All right, you Dave Ramsey people (purists enter with caution)

[Joanne]

Now that the custody battle is over, DH may be getting a job at Bass Pro Shops and me being able to step down to 2 jobs (teaching in 2 settings and working at my graduate school's library) is possible after a few months, I am thinking of doing a modified DR approach.

 

Key word: modified.

 

I do believe my situation was unique (single mom, bankruptcy, limited/reduced/no child support, custody battle that totals $35K, $20k in medical bills and a perceived need to return to school).

 

I won't turn in my van for a junker. I will continue with the payment.

 

I believe my student loans have been the right choice; waiting longer was not/is not an option.

 

However, I am totally on board with no cc debt, the baby steps, etc.

 

I have already have Financial Peace Revisited, a broken but usable DR envelope system and The Total Money Makeover (for $10, ends tonight!) on the way.

 

I have a You Need a Budget from a long time ago I can download.

 

I retrieved my Live Like No One Else log in info.

 

What else do I need besides prayer?

[Jean in Newcastle]

Consistency - and getting back on the wagon if you fall off. You know how to do that! What wonderful new opportunities for your family!

[AuntieM]

Decide on the things that you want to provide for your children while it's your "watch." I mean, DR would say, if you don't have the cash set aside to do XXX, you simply don't do it. Generally, that's good advice. But as a parent, I feel like I have a few years that are "my watch" during which I can provide things for them that may cost me to have to work a little harder or to incur some debt to cover. This is one area in which I am not necessarily die-hard-Dave's-way.

 

For us, that includes orthodontic treatment and certain educational opportunities. Obviously, anything that's a medical necessity. For my SIL, it includes great family vacations while the kids are all under the same roof.

 

This will vary by family. I recommend you spend a little time thinking over what those things might be for your own family, it may help to have thought it through a bit before certain opportunities arise.

 

The rest of your plan/resource list looks great!

[keptwoman]

We are also doing a modified version. Completely agree with you on the car, but we are going to refinance ours to reduce payments, then re-lease another car in a couple of years when our CC etc debt is paid off. Clearly this is not at all DR, but that's how we wish to live, car repairs on old cars are very expensive here, better to have one under warranty.

 

We are using a savings account rather than envelopes for savings for larger expenses. We only use envelopes for expenses from this pay.

We may also choose to pay off our home before really getting stuck into retirement savings (we already have some as it's compulsory here) because mortgage interest rates are much higher here than the US.

 

I also have a fundamental issue with the basic premise of "live like no one else now, so you can live like no one else later." My parents lived by that premise and died in their mid 40's without doing many of the things they had planned for "later." For that reason, we will not put everything off until later, but aim to do enjoyable and affordable things now, this means that it will take longer to get to the end goal of retirement, and that's OK with us. Also we have no issue with leaving a legacy for our kids. If it happens, great, but as far as we are concerned, they can make their own money and live their own life. As long as they have money for a funeral and death expenses, that's good enough. Obviously that's talking about when they are older. For now we have life insurance.

 

I guess what I'm saying is that I think that the basic fundamentals can be used without subscribing to absolutely everything. The baby steps make great sense, and already we are making headway on our debt.

Edited July 7, 2010 by keptwoman

[Kari C in SC]

We are also doing a modified version. Completely agree with you on the car, but we are going to refinance ours to reduce payments, then re-lease another car in a couple of years when our CC etc debt is paid off. Clearly this is not at all DR, but that's how we wish to live, car repairs on old cars are very expensive here, better to have one under warranty.

 

We are using a savings account rather than envelopes for savings for larger expenses. We only use envelopes for expenses from this pay.

We may also choose to pay off our home before really getting stuck into retirement savings (we already have some as it's compulsory here) because mortgage interest rates are much higher here than the US.

 

I also have a fundamental issue with the basic premise of "live like no one else now, so you can live like no one else later." My parents lived by that premise and died in their mid 40's without doing many of the things they had planned for "later." For that reason, we will not put everything off until later, but aim to do enjoyable and affordable things now, this means that it will take longer to get to the end goal of retirement, and that's OK with us. Also we have no issue with leaving a legacy for our kids. If it happens, great, but as far as we are concerned, they can make their own money and live their own life. As long as they have money for a funeral and death expenses, that's good enough. Obviously that's talking about when they are older. For now we have life insurance.

 

I guess what I'm saying is that I think that the basic fundamentals can be used without subscribing to absolutely everything. The baby steps make great sense, and already we are making headway on our debt.

 

I gotta say I agree with you on the putting off stuff. I have read many threads on DR and thought that. My dad got very ill when he was 49. He lived 9 more years, but was not in great shape. My mom always has said she wished they could have done more with the time they had together. My sil was killed when she was 32. She was able to do a lot of good stuff, but missed out on so much more. Then there is my ds - gone at 21. I have no regrets taking him to Disney more times than I can count. Obviously, I would not suggest credit card debt to do these things. I just suggest that sometimes priorities include being good to ourselves and family. No one is guaranteed to live to retirement.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

What else do I need besides prayer?

 

A sense of humor to get you through the rough times.

A sense of humility to get you through the good times.

