Sorry I/We can’t!

That is a phrase that will be used to answer a lot of invites to things. I’ve already begun using it for awhile. The funniest experience I’ve had as of yet was when I went to a birthday dinner with friends, and after dinner my friends decided to go to the casino. I told them I couldn’t go cause I simply could not afford it. I was poked and prodded into going, and finally had to say “Listen, I have a lot of debt, and the casino is the last place I need to be. When our bills came my friend’s boyfriend turns to me and goes “Are you ok?”, and I was like “Ya, why?” and he’s like “No, are you ok to pay your dinner bill!? I can pay it for you”, and I was so shocked and kinda embarrassed. I told him that of course I was ok to pay my bill ,that if I could not have afforded to come I would not have but that I knew going to the casino was a bad idea for me. He wasn’t completely convinced and asked me again if I was sure, and I had to reassure him a few times. While it was sweet and all it took me by surprise that that was his reaction. It made me realize that the journey I’m about to go on is not one that most will understand. That when I say no to certain things people are going to take it personal. I know when I was reading the Dave Ramsey book he warns that not many WILL understand, and that you should not WANT to live a life where you are keeping up with the joneses. I really want to follow his advice, and I know I have to. It’s just so damn hard.

Sometimes having a warrantee actually pays off!

Warrantee’s sometimes get a bad rap, but sometimes it sure as hell pays to have one!

Sunday night our washer kicked the bucket. It refused to work, made horrid noises, and because it’s a front loader the door was locked and wouldn’t open. I was beyond pissed, and prayed that the extended warrantee I had taken out on my washer and dryer was still in effect. Thankfully, it was! It’s good until January 2014, talk about down to the wire…lol!

I was able to get a repairman in to see it today, and sure enough, the pump was broken! All parts and labour covered! If we had to pay for that repair….well we couldn’t have! We have nothing saved because of the debt situation we’re in!

That got me to thinking. Dave Ramsey suggests that you save $1000 before you begin any extra debt repayments (but you continue to pay the minimums of course. #1, we hardly HAVE anything extra, and when we do it’s very little. Do you know how long it’ll take us to save that? I see the benefit obviously, if something unexpected happens, we’re covered! #2, I want my debt repayment to start NOW!

So what do I do? Do I take a few months to save an emergency fund, or do I throw caution to the wind, and start paying extra on my debt whenever I can?