Thread: Dave Ramsey ended my modding.

Scooty,,, This is basically what Dave Ramsey preaches,, he uses the term snowball effect also. I really thank you for taking the time and writing such a detailed outline. I have just started and boy is it tuff.. i mean really tuff.... My wife graduates next May from Nursing school, so that should help tremendously with bills and getting out of debt. but for the time being, being that I am the only earner, it is not so easy.. thanks again..

Chris.

Originally Posted by scoobyydooooooo

Scooty,,, This is basically what Dave Ramsey preaches,, he uses the term snowball effect also. I really thank you for taking the time and writing such a detailed outline. I have just started and boy is it tuff.. i mean really tuff.... My wife graduates next May from Nursing school, so that should help tremendously with bills and getting out of debt. but for the time being, being that I am the only earner, it is not so easy.. thanks again..

Chris.

Not a problem. Good luck to ya. Just keep in mind you dont want to be so sacrificial that you leave yourself no room to move in case of something unexpected. I have talked to numerous young couples trying to pass along what I have learned from my own mistakes and I cannot stress it enough that you MUST, HAVE TO pay yourself first. Even if its a louse $5, put it in savings at least every payday and forget about it.

The system does work and it works really well. If you get through the first couple of bills it starts to move really fast, but the first bill or two it will be kinda slow going.

I dont like to talk about personal finances on line with regards to actual numbers, but I will say this; we have nearly, in just one year alone, paid off one of our biggest debts that amounted to nearly a new car. I should have it paid off around Feb/Mar of next year if not sooner. That money that we are using to pay that down will then be turned to the Grand Prix and it should be paid completely two to three months after that.

The system just plain works if you stick to it, dont acquire new debt after paying some off. If I had not had to use my bonus from work this year to buy a vehicle for me an my wife I would have been done with this spring of next year. But, instead of buying a new vehicle we both got used vehicles we could pay cash for. I got a 95 Isuzu Rodeo, she got a 97 Jeep Cherokee. They are solid vehicles for the most part, so we shouldnt have to worry about them any time soon but are far from what we wanted. I wanted my GP back on the road she wanted something newer. But instead of giving into that, we sacrificed a little now to have be in much better position down the road to afford what we want.

The point is, dont go out and finance more debt while you are in this process, you're just shooting yourself in the foot if you do. Once you are debt free there should be little you should ever have to finance again. Just be careful, plan everything you can. Find creative ways to stay around the house and have fun or find events and activities around town that are free or very little cost. Dont be afraid to reward yourself either. When you reach certain milestones, like paying a particular debt off, go out and enjoy yourself. Go out to eat, go buy yourself something (cash of course, no credit cards), etc.

Life doesnt end because you are working to be debt free, it does scale it back considerably but you can still enjoy yourselves. In the end its all worth it. Want a shot of encouragement. Figure up how much you are now paying for things like credit cards, loans, stuff like that. Add all that together and that is how much extra money you'll have left over if you were debt free now. For most, most people in America it usually adds up to a nice sized house payment.