Recently, my husband Bill and I [picture a ruggedly handsome free-spirit and a stubborn nerd with a five year plan] decided to make a few drastic changes to our lifestyle. No, we're not running off to join the traveling circus, building an 'Earth Ship' in the desert or moving to Tim-buk-tu (yet) but we are making fundamental changes to how we view and spend money. Some background for you - I'm creating this blog to help me stay on track with our newfound freedom to restrain. Here's the big idea: if I require myself to share our plans and progress with the world (or the two other people reading this blog - Hi Mom, Dad) the follow-thru probability is significantly greater than if I use myself as the acccountibility partner. I know, mind-blowing conclusion right? So now Project: Greener Pastures is no longer just an idea, it is now a glorious reality on the world wide web.
First things first. I figure if we are going to acheive our goals we should start off in the right frame of mind so I have Pastor Billy's sermons from the last few Sundays on constant replay. The sermons remind us of Phillipians 4:8 and to only entertain the thoughts we know to be true. Now, for your reading pleasure I've listed some things I know to be true:
1. Our God is Greater.
2. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.
3. We have debt. A.K.A. we are 'slaves' to the following masters: one decent mortgage company, two fair-weather friends we call 'banks' for vehicle loans, one seriously annoying finance company for a school loan, three practically pure evil credit card companies and three temptress' known as 'store cards')
4. God (who is much greater by the way) is calling us to become free. Debt free, slaves no longer.
You may have noticed the not-so-subtle adjectives used to describe our debtors but just in case....We Don't Like Them! What we really don't like is sending all our hard earned cash to those companies every week. At this point you may be thinking, "Why don't you just work a little extra and pay them off?" Super great idea my friend but Bill and I both get paid 'salary' which carefully translated into the English language means 'work-all-you-want-but-get-paid-the-same-amount'. Now that we've established a fixed income, continue reading to see what we are currently doing to reach "Greener Pastures".
First, we are involved in a Financial Peace University (FPU) class at Cork United Methodist Church in Plant City, FL. FPU was created by Dave Ramsey to teach regular people with everyday income and expenses how to become debt free. We have gained valuable information from this class and I'll be sure to share all the juicy financial details in later posts. Admit it, you're on the edge of your seat right now aren't you? If the excitement is killing you, do not despair. Go straight to www.daveramsey.com/fpu for more info and prepare to be astonished at the simplicity of freedom.
Second, we have side jobs; multiple side jobs. Bill fixes broken things, generally involving power tools and and I clean/organize houses on the weekends. If you are thinking "Cleaning, huh? I could definately see someone else cleaning my house while I spend my time on more valuable tasks like sipping coffee on the porch" it's your lucky day because that's my specialty! Email me at ssorganizing@hotmail.com for more info.
Third, I am a total fan of network marketing business done right and Donald Trump has an incredible new company with top of the line products and affordable vitamins that you can have custom made for your body. Yes I said 'affordable' and 'custom' in the same sentence and it's not make-believe, it IS possible. Technically, you could say I'm business partners with 'The Donald'. If you want more information on living a healthier lifestyle or having a world-class lab custom make vitamins based on only what your body needs check us out at http://www.dsptn.com/ and email me at ssorganizing@hotmail.com. I'd love to talk to you!
Also we're doing some of the 'normal' things people do to save money. I'm exercising my superior skills in frugal-ness and supplementing those skills with coupons for grocery shopping. We have meal plans so food doesn't get wasted and I'm making coffee at home even though 'The Happy Return' has occured at Starbucks shops all around the world. (I miss you Pumpkin Spice Latte. Soon my delicious friend, very soon.) Plus, we're using the Financial Peace University budget and envelope system to 'run like gazelles' away from the hungry cheetah of debt! If you didn't get that just ask me. I'll tell you more about these 'normal' things later.
Lastly, this Saturday, September 25th we're having a HUGE yard sale!! To help us stop clinging needlessly to our 'stuff' we're selling a ton of things we like but just don't NEED. Ladies, I know it's a drive to Zephyrhills but I'll be selling tons of treasures in great condition and for ridiculously fair prices. Items like furniture, clothing, dishes, electronics, books, wall art (Donna if you're reading this the candle holder you liked is yours if you still want it!) Southern Living at Home and Party Lite decor, never-used-before Pampered Chef items and yes, possibly even my beloved Princess House dishes! If that doesn't show you how committed I am to this I don't know how else to prove it! If you have any questions on the yard sale email, text, or call me!
If you just took the time to read my novel (sorry, I'm the stubborn nerd with the five year plan) then you may be thinking "Why? Why do all this work to strive and deprive yourself of simple pleasures?" Maybe you're thinking "You only live once" or "Why save, you can't take it with you" or even "You'll always have some debt, it's just a fact of life". Then maybe you'll even enter a well meaning comment to that effect. To those thoughts and well meaning comments I have only one reply; I do not know any of those things to be true.
Thanks for following us on the trek to Greener Pastures!
