Spring Cleaning Extra Expenses
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*This is a guest post by Virginia Doan – giving us something to think about and work towards.
I stumbled on Dave Ramsey’s talk show while driving home one day last winter, and since then I listen to his show at every opportunity. I like his show because his philosophy is very simple: Be free of debt and have a financially secure life. Being free of debt means no credit card debt, no mortgage and no car payments. The only monthly payments should be those required to live—utilities, food and taxes.
He advocates not getting anything unless there is money available to pay in full. This goes for cars, too—pay in cash or don’t get it. Only if easily within one’s means should someone even consider a mortgage, and even then, he believes that any mortgage should be no larger than absolutely necessary and paid off as quickly as possible.
The best part is when people call in to tell him that they are finally totally debt-free and do the “free-of-debt” scream. Many people find that living free of debt is a life-changing experience, leading to greater happiness and a real sense of peace and freedom.
People call in asking for his advice and he is always kind and polite, and gives great suggestions even though the suggestions might not fit with his caller’s way thinking. I remember a young caller asking about the acceptable ratio of debt to income. Dave pretty much advised the person to forget about a ratio and just get out of debt entirely and save like crazy to have at least six months of emergency money. The caller did not like the answer because it did not support the lifestyle she desired. She was young and felt that to have a good standard of living required being in debt. For her, it was not acceptable to live modestly in the short term to achieve a long-term goal.
For me, in addition to spring-cleaning my house, I spring-clean extra expenses. I’ll be the ant working away this summer to have a warm and cozy winter instead of the grasshopper singing away during the nice warm weather, only to be hungry during the winter. Dave Ramsey’s website is www.daveramsey.com.
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