We Need To Be Debt Free

Fed Up!

2009-02-03T04:51:00.000-05:00

For the last four days my wife and I have been putting off our budget until I got an answer regarding this training situation at the office. Friday I met with both my manager and the VP of my contract house regarding the recent request for all developers to attend specific courses and become Java certified within the next three months. I discussed my manager the option of self-study and he said that he would look into and let me know on Monday. Meanwhile I went to the meeting with the VP of my contract house and after a hour long conversation he only agreed to cover an additional $1750 of the cost but, I did not think it would be necessary because I hoped I could do self-study. Unfortunately, yesterday I was told by my manager that self-study was not an option, it is mandatory that we attend the training of the "selected" vendor. When I asked what, "selected" vendor meant I was simply told, "you been around long enough to know how things work here.." This means I will have to spend $2225. of my own money for a training course that I may have been able to find cheaper somewhere else.

This is going to affect our budget and progress enormously! At this point I am very upset and fed up with the corruption in this municipality. I was already looking for better opportunities but after this fiasco I am more determined than ever to ramp up my searching.

Changes At The Office

2009-01-28T16:31:00.005-05:00

I had a strange feeling that something was going on at work. We had not attended any meetings lately and it just seemed too quite lately. Today I found out exactly why.

I work as a Microsoft .NET web application developer for a municipality here in Michigan. I just left a meeting where it was announced that management decided to abandon our current Microsoft development platform in favor of the Java based development environment. Effective immediately! Supposedly the licensing of Microsoft software was becoming too cost prohibitive and it was thought that the "Open Source" architecture of Java application development would be less expensive and more robust.

Besides this we were also told that beginning next Monday all development staff would be required to attend an extensive Java training and certification-prep course. All current contractors are required to be Java certified within the next three months. Unfortunately the course cost $7,950.00 and contractors are required to pay for themselves! I contacted my contract house and told them what was happening. After "haggling" with them for almost a hour they finally agreed to pay for 50% of the cost. But, that leaves me with a $3,975. obligation that I cannot afford. I have made an appointment with the VP of my contract house this Friday. I hope I can convince him to cover the complete cost.

Debt Free Bloggers

2009-01-23T16:20:00.010-05:00

Since I started this blog back in 2007 I have followed the blogs of several other people who were also trying to get out of debt. Whenever I am having a "Pity Party" or feeling sorry for myself it helps to read other blogs and realize that I am not the "only one". It is both encouraging and inspirational to read how others are overcoming adversities to become debt free.

I can count on one hand the people that I know who are debt free excluding their home and even less who are completely debt free including their home. So, it is very inspirational for me to read about some of the other bloggers who started with debt and have eliminated it. The following is a list of the few bloggers that I have followed that are now "debt-free":

Congratulations to all of you and thank you for the inspiration!

Kicking Out Discover Card!

2009-01-21T18:16:00.006-05:00

Thank God for Presidential Inauguration parties! I made deliveries to two parties yesterday evening and collected $140 in tips. My total tips collected yesterday was $163. This afternoon I mailed the check to pay off Discover Card. Over the last two days I have collected more tips than I have over the last two weeks.

I do not know how long collecting tips like it will last but I am very grateful that Discover Card is out of our lives. I hope we will be able to reach our goal of being debt free excluding the mortgage within the period that we are praying for.

Good News and Good Tips

2009-01-20T12:10:00.011-05:00

Delivering pizza last night went great! When the night was over I earned $257. in tips! Suprisingly, $213. alone came from people who were celebrating Obama's Presidential Inauguration (whom I did not vote for). With these tips we are now only $64. away from being able to pay off the Discover card! I am looking forward to this evening expecting bigger tips since the actual Inauguration is today.

