5 Ways Dave Ramsey is Ruining Me

I have always described myself as a spender and not a saver. Money seemed to go out my account as quick as it entered. When I got married, my husband and I basically just lived from paycheck to paycheck. If we felt like eating out, we did. If I felt like I deserved to go shopping, I did. We were not very responsible and it was starting to catch up with us.

I had heard a lot about Dave Ramsey from my good friend Mary when she and her husband paid of $80,000 in about two years. So last May, after reading this book and showing it to my husband, we decided to jump off the cliff and finally start to get our financial act together. June 2014 was our first month of radical change. Since then, we have paid off and no longer use credit cards, paid first two debts, and now use strictly use cash. Its amazing how much our relationship with money has changed. It is by no means perfect, but definitely a positive change for our family. So with that lovely little back story, here are the five ways following Dave Ramsey's money plan is changing my life.

1. This is God's money!
That concept can sound very odd in our materialistic culture today, but it really is true. One of the great things we both love about Dave Ramsey are the Biblical principles and mindset he has towards money. The money we make from our jobs does not belong to us to throw around whilly nilly. The money we earn is to take care of our own family, but also to bless others with who do not have as much as we do.

2. Learning to save for something I want makes me appreciate it more
My Mom always told me growing up that I would appreciate something more when I have saved and worked hard to get it. Paying with cash and not relying on credit cards, I have been amazed how much this is true!! With only a certain monthly amount for chump change, I have really learned to plan and prioritize certain purchases I want to make. For example, in the last few months I have begun to run and am training for a half marathon. Not owning a good pair of running shoes, I knew I would have to save for them. The day I went to Running Fit and paid for my shoes in cash felt SO GOOD. My Mom was right after all! I totally appreciated my new running shoes a lot more seeing the effort I put into saving so I could make the purchase without breaking the bank. This has been one of the greatest lessons I have learned so far.

3.  Having a budget makes you talk with your spouse about money
Before all of this, the only time Jim and I ever talked about money was when we had to figure out how to pay the bills. I HATED those conversations, it involved stress, anxiety, and sometimes raised voices. At the time we didn't have a budget, and we certainly never talked about how to handle money or was accountable to how we spent it. Now that we have a working budget, we have a budget meeting at least twice a month. Its amazing what happens when you start being accountable to yourself for where your money goes.

4. You tell your money where to go
One of the songs Dave always sings is you tell your money where to go, plan out every last dollar and where it goes before a new month starts. The problem with I used to handle money is I was constantly telling my money to go down the drain. I would make time and save for the things I wanted without any thought to how the bills later that month would get paid...not the brightest idea! In planning out where your money goes each month, you're less likely to get off track...as long as you stick to the budget!

5. I can now actually see a light at the end of the debt tunnel
Before starting this plan, I honestly thought I would be paying off my school debt forever AND that was a normal thing, to have debt. I always thought it was normal for Americans  to have credit card and school debt. With planning and strong follow-through, I see an actual time frame when we realistically will see ourselves debt free. That is exciting and definitely the encouragement I need when it sucks or I would rather give up....or if I wander into Target with no chump change money left to spend.
We won't have to be in debt forever as long as we both stick to it.


So yeah, thanks Dave for ruining my life...and teaching me how grow up financially. I wish I had done it sooner!


 What about y'all? What is your relationship with money like? Any tips or tricks that help you stick to a budget?

In God's Eyes, We Are All Superheroes

Me personally I never played with action figures growing up...except only when my Barbie dolls needed my brother's GI Joe's for protection. And after the time one of the GI Joe's ripped off one of my Barbie doll's head, lets just say GI Joe was out of a stable job.

This weekend I finished one of the many new books I got for Christmas, and this particular one has become a new favorite of mine. Serenity is quickly becoming a theme for me in many ways. Many of the chapters in Fr. Jonathan's book were so insightful and enlightening for me, but one chapter particularly got me thinking.

If you ever dreamed of wanting to be a super hero, did you ever consider that's what God wants for you too? He just wants us to use those amazingly cool gifts and super-powers for Him and the kingdom. Jesus needs all of us: the writers, painters, dreamers inventors, stay-at-home mom's, teachers, etc. He needs all of us engaged and committed to the mission which is souls, the salvation of the world. The world can only become what God intends through the committed actions of believers. We are not called to a life mindless living and passivity but to being an active catalyst of change.

