The Wanderlusting Penny Pincher

Alright y'all. Listen up. There's about to be some major truth-bombing real talk happening up in here! As you already know if you have read any of my previous posts, I am a big fan of making sacrifices to achieve my financial goals. It is how I became debt free after all! I have heard countless people (true story) talk about how they are tired of being broke and wanna get outta debt. I've heard people say this through their iPhones while they are wearing Abercrombie and Fitch and watching cable TV. Oh and the day before they went shopping and are now sporting a new $300 watch and a $100 Halloween costume (and the list goes on and on). The frivolity and irresponsibility honestly blows my mind! When put like that, the problem and solution seem painfully obvious, yet it doesn't seem to dawn on many of these people that they need to change their habits. The "answer" is always, "I just need more money." Yeah...no you don't. With those habits and t...

If you have read any of my previous posts, you already know that I am a huge fan of Dave Ramsey, whose teachings helped me eradicate my debt. Fast.  A common misconception about paying off debt is that you have to attack the largest balance and/or interest rate first, but depending on the balance, that could take quite a while, especially if you are making payments on several other debts as well. What you want to do instead is attack the smallest balance first by applying every extra dollar that you can squeeze from your budget while making only the minimum payments on all of your other debts. Because it is a smaller balance and you are attacking it aggressively, it will get paid off much faster than a larger balance would. Then you can attack the next smallest balance. Everything that was applied to the previous balance can now be applied to the next one as well as every extra dollar that you can squeeze from your budget. Repeat this cycle until your debt disappears! Mr. Ramsey...

Around the same time that I was learning about financial peace and budgeting from Dave Ramsey, the Lord lit a fire in me to get serious in my pursuit of following Him. I have always been a believer, but my heart began stirring at the realization that I needed to fully surrender my heart to Him in order to experience true life. When you draw closer to the Lord, He plants truths in your heart that blossom into beautiful, transforming things in your life. For me, one (among many) of those things was a passion for good stewardship. Mr. Ramsey, who is also a believer, encouraged and inspired me to remain steadfast in this newfound passion. There is a beautiful song by Casting Crowns called "Oh My Soul." ( Click here to listen ). My favorite line of the chorus is, "There's a place where fear has to face the God you know." I believe the same is true of our finances. The way they face and reflect the God we know is through practicing good stewardship. So what does t...

As I mentioned in my first post, I didn't have any lucrative job prospects at the time I began my journey to financial stability, so for the time being, making more money was not going to be the means to that end. Of course, making substantially more money would have been the easiest and most ideal option, and I was trying, but I needed to make an immediate adjustment, so I got creative with what I had and I would soon realize that I needed to cut back. Around this same time, I participated in a corporate study of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University at my church, which was one of the best things I have ever done in my life. Dave Ramsey is amazing. Aside from giving great financial advice, he inspired me to be brutally honest with myself and ask the right questions. Read his books. Listen to his radio show. Go to his website. It will change your life. www.daveramsey.com  (You're welcome!) I asked myself: Is there anything I buy that is not an absolute necessit...

When I graduated college back in 2010, degrees in hand, I had stars in my eyes and spunk in my spirit. I was young and carefree, the world was my oyster and I was excited about the future. There was just one problem. Between student loans, credit card debt, and an auto loan, I had accrued about $55,000 of debt. I also had no job prospects, at least none that justified my newly earned music and psychology degrees and/or would be much help with attacking Debt Mountain. I was also an impulsive spender. The fact that I wasn't making a lot of money combined with the fact that I had a lot of debt and a bad habit - let's just say my starry-eyed excitement was fading fast, and I knew I needed to act. It's amazing, the things we can accomplish when we have to. I prayed, researched and brainstormed every possible thing I could do to become debt free. Doing all of that took me on a life-changing journey; so much so that I feel compelled, obligated even, to share my story. I am so exci...