The other good news is that we will not have to take our puppy to the doggy-daycare or buy puppy training pads anymore. My wife's sister has agreed with help us by allowing us to drop the puppy over her house every morning. Since she is SAHM she told us that she would more than happy to take care of her during the day. Her only stipulations were that we change the dog food that we are currently feeding her to Eukanuba or Royal Canin, we give her the Interceptor tablets to administer and that we all attend obedience training classes with the puppy. This was perfectly fine with us. She told my wife that she fell in love with the puppy at first sight but would not be able to adopt her outright due to costs associated (..she already has three dogs and two cats). She also agreed to help us with housebreaking and training the puppy whenever possible. Although she could not adopt her we are all glad that she is willing to help us. She has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to dogs. At one time she trained and judged Open Show level dogs. Now we only have to keep up our side of the bargain.

"She Has To Go"

2009-01-15T05:45:00.003-05:00

When I called my wife from Alabama to ask her about bringing home she told me that it would be fine. Every since I brought the puppy home of Alabama my wife seemed to be complaining. I thought that this was unusual because she is generally an animal lover. As usual it took me a while to realize that she and the kids had legitimate reasons for being upset.

Since I recently started delivering pizzas in the evening most of the responsibilities of cleaning, feeding and training the puppy had fallen on she and the kids. Between working two jobs and working on my final Capstone Project I have not been able to help with caring for the puppy. I very naively thought that I was doing some great deed by taking her to an inexpensive doggy daycare during the weekday but, what I failed to realize is that it did nothing to help them during the evening or weekends. By this weekend she and the kids were completely fed up. So, after breakfast Sunday morning she and the kids told me all the reasons why they no longer want the puppy. By the time they finished I realized just how much work such a little dog can be. Since our discussion I have made a sincere effort to help them more with the puppy's care. But, it has not helped with the fact that the only area in our house that we can keep her crate is in the kitchen. And I do not know how long my wife is going to tolerate us cleaning up the "relief" from that area.

One other concern is the expense of the puppy. To date we have spent $413. of the $2,400. that he gave us for her on visits to the vet, food, doggy daycare and training classes. At this rate I am afraid that it will only be a few more months before all the puppy fund is spent. I promised my friend that I would do my best to raise her but, now I am wondering if my best is going to be good enough.

Our Focus In 2009

2008-12-31T05:48:00.016-05:00

When I started this blog on February 17, 2007 I never thought that almost two years later we would still "Need To Be Debt Free" . Last year this time I listed five of my aspirations for 2008. I have only accomplished one of those goals.

During our family's Christmas gathering my cousin asked me about the blog. We browsed to this site from our PC in the kitchen. As he was reading through the different posts a few other family members came over to see what we were looking at. After reading through a few posts their responses were almost the same. "Why are you doing this? Why don't you just pay off your debts?" Then, my older cousin who I have always admired for his abilities to overcome an impoverish childhood to become a very successful businessperson pulled aside and told me something that I have been meditating on for the last seven days. He said, "..if you really wanted to get out of debt nothing could stop you. You simply aren't working hard enough at it!" I asked him did he really read through all the blog and see all the contingencies that we have encountered. He just smiled and shook his head. Then, he said "..you're just making excuses." I thought to myself he doesn't know everything that I am dealing with.

"enoughwealth@yahoo.com said...Someone whose top priority was getting out of debt would stop tithing, sell/give away the puppy, sell the Rolex, and use the full $3,400 to pay off debts or kick off a retirement savings plan or start saving for their kid's college education.

Then there's JW..."

I would never consider selling or giving away my best friend's dog or Rolex watch. He gave these to me in confidence that I would care for and keep them in remembrance of our friendship. What I am considering and actively looking for is a second source of income and other items that we could sell to help with our debt reduction.

We have many family and individual goals for this year. With a daughter graduating from school, our teenage boys getting older, compounded with the possibility of me being laid off we have many financial concerns and obligations. Too many to list here. Our main concern and focus for 2009 will be to eliminate our debts within the next five months or less.

Our January 2009 Zero Based Budget

2008-12-30T12:41:00.008-05:00

Except for the last four days of being without power due to a wind storm December has been a great month. We were able to be a blessing to another family in the inner city while at the same time be blessed by my very close friend to reduce our debt. It is our hope that January will be the beginning of a major step towards debt freedom.