When Jesus ascended into Heaven, his last words to the disciples were not about hunkering down in a safe place twiddling their thumbs waiting for the second coming. The last words of Jesus were an enormous and daunting commission: "Go out to the whole world and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19). And those words, they were addressed to all of us.
The world needs us who call ourselves a disciple of Jesus to use our gifts and talents out in the world, just like super hero's use their powers to protect and defend. Imagine if Super Man didn't use his potential to fly to swoop down and save the person drowning? Or if Spider-man tried using his web to jump between building but he fell splat on his face? Um, awkward?
Okay so you and I cannot fly or squirt an instant spider web out of our hands, but we are called to be superheroes. We are called to make a difference in this world...and at the end of the day, that is all a superhero really is.

The Church is not just a building, but a body of believers. The life of of the Church needs to extend beyond just the front doors of the church and especially beyond Sunday morning. We have to be flashlights in a world of darkness and salt to give flavor to those who find life not worth living. What is the purpose of things like leaven, flashlights, and salt? Their purpose is to radically change the world around them. And in our own unique way, each of us can do that too.

So go out and be a difference maker. Go be a superhero. Just be you.

The greatest lesson I ever learned from pro-life work

I was in college: young, stupid, self-righteous, and thought I was always right.

I was spending the afternoon with a friend doing what I thought at the time was positive work in the pro-life movement.

We were standing outside of a local grocery store holding graphic images of aborted babies. I really believed and bought that mentality I had often heard from some people involved in pro-life work: "America will never end abortion, until they see abortion."

Lots of cars drove by us standing their on the public part of the sidewalk, some honked and gave thumbs up and some  were angry and yelled four letter words at us. I still remember that one Dad who came up to someone in our group. I didn't overhear the whole conversation but it was something to the effect this father was very angry his young daughter had to be exposed to something so graphic at such a young age.

At that time in my life, I would have thought something to the effect of: "Well that's too bad for you buddy. But sometimes the truth is ugly and it hurts! You gotta just deal with it." Looking back over the years, I am not proud of thinking that and regret it deeply.

One of the greatest lessons that has helped me mature and grow as a Christian woman is being aware of the self-righteous, better-than-you attitude that has often gotten me into trouble, or at the very least given a bad impression of Christians as a whole.

In my younger and less wise days, I have thought that the delivery of the truth doesn't really matter. It doesn't matter how I act or the words I use, because sometimes the truth hurts. And if someone doesn't like? Well, then that's their issue. I didn't like to admit when I was wrong, or the very least accept criticism on how I handled or responded to something.

Last year I wrote about why I personally am not crazy about the use of graphic abortion images in public. I'm really not trying to get into a debate on the use of graphic images, but rather reflecting on my own experience and why my self-righteous attitude at the time has changed how I look at this. I am not saying that all people who use graphic images of abortion are horrible people, but me personally I wonder at how effective that style is.

I have found when you're dealing with people who disagree with you on abortion, a graphic image forced in their face is hardly going to help having a respectful, peaceful dialogue on the issue. In some ways, it can further push people apart and be more polarizing.

One of the greatest lessons I ever learned when dealing with people who are on the opposite end of the spectrum, HOW we deliver the truth matters. Our words, attitudes, and yes I would the images we use matter. And sometimes the WAYS and HOW pro-life people can deliver that message sucks. Sorry but its true. Yes we speak the truth, but if love isn't in our attitude and actions, we have already lost the battle.

One thing I have struggled with in attending the March for Life are the many graphic, even horrific images that line a certain part of the walk. For me, its too much and I know one time seeing an aborted baby is plenty for me, those images I ever saw have never left me.

When my Mom first explained what abortion was as a young child, she was very gentle and chose her words very thoughtfully. She didn't just starting throwing at me pictures of dead babies, that would have been an awful lot for a little person to take in. And I think sometimes the way graphic images are just used is not necessarily helping the mission. 

I believe deeply in the cause of right to life issues; not just abortion, but the death penalty, euthanasia, infanticide, etc. I have raised money for crisis pregnancy centers and grown up spiritually adopting unborn babies. This is a cause I believe in. But I also deeply believe in having respectful, loving attitudes and interactions with those who disagree with me.

And at the end of the day, I wonder how much graphic images help or hurt the mission of pro-life work.

Please join me today in praying for the hundreds of thousands of American peacefully marching in the capitol to speak up for those who have no voice.