Walking the talk.

Hey there! I'm April. I don't claim to be a financial guru in any sense of the word...but for years I have stored away, hidden and counted my monies over and over and over. I can spend money, but I can also let it hide away and burn a hole in my pocket without even thinking about it. However, 5 or so years ago I married a spender. He's not bad, but he's much quicker to spend than I am. That's not to say that I don't spend...I do. I am just usually much more painfully aware of it than he is. And I get spender's guilt like nobodies business!!!

We have been training ourselves to watch where our money goes from day one. We have even implemented rules, "If I am going to spend $50 or more on any one item, I first have to talk with my husband/wife first." Not necessarily for permission, but to gain perspective on whether or not that item is truly needed. Mr. E loves all things electronic and gadgety, while I could lose myself in Target on any given day purchasing who knows what.

When I got married I came straight from living with my parents. I owned my car outright, after purchasing it from a friend...using money from credit. Mr. E owned his own townhouse, so we were pretty set up. I walked right into a mortgage and bills. We decided from the get-go to pool our money together, what I earned and what he earned we put together to pay all the bills, buy all the groceries and have fun with!

And have fun we did. I remember in the beginning, I knew we had the world's smallest mortgage...and we made more than enough money to get everything we need. But keeping track of where it went...that's where the problem started. It seemed that at the end of each money all that money we had, was no where to be seen. We also made a couple big purchases that we didn't necessarily have the cash on hand for. Enter credit...a certain evil that would soon rule our lives. We even thought that we would do some good and open a card where we could earn rewards and flight miles, etc. But I can attest to this...building up $10k in credit card debt doesn't get you 10k flight miles. Nope. We were beyond naive on that one.

Fast forward a little bit and we are in our second home...a single family that needed some TLC. We have added two other credit cards and a HELOC (home equity line of credit) to our 'evil' gang and we are trying ever so eagerly to dig ourselves out during these frightening economic times.

Our push? Kids. We have been trying for a little one for 3 years now...and all the while we have been floating down this debt river with little concern about the future. I mean, we have always thought about it...but never took big strides to take care of the situation...which ever so slowly only made it worse.

So I would say about 5 months ago, Mr. E and I sat down and had a heart-to-heart. Changes HAD to be made. At any given moment I could get pregnant and then we were on a huge crunch to get this debt taken care of. I want very much to be a sahm (stay at home mom), but I knew that if we didn't get rid of some of this debt, I would have to return to work after our little one was born. That idea killed me inside. I kicked myself for the poor spending choices we had made, the credit cards we had opened and all the poor decisions concerning our future. But that wasn't going to break-a our stride...oohhh nnoooo, we got to keep on mooooviin'!

It's hard though...I want so badly to have our half bath finished, to finish our basement, to upgrade the decor of our home with things like fresh paint and crown moulding. I want a beautifully landscaped yard. (and after losing 35 pounds) I want a new wardrobe!!! We have so many wants, but what has to be more powerful now is the desire to have a financially healthy home for my children when they come into this world!!

So our goals: Pay down debt being the first one. We also have some smaller secondary goals. Increase monies into 401K, use some extra money to put more equity into our home (i.e. finish our basement, + a half bath, etc), and we have also chosen to share/give. We are deeply compassionate people and we feel that on top of tithes, giving is a huge sacrifice that we feel God can use.

Some immediate goals: setting aside money for next month (our envelopes), all extra money goes to a balance bill, clipping coupons and looking for deals, planning meals as to not buy groceries frivolously. No eating out on credit/debit, giving; but without putting ourselves in a crunch and certainly adding no more to the debt pool than is already there!

So far so good...we have set aside money from overtime work, some of my secondary jobs and truck payments from a car we sold and we were even able to put out over $600 one month to pay down some bills. What a high that was to see WHAT we could do...that was the push we needed. I also opened up an account with Pear Budget in order to create a budget and live a more 'designed' financial lifestyle, thus freeing up more money for debt payoff.

Today is the day. Day 1 of starting our budget. We have decided to budget and during one month we set aside money for the next months spending in cash. We are using an envelope system to keep track of the money for gas, groceries, dining out, etc. Our three biggest focuses for October are spending only the money set aside for gas and groceries, and anything left over rolls into money for November. And as far as dining out goes...we can only do it, if we have the cash on hand to do so. No more debit card nonsense...there is no accountability there.

I am eager to accomplish October's goals and make it out on top. In the green.

So is there anyone else like me out there? No kiddos, paying off debt and preparing for a family, all the while yearning for a debt-free lifestyle, being able to give to others without grimacing for fear that our wallets can't handle it, a nic-er home that is decorated beautifully and finally finished with upgrade projects, new clothes, being able to go to Target and spend money because I was smart enough to set aside the funds to do so! It all seems so simple, but it's what I want in life...and I will get it!

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