Another great gift that we received from my brother-in-law was the Magic Jack. Since using it we have not had any problems. I am looking forward to canceling our current phone service after the beginning of the new year. This should save us over $330 in 2009.

In January our income will be affected due to the days I had to take off without pay but, I have been able to secure supplemental income by helping a friend with developing a web application for his business. Now that the holidays are over we are redirecting our focus back on to becoming debt free. We have agreed to make the following changes to our budget to expedite the payoff of the Discover Card:

- My wife has agreed to keep her "blow money" at $80.
- Temporarily stop saving for "Birtdays/Anniversaries/Etc."
- Temporarily stop saving for the "Family Alabama trip".

Please feel free to offer your comments and suggestions.

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Blessings From A Friend

2008-12-17T05:20:00.024-05:00

When I initially got the call from Alabama I was reluctant to go a second time with such a short period. After all it was only a few weeks ago that I just got back. His wife told me that the doctor says "..it could be any day now". His wife told me that he asked to see me and several other friends and family that he was close to. At that point it became a very simple decision. No matter how inconvenient or how much money I would lose by missing work I had to go. Now that I am back home I know that I made the right decision. Although he was not able to talk as well this time compared to the last time that I saw him, he and I along with his sisters and brothers had a very good time.

While finishing dinner one night his wife gave me a letter that they planned to mail me. In it he expressed how much he loved me like a brother, how he wished that we had raised our children together and a list of several things that he wanted me to have in remembrance of our long friendship. One of things that he wanted the children to have was one puppy from his very beloved pet dog. She is a few weeks old American Bulldog/Rottweiler mixed. (see the picture of her with my son). Along with her I was given a dog crate, a few toys and several puppy training videos. The puppy has a Rottweiler (mother) and American Bulldog (father). Since coming home my sons and I have been searching the Internet for all information we can find regarding both breeds. The crate that I have is a LifeStages 36" x 24" with a divider in the middle. I have also made an appointment with a local veterinarian to start her shots.

He also gave me a beautiful Rolex watch, which according to his wife he only wore to church on Sunday. This watch had very significant value to him because, it was given to him by his now deceased Uncle. I had a very difficult time excepting this because, I would have thought that he wanted one of his children or siblings to have it. But, he insisted that I keep it. Which I plan put in safe keeping.

The next morning after eating breakfast his wife slid two envelops across the kitchen table. On one envelope it had my name and on the other the word "Puppy". I had an idea what was in them but, I could not be sure. She smiled as she slid them to me. I asked "what is this?" She said, "one is for the puppy and the other is for you and your wife." I opened the envelope with "Puppy" written on it and inside was $2,400. cash. She told me, "we know you have a lot of mouths to feed so here's help with the new one." Then, I opened the second envelope and it had $1,000. cash in it". She said, "this is a little something from us to you for coming down here again on such short notice." I immediately told her that I could not accept the money because, I did not come down there for that. Immediately she jumped took the envelope out of my hand grabbed a pen and started scratching out my name. Then she wrote my wife's name on the envelope and handed it back to me and said,"Ok, it's not for you anymore its for your wife". We both had a good laugh and I gladly accepted it.

When I arrived home with the puppy my teenage son was so excited that he told me that he did not anything else for Christmas. He said, "this is exactly what I was going to ask for this year." After my wife saw the size of the crate she said, "...that crate is not going in my house!".

It has been several days since I have come back home and my friend is still hanging on and fighting the good fight of faith. Our daily prayer is that he will be healed and fully recover. My wife has applied $700 of the money he gave us to reduce the Discovery Card debt to only $937 and kept the remaining $300 to make up the difference for the days that I went without pay and cover the remainder of our December budget. The puppy has had its first appointment with the vet and will need several more before it has completed all her shots.

An Inspirational Email

2008-12-16T21:19:00.021-05:00

While catching up on my emails I came across the following:

"Short conclusion of this mail: I am going to give 10% of my December pay
to understand your tithing. Some of it I want to give to you but with a
condition attached.

