I've Fallen In Love......

I've fallen in love...with nothing materialistic...but simply a bible verse. Since day one, Dave Ramsey has given us this verse and I have fallen in love with it:

"Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain"
--Proverbs 31:10-11

Tonights Lesson" The Role of Insurance"-- am really interested in this because since day one of being a grown up and paying for insurance- I HAVE NEVER UNDERSTOOD IT! So hopefully I will have many of my questions- answered!

As for our budget- well-- I've began to do all the figuring/totaling to see how far over/under we are! I can tell you though that we paid off a big chunk of debt this month and that was a huge plus! I can also tell you that we got 75% of Christmas bought, and paid for, in cash! We also were able to pay for an $800 pickup repair, in cash, plus an additional $100 in parts. (This repair wasn't budgeted, in ink, since we were unsure of what the final figure would be!)

And now-- it's the end of the month--- and we get to start this all over again. I know now why he said it takes 3 months to make a budget work, because you don't budget for somethings, and some things, you over budget for! So- we are starting to get the hang of this!

Finally, I do want to express that I'm tried of the budgeting remarks being made. First off- EVERYONE-YES EVERYONE- should operate on a monthly budget. Hardly anyone does because they don't have the will power, the discipline, or the want to. Lots of people can't do a budget because, plain and simple, they don't want to take the time and see how careless they are with their money.

REASONS WE SHOULD ALL DO A MONTHLY BUDGET:
1. A written plan removes the management by crisis from your finances.
2. Managed money goes farther.
3. A written plan, if actually lived and agreed on, will remove much of the guilt, shame, and fear that may now be a part of buying necessities such as food or clothing.
3. A written plan, if actually lived and agreed on, will remove alot of stress from your life. (VERY TRUE)
4. A written plan, if actually lived and agreed on, will show if you are OVERSPENDING.

I was recently having a conversation amongst a group of people, and one was about to make a big purchase for something. They remarked: "But it's 0% financing for X months"-- I wanted to stand up, scream, and shout, NO NO NO NO NO you CRAZY person! Don't ever ever ever finance anything other than cars and homes in your life! When you walk into a store to buy something, you either pay cash, or take what cash you do have and save it up to buy it. Chances are, you take all that cash with you in the store, throw it on the table, and 9 times out of 10, you will get a 15-20% just from paying cash. If they don't offer you that discount- then you walk out of that store-WITH YOUR CASH-and take it to the next store. They make other "things" like the "thing" you are wanting. You don't HAVE to buy it there. You don't have to STRESS about a monthly payment when you pay for it in CASH!

OFF MY SOAP BOX! (until tomorrow!)