If you've been following Money Saving Mom for any length of time you have heard of Dave Ramsey by now. She posts frequently about Dave Ramsey and his books, his conferences, and his strategies on getting out of debt. And essentially "living like no one else".
My husband and I bought Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover" book over a year ago, and in the beginning we did really well! We were able to pay off 2 credit cards within 3 months. And were chipping away at a 3rd.
Then life hit us. Hard! More like it sucker punched us!
Before we knew it we were once again drowning in debt, and today we find ourselves on a sinking ship.
Bills are pouring in every day, sometimes we get 9-10 medical bills in ONE DAY! Totaling thousands of dollars... with insurance!
I think we just lost heart. Or faith. Or both.
Then yesterday. Oh yesterday.
Yesterday came out of nowhere, or so it seemed.
It really shouldn't have been a surprise, we saw it coming.
But when you don't want to see something, quite often, you don't!
Yesterday the stark reality of our situation came crashing in on us.
We have nothing!
No money in our emergency fund -we used it to cover our rent the last few months.
No money in our checking account -we had to use the last of the emergency fund just to cover rent. -again-
We have no idea if we will be getting the court ordered child support -which is how we pay for groceries, and the electricity!
What we do have is:
6 mouths to feed.
1 income that was greatly reduced in February.
2 credit cards that are almost maxed out -again- (I hate to admit that!)
and what seems like an ever increasing mountain of debt!
In a moment of absolute fear, I called my old job, asking to come back.
They told me to come in, today, at 12pm.
I didn't.
I got all dressed and ready to walk out the door, and couldn't!
The thought of putting on that apron, and going back to waiting tables sickened me!
What about my kids!? Homeschool!? The house!?
No, I just can't do that. I have too much on my plate as it is.
So as of today, my husband is looking for a second job.
-again-
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and right now we're way beyond desperate!
We are the gazelles, being hunted by the lion, and we are running for our lives!!
So we are back to Step 1 of the Total Money Makeover.
We are back to square one, a little worse for the wear, but a little wiser too!!
Today we start our Total Money Makeover again.
Today we are resolved that no matter what we are not going to give up, lose heart, or let our debt get the best of us!!
The bible talks about debt being a form of bondage!
And is it ever!
Every day we are worried if we will be able to pay our bills.
We can't buy stuff we need, let alone stuff we want!
I've gone so far as to put off getting much needed dental work done, because we have NO MONEY! I still have a temporary in from a root canal that was done in August of 2008!
I am going to need to get a lot more creative in my cooking, meal planning, homeschooling, grocery shopping, budgeting, cleaning, EVERYTHING!
If you have any money saving, budget stretching tips PLEASE TELL ME!!
And I'm going to be painfully "transparent" on this Total Money Makeover journey we're on.
Everyone is hurting in this economy. Maybe some of you have lost a job.
I know that I'm not the ONLY one in this situation, but as I climb my way out of this mess,
I'm going to do so openly, and honestly, and show you that there is a way out for you too!!
Won't you join me on this Total Money Makeover?
To order the Total Money Makeover Book click HERE.
To check out the Total Money Makeover site click HERE.
Day #1
MAKE BUDGET!!
When I have mine completed, I'll share what I did.