Hello,

You do not know me, but I have been reading your blog on and off for some
months and I find your struggle with getting debt free very interesting. I
have been posting a few comments under the name Tordr.

One thing that has amazed me is your ability to give (gifts and tithing)
while struggling to get debt free. On the one hand it is very good to give
to others, on the other hand it will take you longer to get debt free with
all that giving.

I am on the other hand a sceptic about giving. I feel that any money I am
giving will probably be used for the things that I wished that the money
was going to.

On the other hand when it comes to money I am in a blessed situation, I
have enough in the bank to last me for a year. I have no big money
problems and I have parents that are showering me with cash. I also live a
lifestyle where I try to not use too much money. On the other hand I am 35
and single and I had a brother that died one year ago, so I am now the
only child of my parents.

For the last 11 months I have not gotten any pay check, but living off
saved money as I am finishing a degree that will enable me to have well
paying jobs for the rest of my life.

When it comes to tithing I am a firm believer against it, I am a Christian
by birth, but I do not go to church (except on Christmas) and I do not
give money to religious organizations. But I believe that every person is
entitled to their beliefs and I see that you are a very religious man and
I respect you for that. You once answered my comment by saying that you
would rather loose your house that stop tithing if it came to that. I
respect your view on life although I disagree with you choice as I would
rather pay man first and then god.

So where am I going with this:
To understand your view on giving, I am going to give away 10% of what I
am earning in December. I just got my pay check and it was 25660 kr
(Norwegian kroner, because I live in Norway) that is equal to about $3646.
Of that I am going to give away $365.

$100 of those I am willing to give to you if you use it to repay credit
card debt, but I am asking for one thing and that is that you use the
money that should be going to tithing in January to repay debt also.

I know that I am asking much, and I know that this might offend you if you
think I am threatening your faith, but I only want to help, but I also
want you to help yourself. I might write pages and pages on your blog
about tithing, but I think that will make any difference. So I am instead
choosing to make a statement with my own money. For one month I will step
into your shoes and give 10% of my income to worthy causes, but I am
asking you that for one month you step into my shoes where I would rather
repay the bank before I gave a single dollar to charities.

One of my motivations behind this is actually also to see to it that the
banks do not get your money. I do not like the credit card debt and I feel
it in some ways enslaves people. Making people pay interest in excess of
10% is just greedy and inhumane. And in these days the banks get bail out
money from the state just because they where too greedy and took to much
risk.

To finish up, for December I will give my $365 as follows:
$100 to you to repay debt, if you use $453 to repay debt instead of tithing.
$100 to EFF (an organization working for on-line freedom)
$50 to Wikipedia.
(100kr) $14 to Blåkors (Christian organization working for people with
alcohol and drug problems)
(500kr) $71 to Amnesty International Norge
$30 yet to be determined."

I was very moved when I read this email and appreciate his offer but cannot compromise my faith. I was moved because, although he said that he is against tithing he is still willing to give to others. In my mind it is very admirable what Tordr is doing. Giving to improve and change the lives of others is always admirable and never in vain. Proverbs 19:17 He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.

Please do not take me wrong. We sincerely appreciate all the advice given to us since beginning this blog. Some of the advice we have taken and carried out. We desperately want to be debt free and we believe that 2009 we will achieve that goal. But, when it comes to our religious beliefs like tithing and giving to the poor or needy we cannot hesitate to follow the word of God which is very clear about it. Malachi 3:8-11 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. We know that this means it may take a little longer for us to become debt free. But, we are willing to take that extra time rather than compromise our faith.

Regarding giving to the adopt-a-family this year, I feel it would be a travesty to me if I looked back on my life one day and realized that I passed on an opportunity to make a difference in someone life just by taking off one month paying debts. I rather it take us a little longer to be debt free than to pass on an opportunity to make a "real" difference in the lives of another family this Christmas.

