One year of fiscal freedom

It's been almost a year since Kevin and I first began our budget overhaul. In the 350-some-odd-days since we started it (we began on Jan. 1, 2008) we've made such huge strides, financially, personally and cognitively. To say that I'm so proud of what we've accomplished in such a short of period of time is an understatement. On most days, I'm quite boastful about it and have developed an ugly tendency to judge others whom I see making the same sad and very scary mistakes that we were making prior to last year.

In the past year, we've gone from having two car notes, random, stupid credit card debit and a home mortgage that wasn't doing us any favors, to having no debt other than the mortgage, which we're steadfastly whittling away. Both cars are ours--free and clear. Credit cards are a thing of our past. Adding insult to injury, in this past year, we've had an insane amount of surprise, emergency home-maintenance costs to reckon with. We had to replace our whole air conditioning unit (in mid-July, thankyouverymuch). We had to replace our sewer line. We had to have a new driveway poured--I'm talking about seriously large home repairs that we paid for quickly and don't have hanging over our heads. We live day to day on cash only. I've learned so much about what things cost. I used to pay very little attention to the price of things--and mind you, I wasn't a pretentious shopping snob. If I needed something at the grocery store, I'd grab whatever looked good. Now, I actually look at the stickers on the shelf that breakdown the cost per ounce and such and use that as a guide in my decision making. Who'd've thunk those little stickers could be so helpful?

You should know that this budget hasn't made us "dumpster divers" or ridiculously frugal at all. (Although, I'm saddened at the connotation that the word "frugal" now has--as someone who is cheap, miserly and selfish--when being frugal is, in fact, a noble trait to have) I still shop. Jenny shops a lot. Now though, I save my money for the things that I want. I wait until the time and/or price is right. We still eat well...very well, if I do say so myself. We eat a lot of organic produce. We eat fresh salmon almost weekly. We eat out at restaurants when the mood strikes, when a babysitter is available and when there's money in the "Dining" envelope to warrant it. Let me tell you, having Anna put a big dent in our habit of eating out. It's not fun to eat at a restaurant with a toddler. I'd much rather eat out without having to worry about a mid-appetizer meltdown or a mid-entree crapfest. So, when we do go out to eat now (when we have an all-important and much-appreciated babysitter) we enjoy it. We relish in the luxury of it...the decadence, if you will.

I firmly believe that all couples (especially soon-to-be married couples) should have counseling and a large part of this counseling should be financial counseling. Couples need to be on the same page when dealing with money. There needs to be an honest dialog about money. Couples need to plan and save together, but also have a little of their own, guilt-free money. For the first time in our marriage, instead of Kevin and I doing our own thing and spending freely, only to meet in the middle at the end of the month and say, "Where the hell is all of our money"? We actually sit down at the end of each month, put pen to paper and talk about what expenses we'll be facing in the coming month. I might bring up that I'd like to get a pedicure soon, so Kevin accounts for that in the budget. Kevin might say that he'll be having a few lunches out at work in the coming weeks, so we account for that as well. It is so freeing to discuss the little things like this and to work together toward a common goal. In the past year we simply changed our way of thinking about money and grew up, accepted responsibility and have made a big change in our future. I'm so proud of us...you have no idea.

I awoke this morning and turned on the news, only to hear the discussion about the government's new "rules" for credit card companies, to help aid in getting Americans out of debt. This makes me mad. Kevin and I got ourselves out of debt all on our own--with no help from the government. We paid off our credit cards...much of which included paying for penalties, "unfair" charges and the like. The way I see it, that's the price you pay to borrow money in the first place--nothing is free. It makes me mad that Americans feel like they're entitled to this help. Boo Waaa. Kevin and I were discussing this topic this morning, after listening on the news about the mortgage crisis. Kevin said that he thinks that's why we're in this mortgage crisis in the first place: Mortgage companies were forced to give mortgages away to too many people--the government demanded it. The way I see it, owning a home is the "American Dream"....not an "entitlement". Home ownership should be something that you work toward to attain, not something that you demand is your right as a citizen. Renting an apartment or home is a fine option for people who aren't ready to accept the responsibility of owning a home...Lord knows Kevin and I did our fair share of renting and, while it does stink to feel like you're throwing that rent money away each month, it's also a good practice in money management and makes you appreciate the value of buying a home eventually and seeing your hard financial work pay off accordingly.

We read (well, Kevin actually read it and then preached the gospel to me) Dave Ramsey's book, "Total Money Makeover" late in 2007, which prompted our budget changes. I highly recommend it. And, all of you adult family members who read this blog should be thanking your lucky stars that we're only buying Christmas gifts for the kids this year because, otherwise, you'd all be getting a copy of this book--not because you need it necessarily, but because Kevin and I have become like Mormon Bible peddlers. I think a copy of Ramsey's book should be right next to the Bible in every hotel nightstand. And, be thankful that it's not available in board-book form, otherwise all of the little cousins, nieces and nephews would be getting the book at well.