Back on the Path

We're back on the shoulda-never-got-off-but-life-got-crazy-Dave-Ramsey-budget-path.  Luckily we never went back to using credit cards, but we certainly have been spending money that would have been nice to see in our bank account right now.  We got in the mind-set that we make a lot more money here in El Paso, which is true.  It's also true that we have a lot more expensive bills (big house, van bought on credit, big house utilities) and a lot more kids.  That means we really should be living about like we lived in Las Cruces.  Eating out should be a once or twice a month thing, at most.  Once we adopted the kids, the money from the state to care for them was cut in half or so, and the extra cushion in our bank account was sucked dry when we forgot to cut our spending accordingly.  

It feels good to have a written plan again.  It feels good to know what is OK to spend and what needs to wait.  It doesn't feel good to think of the housing repairs (for example, we have one heater/AC unit out in a tiny part of our house, and there is an issue with our pool that makes it unusable until fixed, and the garage door is broken, and a toilet needs repair, and a scooter rammed into our pantry door which broke it off and other various hazards of actually living in a house) that we will need to save up to fix.  It feels good to know exactly where we are financially, though, and to be able to come up with plans and timelines to tackle the repairs.

I have been trying to slowly go through the different types of items in my house to get rid of all the things we don't need.  I have gone through almost all the clothes, and now I am slowly working through books when I have a chance.  I have been motivated to sell some of the homeschooling books I don't think I will use again in order to have a little spending money for some things that didn't make it into the budget.  Jon's having several funerals, and that money is going toward Brishen's mission trip to Hungary this summer.  We still have plenty of money to handle things in life (please don't think I'm complaining!!), but we have to be more careful that we know where each dollar is supposed to go.  It's nice to be back on track.

I also have long known that I will not let Brishen graduate from my homeschool until he has taken a Dave Ramsey class of his own.  I sent out some emails to see if other homeschoolers in town want their teens to take the class if I offer it.  There was a HUGE response.  We all want our kids to do a better job with financial decisions in life than we did.  I'll probably end up facilitating an adult Dave Ramsey class again, too, since so many parents said they wished they could take the class.  

Baby steps toward a secure financial future.  We're back on the path!