Scott Wilder - ish

So after about a month after deciding to get on Dave Ramsey's Total
Money Makeover Plan; we can say definitively that we're making
progress.

 To recap, We have over $180,000 in debt. We were going $700 further
into debt every month due to a pay cut when I lost my old job.

 We were in a situation Ramsey would call a log jam. We couldn't make
any progress on the debt because expenses far exceeded income.

 So we did a few important things to get the logs moving again. I went
out and got two part time jobs to supplement our income and Kathie
cashed in some old stocks she had.

 Cashing out the stocks allowed us to put $1,000 in the bank for
emergencies, pay off the minivan ($3,000) and pay off a few small
debts we had while even yielding a bit of a surplus that we could
apply to our debt snowball. The bad news is that our hot water heater
has sprung a leak so that surplus is now buying us a replacement. I am
not happy about it. But at least we aren't going into more debt to fix
it!!!

 Based on a little math, it looks like the two part time jobs will be
sufficient to cover the monthly minimums on our debt and then some so
we can start paying it down and getting debt free. We're already to
the point where my full time job will pay all our credit card minimums
except one. So my part time jobs need to bring in enough to buy
groceries and pay the minimum on our credit card with the largest
debt. Everything they bring in over and above that will go straight to
the debt snowball.

 The first few months of Ramsey's Total Money Makeover is where a lot
happens in short order. Our white board has been getting whiter by the
week. The trick will be to keep up the motivation when we get to the
big debts that are going to take much more time to pay off.

 Well that's it for tonight. Will keep you posted as we go along.

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So let's drill down a little more on the last post.

 I was so excited to make the announcement that I didn't really go deep
into the details.

 When we lived near Chicago, Kathie had a job that offered stock to
their employees.

 So Kathie went ahead and got some.

 So it sat there and through these turbulent times and as a result
hasn't really grown a whole bunch.

 Once we realized how deep in debt we were; I spent a ton of time just
figuring out how we can scrape together cash to get this elephant
moving. I immediately took to first part time job I could find to
supplement my full time job. And I started looking for a 3rd job
(which I have now). We had totally forgotten that we had money in
stocks!!!

 So it was a no brainer decision. Cash out the stock, get the Baby
Emergency Fund fully funded at $1000. Pay off the remaining $2700 left
on our Kia Sedona. And we still had enough left over to pay off a few
very small credit cards.

 The other big win is that paying off the van brings more than $300 per
month back into our budget. Nice!!!

 Of course Murphy continues to rear his head. It looks like our hot
water heater is going to need replacing. Due to the VERY hard water
where we live. We seem to be literally burning through tank-based
water heaters every 4 or 5 years. So now we're investigating tankless
water heaters. Because they don't heat 24/7; most of the hard water in
the system gets flushed out the next time hot water is needed. If the
sediment does build up then a simple visit by a specialist to do a
deep cleaning is all that is required. Still weighing tank v.
tankless. But we need to do something before the small leak becomes a
big one.

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We decided to cash in what little stocks we had in order to get some
debt paid down. So in one fell swoop the Kia Sedona is now paid in
full and the baby emergency fund is fully funded.

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Seeing as we have years to talk about the details of our debt
situation and our road to recovery; I thought it might be good to lay
some groundwork and write about some of the non-money realities of
being so deep in debt.

 Without a doubt, the newfound illumination of our debt reality is
causing friction in our household. Like most guys, I'm a "fixer" by
nature. I see a problem, I fix the problem. Talking about it,
meditating on it, considering the ramifications of it are all nice
things. But fixing it is really the bottom line. So I've been in war
mode. And debt is my enemy. But Kathie is not my enemy. She is my
bride and my partner. This is where things get dicey. Our plan from
the words "I do" was that when we had a baby; she would be a SAHM
(Stay at Home Mom). And that's where we are. I work which brings home
the bulk of our household income. And even though this is the ideal
situation for us overall; I can't help but feel a little bit like I'm
fighting the debt war alone on the financial front.

 Now don't get me wrong. My wife is AWESOME! A week from now we'll
celebrate eight years of married life. And I'm learning to value her
more and more as time goes on. But we're regular people and we have
arguments just like anyone else. We bicker. We huff and puff.
Occasionally we go to our corners for a time out. But we also forgive,
reconnect and move forward. It's not easy. I'm just as good at holding
a grudge as anyone. And compromising and forgiving means that I don't
always feel like I've "won" in the traditional sense. But financial
peace is meaningless if there's not a relational peace in our family.

 So here we are. Just walking day by day. Not only fighting to erase
our financial debt. But working hard to have a relational bank account
that's overflowing.

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Like most Americans, Kathie and I have debt. It wasn't until recently that I finally opened my eyes to the reality of just how far in debt we are. From now on I will be documenting our journey to dig ourselves out of this hole. It's gonna take years. But we're going to do it!

Clearly, if Kathie and I were good at planning our way out of debt, we would have done it by now. So we're getting help. We will be following Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover Plan. His plan involves seven "Baby Steps." Just doing the first two are going to take us years.

1. Put together $1000 in an emergency fund immediately
2. Pay off all debt besides house
3. Finish Emergency Fund with 3 to 6 months of survival expenses
4. Start retirement savings
5. College fund
6. Pay off house
7. Build Wealth

So after talking to Kathie today, it looks like step 1 will come together. I will blog more about that once ideas become reality.

Step 2 is where things get scary. The reality of our financial situation is that our monthly debt far exceeds our income. I'll go into more details about the actual numbers in later posts. So it's going to take more than belt tightening and frugality to make this a reality. I've already started a part time job to make some extra $$$. And finding a 3rd gig is also now a "Top Priority."

Well that's it for now.

Peace out!

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