the test, found out I passed and headed home.
I have just been hanging out and watching
Netflix, boy, does it feel good to not have a test hanging over me. I have been reading the Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover- I got the hardcover at the Goodwill for 1.75 and have begun putting a plan in place to get out of debt. I am so excited! I am so tired of working to pay of my
frivolous spending. I have discovered that I spend money when I am bored, upset, in short, I spend money emotionally- never a good plan according to Dave Ramsey.
His plan is simple- using compound payments to pay off debt- one by one- quickly and starting with the smallest debt first so you can see some success and stay motivated. Once you pay off one debt you add the payment from that debt to the next bill and on down the line. Again, the plan is simple, the discipline to follow it is the test! He has you start by building a 1000.00 "Emergency fund." Not to be used for anything but a true emergency. Then once you have that, you start paying down debt. You cut up credit cards and make a budget for every month- before the month begins and have every bit of your pay allocated to something and then use it for that. Make sure to give your self a bit of spending money. Everything extra you have should go on the current bill. You pay the minimum payment on all other bills and hammer the one you are currently working to pay off.
He encourages people to sell items that are sitting around collecting dust, have a yard sale, sell items on your local Craig's list, etc and use the money to put on the current bill. He also says to go and get a part time job if you need to and use that money to continue to
pay down debt. Since I got my second license I can now go and do other jobs outside of the VA- I am going to look into doing DUI assessments for some of the local agencies (Heck, I can't sit around watching Netflix all night every night, I could be making extra money instead!).
Now that I've about told you all the whole book go get it at the library- don't spend money to get it! Or, find a copy at the Good will or other thrift stores.
I plan to live below my means and enjoy life instead of things. I am tired of being brainwashed into believing that my worth is measured by how much stuff I have.
So, anyone want to join me on this journey to financial freedom?
Till next time,
Willow
and this time I had to get on 4 different planes (2 going and 2 coming back) and did not freak out - not even once!
