Dave Ramsey: Friend or Foe?

Any Dave Ramsey fans out there??

I just finished reading his book, Total Money Makeover, and I'm currently waiting for Ryan to finish reading it so we can discuss whether or not we think his plan will work for us. Those of you who have read anything written by Mr. Ramsey know how tough his theories are, and how much work it will be to REALLY grasp what he teaches and to be good stewards of our income.

So my question for you... ARE any of you, my charming readers, fans of Dave Ramsey? Have you read his books, have you practiced his teachings, do you HATE his ideas?! Tell me SOMETHING. I need input!

In case you think I've forgotten...

...I haven't! I've had a couple of requests for help and a "where to get started" post about using coupons and what-not. My time seems to just slip through my fingers lately, but I'm stealing moments here and there to eventually put something together. Today, I will leave you with two things:

ONE. A short list of websites I have found helpful while I begin this adventure... there will be many more to come.

My absolute favorite site is Money Saving Mom, because she updates almost daily and does a lot of the work for you! Be sure to read the stuff on the left, under "Beginners Start Here."

I also like Hot Coupon World, although I initially found their site somewhat difficult to navigate. It wasn't until I joined the forum, and then spent a good hour perusing the different sections that I really got a feel for HOW the site works. Now, it's a useful tool.

TWO. Record of my shopping trip to Safeway today...



Mind you, this was more of a "stock-up" trip than anything else... but still stuff we'll use. I'm totally hooked on sugary cereals at the moment (I blame the baby!) so I couldn't pass up the chance to get SIX boxes of cereal for around five bucks. Other highlights include four boxes of Nature Valley bars for about $3.50, three pounds of bacon (I'll freeze a big chunk of it) for $5.74, two brownie mixes for about $0.40 each, free raspberries--the blueberries were $8.99, add the free raspberries and that's not too shabby for a girl who craves fruit, and two jars of Ragu spaghetti sauce for $1.00 each.

Happy shopping, friends! There will be more to come soon...

Shopping success!

Ok, so I planned carefully, made a list and went on my way to the grocery store this morning... coupons in hand.

When everything was said and done, my bill was $101.58. I saved $43.34 between sales, discounts and coupons and I also walked out with a free shopping tote.

Not too bad for my first attempt, with a very limited coupon supply... dontcha think?

That's all. Just be proud of me.

My most recent mission in life...

Today I had a budget freak-out day. I don't know why, but I have these episodes from time to time... probably I have them because I'm human. You all know what I'm talking about, those moments where I don't feel like we'll ever get ahead in life. Between student loan payments, car payments, etc., etc., it seems as though our money just disappears into the mist every month.

So I spent my morning devising a new, updated, improved spreadsheet to tally our income and bills, and this evening, I've been doing some online searching for those coupon sites that promise to help you save hundreds of dollars a year at the grocery store. I'm not buying into it, not sold on those "promises," but I signed up for a free membership to a site where I found some coupons I'll actually USE.

So, world, I'd like you to meet the new, slightly more budget-conscience Christina. At least for a week or two... OH, and that leaves me with a Question Of The Day... er... week? However long it takes for some responses to trickle in! :o)

QOTD: What is(are) YOUR favorite money-saving trick(s)?

The house...

It crossed my mind this evening, while I was standing in the shower (keep your comments to yourself!), that I haven't taken the time to leave an update about the issues swirling around our house and it's past.

So... we've gotten some news. GOOD news for once, thank GOD! After talking to two neighbors, who have lived here for quite some time, it seems that the illegal activities were taking place in a small camp trailer parked on our property. It goes something like this:

Mom and dad were living here in the house, and their two kids (20-somethings) were living in a ratty old cam trailer parked in the back yard. Mom and dad were in their late 60's, and apparently acted much older... let's use the term "senile." So, the sons were busy making drugs in the trailer, and mom and dad apparently had no clue. Now, I have to say, I feel like this was negligence by omission... but who am I to judge?

So anyway, one of our neighbors was kind enough to call an acquaintance who apparently knows a lot about drugs (we won't discuss WHY or HOW) and also knew the mom and dad living here in the house. She swore up and down there was never anything fishy happening inside the house, only in the little trailer.

I call this good news. Sure, drugs were made on our property (let's not even go there!) at some point in the past... but when the tenants left, so did the trailer... and the drugs. There are no funky dead patches in our lawn, they could not have accessed the septic tank (and besides, it's been replaced since their dismissal from the home) without going inside the house... I think it's safe for me to breathe one huge sigh of relief. I think. I think. I hope.

Now, if only we could find one of those money-growing trees everyone is always talking about...