There is a lot of things I do not understand. Personal finances is just one of them. But, one thing that I do understand very clearly is that I was not born just to live, accumulate and hoard on myself and my family then die. My life would have no meaning at all if that is all I did. As Christians we are directed to Love God and our neighbors as we love ourselves throughout the Bible. Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

I can spend all day writing about what I believe as it relates to giving. There are hundreds of Bible references I could mention. In the past I have made posts regarding my feelings on tithing and videos. I think the following two scriptures sums it up: Luke 6:38 says, "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." 2 Corinthians 9:6,7 says,"But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." We don't tithe or give because we think it is a sin not to. We do it because we love god and want to obey him.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines a Christian as "one who professes belief in Jesus as Christ and follows the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus; one who lives according to the teachings of Jesus." This month Christians around the world will celebrate Christmas as the day that Jesus came into the world for the sole purpose of giving his life. We thought that this least that our family can offer this Christmas was to give to our "adopt-a-family". Even if it means delaying being debt free one more month.

A Few Thoughts

2008-12-15T09:30:00.006-05:00

My uncle JW called and said that he is not going to get back from Alabama until late Tuesday night or Wednesday morning so he asked me to post something. I was not very sure what I should say so I have been struggling to think of something to say so, I am just going to say a few things about my Uncle JW, Aunt Pat and mean to me.

Yesterday he shared with me a lot of good and bad news about what happened in Loachapoka. Many the things he shared I am not at the liberty to tell here but, one thing that I was very excited to here about was that his friend had given him a few things that he wanted to give me, my mom and he got some things that would help he and my aunt reduces their debt and make my cousins very happy. Yet, he still refuses to tell me exactly what they are.

To be honest I have not been following this blog since the last time my uncle asked me to moderate the comments almost a year ago. He keeps telling me that I can get some fantastic advice from reading the comments. So, I know that he appreciates your comments.

Also, I am a little surprised that he was still maintaining this blog. Just like some of you who have left comments, I was shocked that they were still in debt. Especially, considering how much they sacrifice "the fun things" in life.

One thing that I would like to reiterate is that my Uncle JW and Aunt Patty are two of the most sharing and caring people I have ever known. I love them both very much. Even though they have a lot more children than my mom, they have always made a way to help us. They would give the shirts off their backs to anyone who asked. I am sure that if anything happened to either of them, where they would need help today there would be a ton of people lined up to help. I cannot say that I understand exactly how or why that aren't debt free yet but, I hope that very soon they will be out of debt and enjoying some of the things in life that they so richly deserve.

Laura

December Budget Changes

2008-12-12T10:47:00.010-05:00

Since completing our budget for this month neither my wife nor I have felt comfortable. Besides the excellent suggestions that we received from those who left comments and sent emails, we have been sincerely contemplating carrying out some of the suggested modifications.

Besides the volunteer work that we usually do with two local charities as a family, my wife suggested that we do something uniquely different this year. So, she contacted everyone in the family yesterday evening and told them our plan and they were in full agreement.

Even with President Bush extending unemployment benefits by seven weeks in Michigan. We still have the highest unemployment rate in the nation. One of our pastors told us that in 30 years of ministry he has never seen so many people struggling to survive from day-to-day. So, In The Spirit Of Giving we have decided that the $550. that we have allocated for Christmas gifts, plus the $100. for Children clothing in addition to the extra $131. that we planned to pay on the Discover Card will all be given to a specific family that we are adopting through our church.

"He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again." Proverbs 19:17

Enabled Comment Moderation

2008-12-12T05:11:00.005-05:00

Over the last several days my family and I have been working very hard helping two of our local charities (NEYIC and Salvation Army) prepare for annual events. During this time I neglected to keep up with the blog. So, it was very disappointing to see this morning that some unsavory characters felt it necessary to leave derogatory comments. Due to these comments I have enabled comment moderation. Additionally, my niece Laura has agreed to help me with the administration of the blog from now on. I sincerely apologize for neglecting to moderate these offensive comments that were posted and with the help of my niece hope to prevent them from begin posted in the future.