And a whole lot of support from your friends here at TWTM. Which you will have unconditionally I am sure.

 

I for one am going to be cheering you on all the way through graduation day, my friend.

[Scarlett]

Now that the custody battle is over,

 

I must have missed this! I knew you got a favorable report from the court appointed psych, but didn't know it was all over now. I am assuming you won?

 

I am working a modified DR too....I have been going to the site some trying to get motivated...

 

I am glad things seem to be turning around for you.

[Chris in VA]

Cheering you on here, as well!

 

I have cut my cc debt so far from over 20K to just under 7K. I "took inventory" and realized just how much my overspending robbed my family (I know your circumstances are way, way different). Not only did I waste $, I wasted time and opportunity--I spent too much time being anxious about debt, and it took away my ability to be happy with them, to some extent. Realizing what debt can do (unhealthy debt) is a prime motivator for me.

 

I absolutely do agree, tho, with those who say balance is in order--I wish we had gone into debt to get ds' teeth straightened, for example. I am so aware of the limited time with our kids now--this is the first summer we will not vacation together as a family (well, last summer we didn't, but that was due to other circumstances).

 

It goes fast, so choose wisely.

 

And remember to be consistent--even a few extra dollars in sacrifice can really add up over time.

 

One thing helped me see a big picture with my CC debt--My cc company told me my minimum payment of $157 a month would mean I would be paying off my 7K debt in 43 years. Paying $120 more a month means paying it off in 3 years.

 

Big diff, eh? :D

 

Keep the big pic in mind.

[Mejane]

Good for you for realizing you can still do it without being legalistic. As others have said, decide what you're willing to do, then do it consistently. You'll see it working and it will keep you going. Good luck!

[Renee in NC]

Joanne, unless you plan on being more Dave Ramsey than Dave himself, I would just stay away from LLNOE.:lol: They *defined* gazelle.:tongue_smilie:

[Scarlett]

Joanne, unless you plan on being more Dave Ramsey than Dave himself, I would just stay away from LLNOE.:lol: They *defined* gazelle.:tongue_smilie:

 

That is the the TRUTH! They have good ideas and good guidelines....but good grief!

[Veronica in VA]

We do a modified approach here, too. We use cc but pay them off every month. And I do a budget, but give ourselves a little more wriggle room. We did just refinance to a 15 year mortgage and hope to get it paid off quicker though.

[Mejane]

Joanne, unless you plan on being more Dave Ramsey than Dave himself, I would just stay away from LLNOE.:lol: They *defined* gazelle.:tongue_smilie:

 

Yes. I was asked to leave the forum after being reprimanded twice for saying we still used a credit card. :auto:

[coffeefreak]

I think you're right to follow the plan as it works for you. We are huge DR fans, but even we're not following the plan exactly. We bought a reliable car last year (took out a loan) because DH was missing too much work with our two junkers (Had to put over $4000 worth of work in them!). We're moving into an apartment to pay off the bulk of the debt, but then, we're going to stop, save 3-6 months of pay and a down payment for a house. We figure all that will take us 2-3 years. THEN we'll finish paying off the student loans. The car will be paid off with minimum payments by then anyway, so we don't see the need to accelerate that. We do think it's foolish to rent for more than a year or two, especially in this housing market.

 

Dave has said, if you're in for a long haul (more than 3 years to pay off all your debt), you have to take a break every once in a while and reward yourself. He also says, "Life happens!" I listened to him talk to a family whose son is dying of cancer. They want to go on a trip and give him the best summer ever. Dave told them that's just common sense! When life happens, forget about the snowball, and regroup when the storm is over.

 

Blessings!

Dorinda

[coffeefreak]

Yes. I was asked to leave the forum after being reprimanded twice for saying we still used a credit card. :auto:

 

:001_huh:

 

OK, that's a bit extreme. Guess I won't be posting on those forums!:lol:

[Guest Katia]

I am so happy to read that so many of you use DR ideas, but modify to suit your own situations. Dh and I have been doing this, and I guess I've felt a little ashamed that we weren't doing it 'right'. But dh said we have to do what is right for our family, and I totally agreed with him.

 

Anyhow, we are down from five credit cards to ONE, and have paid off both vehicles. We now have an emergency account, a vacation account and a non-budget item account.

 

I feel like that is success!!!

 

Good luck to you, Joanne. You deserve it.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Aside: what is LLNOE?

[Marylou]

What is LLNOE?

[kwickimom]

LLNOE= living like no one else.

 

there is a LLNOE forum that is more psychotic about Dave Ramseys ideas than he is :)

[Marylou]

So happy for you, Joanne.

 

www.crownmoneymap.org is another resource for debt-free living.

[jenL]

You can do this, Joanne! We are on a DR plan that works for us like others here. We're cc debt-free, and we're about to pay off my car, then my school loans. Within all this, we are still taking our summer vacation (albeit frugally), and we've actually budgeted an entertainment envelope and a restaurant envelope. The amounts are not large, but we knew we needed a bit of freedom to keep our sanity. We enjoy eating out and the ability to take the kids to a movie every now and then, so that is why those envelopes are there. They keep us reigned in and successful with the debt snowball, but DR probably wouldn't approve. :)