There is so much going on right now both personally and professionally, I'm not sure where to start and don't want to just put random thoughts out there. I will spin my Wheel of Fortune and make one topic a day.
Topic for Today: Getting Out of Debt
I have been taking the Dave Ramsey Course now with John for three weeks now and we are both so excited about our new "vision". It seems like we've been living in a fog for so long and it feels like we got new glasses and are seeing our spending in a whole new light. I've also made a new piece of artwork... a credit card mosaic!
We've tried to mix our finances before with terrible results, but the way that DR has us set up our accounts, it's easy to see where we need to be and where the money is going. Cash is definitely the way to go. I will be closing my personal checking account today and merging with our newly made joint checking account.
One of our biggest hurdles, however, is that I work freelance and I don't always get paid on time. I spend a large amount of my time just tracking down where the checks are and doing the mailbox dance. I am seriously considering getting a part time job locally for the morning hours and working online at home in the afternoon. I can keep my clients as they are, but still have a solid cash flow. Most of my clients have cut back their spending anyway, so this would be a great way to keep my eggs in different baskets and have a back up plan.
Some options would be Target, Petco, or one of the many restaurants. I'm not really sure that I want to go into the food service, but if the hours are good and the money is consistent, it could work. Seems like people still have money to eat out. We, however, don't go out much at all and will be budgeting a certain amount and keeping within that budget.
The debt snowball plan is so exciting! We had so much fun with that particular spreadsheet! If we are diligent, we could pay off all our debt this year. We will be signing papers to refinance our home next Friday. This is something we wanted to do last year, but we hit a speed bump and it was not possible.
I am praying for a wonderful year with lots of changes for the good. I feel like I need to do something different!! I am active in my church, but need to do more. I'm not sure if a mission trip is in the plan for this year, I need to save up for something next year. Maybe as a family we could all go to Bolivia. I think it would be life changing and a wonderful experience.
I'd like to leave each post with a prayer or bible. This is courtesy of www.verseoftheday.com and I find it so relevant to my focus!
Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21
God bless you all.