Tithing to Bankruptcy

2008-12-08T19:22:00.006-05:00

Since starting this blog we have gotten a lot of comments regarding our practice of tithing. I am sure that many of those comments had our best interest in mind and at one point we even questioned ourselves about doing it.

I thought that it was refreshing to see that Dave Ramsey was bold enough to make the following comments regarding tithing during his Wednesday, 3 Dec 2008 telecast on the Fox Business channel.

For some reason Fox no longer makes the video available for embedding so I linked the screenshot of the image the original clip.

View The Clip Here

The Last Seven Days

2008-12-08T11:36:00.004-05:00

Since last Saturday some major events have taken place. On Monday, my 81 year old mother who has a pacemaker and Syringomyelia fell and broke her knee after trying to climb up on a step ladder. Somehow this fall triggered some other problems and has caused her health to deteriorating very rapidly (she has lost over 15lbs. in one week). Unfortunately, the doctors say that they cannot give her the routine MRI that would enabled them to determine the condition of her spine so they could drain the fluids due to her pacemaker. The same day my best friend's wife called me and asked if I could come back to Alabama one last time because, it appears that my friend is getting close to dying and wants all those closest to him to come. I asked her if it was necessary that I come. And, she told me that it was is "last days" wish. The difference is this time he wants me to come alone. So, I have started making plans to go there during my holiday break.

On Tuesday they started delivering the layoff notices in my office and it was nerve wrecking. By that Friday we were down to only three employees in my group, with me being the only contractor remaining. I could barely think clearly during those four days. Although my wife and I have rebuilt our "baby" emergency fund, it still doesn't make me feel to comfortable to know that I may have to use it due to a layoff.

I Blew It

During this past week I also failed to continue with my 40 day fast. It happened immediately after I got off the phone with my best friend's wife on Monday. It happened almost unconsciously. Without even thinking I grabbed a fried chicken leg out of the basket on the dinner table and started eating it. Immediately after taking the first bite and swallowing I realized what I had done. Since then, I have talked to one of my "40 day fasting" partners who has had many years experience with long term fasting and she told me that it probably would be better if I waited until after the holidays to try it again.

Money and Health

2008-11-29T16:32:00.007-05:00

I don't know why but we have received over ten emails similar to the comment made below, asking why my wife can't work two jobs:

"On November 29, 2008 1:35 PM Anonymous said...

You two sound like such weenies. Really. Many Americans work two jobs. Most people in well paid, high achieving jobs work 60-80 hours a week at their one job! And yet every time either of you takes a second job, you start whining about endless "health" problems. And your "last straw" is her falling asleep outside of the bed?? Really?? That hardly sounds like a massive hardship.

Also, why do you continually try to link weight gain to your extra jobs?? Your wife must have started eating an insane amount of food to gain that much weight so quickly. There is no good reason that working more had to lead a person to consuming more calories than they burn.

Finally, please notice that you only seem to see the links between money and health that are convenient for you. You say that your wife working more isn't worth paying off the credit cards faster. Working two jobs isn't the only health impact of your financial mess. The stress of your perpetual debt has a health impact. Not being able to afford retirement is going to affect your health. Lots of things from your financial mess will affect your health, so why not make the affects short and sweet and suck it up to do what it takes to dump the debt?!"

First I would like to say that almost more than anything we want to be debt free. I would be the first to admit that being in debt has been both stressful, burdensome and hindrance in our lives. This blog is one of my methods of releasing that stress.

I am about as impatient a person that you could ever meet. (Which is one reason we are in this mess today) Sometimes I wish I could just sell everything we own our house, cars, appliances, etc. then go live debt free "off the grid" somewhere just to be debt free as soon as possible.

Begin in debt has made us vulnerable to a slew of various possible problems such as a job loss, medical expenses, auto repairs and others. Not only has being in debt prohibited us from being able to help ourselves financially but, more importantly our family and friends.

As it relates to our health and money I do not think there is a debate about the significance of ones health as it relates to both their ability to earn money and become debt free. From 1999 to 2003 I was able to work two full time jobs without any severe physical problems. So, I applaud anyone who is able to work two or more jobs for an extended period of time without suffering any physical maladies. For whatever reason recently the same has not been true for us. I also think that it can be counterproductive to our efforts to push myself or my wife beyond our physical abilities just to earn extra money. What good would it do us if we were too ill to go to our day job or a second job? This doesn't mean that I will never work another second job or allow my wife to do it again but, for right now it is more important for our family that she is healthy.

Our Zero-Based Budget for December 2008

2008-11-28T21:13:00.007-05:00

The biggest change in December's budget will be in our income. Now that my wife is no longer working a second job and my salary has been reduced our income will be considerably less than in previous months. Even so, we feel confident that we can still make progress with our debt reduction plans.

With the recent news of possible layoffs at my job, my wife feels more comfortable with the $6,000. that we have accumulated in our Baby Emergency Fund. She has agreed now that we can refocus the majority of our efforts on debt reduction! So, we have eliminated it from this month's budget.

With seven grandchildren and six children we feel that $550. would be more than enough to adequately purchase nice gifts from everyone this Christmas. We also plan to add $150. to our Alabama trip fund and reduce our Auto Gas from $300 to $260. due to the huge drop in gas prices.

Please feel free to offer your comments and suggestions.

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Fatigue

2008-11-25T13:58:00.009-05:00

My wife has been doing an incredible job working two jobs for the last few months. It was the first time in our marriage that she ever attempted doing this. I am very proud of her. She took full responsibility for the additional debts created in July and has paid off over $2,100. since beginning this July.

Once again I woke up in the middle of the night to realize that she had either fallen asleep on the couch in our living room or worse at kitchen table. Over the last two months this has been a reoccurring event. Unfortunately, this was not the only symptoms that I have noticed. She has developed a chronic cough, occasional dizziness, she has been very irritable, has occasional shortness of breath, tingling sensations in her hands and feet, and has gained over 20 lbs. since starting this second job. Her doctor told her last month that she was suffering from some symptoms of fatigue and that she should consider quitting her second job. But, she insisted that she would try getting more rest and continued to work.

Today was the last straw! We have both agreed that she will stop working her second job after the Thanksgiving holiday. My wife's health is more important to us than paying back Discover Card and my children and I need her back at home.

Groceries and Blow Money

2008-11-24T09:39:00.010-05:00

Since my wife started working two jobs I have been doing most of the grocery shopping. This Saturday when I went grocery shopping I knew that I would not need as much food as usual due to the fasting that I am doing but I had no idea just how much. After I finished shopping I notice that I was able to eliminate $40.37 from our regular $130/week grocery expense. This translates to a savings of $161.48 in groceries over the next four weeks!

When I called my wife to tell her the good news she was so impressed that she called me back a hour later to tell me that she has decided to reduce willingly the amount of her "blow money" from $160 per month to only $100 per month until we become debt free! Although this is not why I decided to start the 40 day fast, I sure am glad that it happened.

Joining 40 Day Fast

2008-11-22T11:39:00.007-05:00

Since visiting my childhood friend who is has been diagnosed with life ending cancer I have felt a need to do more than just pray. (Matt. 17:21 "Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.") Not only did I feel this need to pray and fast for my friend but also for the financial conditions my sister and I. The time has come for us to have a "breakthrough".

Today while listening to old broadcast of Crown Financial Ministries "MoneyLife" program I discovered that Crown’s CEO Chuck Bentley called listeners to a season of prayer and fasting to solve the economic crisis by turning our hearts back to God. So, after discussing it with my wife and children I have decided also to begin a forty day fast beginning Sunday, 11/23/2008 and ending 12/31/2008.

As a part of my fasting and prayer I will spend an hour everyday in prayer and bible study. During my bible study I will specifically focus on scriptures relating to healing, patience and finances. During this period I will sacrifice reading, watching or listening to any secular media. I will only drink water and only eat raw vegetables, fruits and seeds.

If you are interested you can find out more information at the following link at Crown Financial Ministries website: http://www.crown.org/

Deliberately Offensive Insults

2008-11-21T10:07:00.007-05:00

Unfortunately some people have a very disconcerting habit of using vulgar language and insults when posting comments on this blog. We are always open to constructive criticism and advice. Such as that given regarding our finances or my grammar (or lack thereof). But, the recent flagrant assaults on my wife's character or lewd comments about my daughter is neither constructive nor encouraging.

I subscribe to and regularly read other blogs similar to mine and occasionally leave comments. Usually I try to leave a comment that is either encouraging or informative. Other times I might post a question. But, I would never post some of the vulgarity that I've read on this blog in the last two weeks.

From time-to-time my wife or other family members will read the blog. I would be very upsetting for them to read some of the unnecessarily offensive comments that have been posted lately. In the past I had to enable the comment moderation option in an attempt to curtail this behavior. I did not like it because it created extra work for me. So, I am asking those readers who are responsible to please refrain from this behavior. Thank you for your cooperation.

Premonition..A Strong Unction

2008-11-19T13:41:00.012-05:00

It is rare that my wife says to me that we have to do something or else it would be bad for us. It has been over five year ago since the last time she has said something like this to me. Early yesterday morning she told me that she had a very "strong unction" or feeling that we needed to increase our emergency fund by an additional $2,000.

The first thing I thought to myself was, "I do not care what you feel, we are going to pay off Discover Card before the end of this year." This was extremely upsetting to me because, I was looking forward to paying off the Discover Card next. I also felt uncomfortable because, after we add an additional $2k to our emergency fund we will almost have enough money in our emergency fund to be able to pay off our debt! The last time she told me that she had a "strong unction" about something and I did not listen it cost me $2,500. when I paid cash for a used van five years ago and the engine blew one week later. Albeit, I've also learned not to blindly follow my wife. I listen to God first and then listen to my wife cautiously according to 1 Timothy 2:13-14.

I spent the day praying and mediating on it and felt a peace about it. So beginning this Friday we will start diverting money allocated for our debts towards this effort. I have updated our November budget to reflect this change.

PayDay Loan Fiasco

2008-11-18T10:09:00.006-05:00

Yesterday was not the first time that my sister ever called me to "borrow a few hundred dollars" and I turned her down. So, initially it was the same as his was the first time that she ever told me that it she could not go anywhere else due to "already owing my next two checks to the PayDay Loan companies"! I asked her how could this happen and she told me that after making two advances earlier this year she has been caught in an endless cycle of taking another loan just to cover the next pay period or extending the payment period. Not to mention the outrageous interest that she is paying.

After discussing the details with her regarding the loans, I discovered that in order for her to pay them in full, including interest it would require $1,759.63. Unfortunately, her net pay on November 28 will only be $958.00.

Debt Trap

2008-11-16T16:42:00.008-05:00

Even I am not alone. It appears that the average Canadian is shouldering a personal debt load greater than their total yearly net income also. According to this documentary, never before in history have so many Canadians been in so much debt to large corporations.

In the documentary they examine why the average Canadian is sinking deeper into debt, by revealing the lives of several individuals and families who are struggling with debt. As the recent debt crisis in the United States threatens to impact on Canada, the questions raised by DEBT TRAP couldn’t be timelier.

DEBT TRAP is written and directed by David Adkin (“Jim loves Jack: The James Egan Story”, “We’re Funny That Way”) and produced by Howard Fraiberg (“Class Queers”)

Why We Should Save General Motors

2008-11-15T04:58:00.005-05:00

This morning a very good friend of our family told us that he received an indefinite layoff notice with one year severance from General Motors this Friday. He worked at their Tech Center in Warren, Michigan for the last 18 years as an automotive engineer.

Unfortunately, he is not the first friend or relative of ours to be indefinitely laid-off or made to take an early retirement. To date he is the seventeenth person we know that has had this happen to them in only the last 12 months! But, when I hear interviews from around the country there seems to be a strong anti-GM bailout sentiment.

The following video is one of the few that I've seen that seem to understand and explain why we should and need to bail them out.