I Think We Need A Change...

Photo courtesy of Forgotten memory



As you know if you've been around us for even 5 minutes, we've been at this for almost 2 full years now! September 13th - which also happens to be my birthday - will make it official.





Within those 2 years we've picked up a lot of personal insight and we've also tweaked a number of techniques to find a more 'custom' fit than most of the major programs provide. We took all of the info and then applied our personal filter to it based on our beleif system, our financial situation at the time, and our decisions based on just how aggressive we wanted to be at the outset. Once we got the hang of it we essentially just let it run it's course without much change. Sure there was a streamlining process that we had to go thru but it mostly happened as a result of our weekly budget meetings and in very small increments.





But now I'm coming to a place where I feel we need a change in strategy. And I'd prefer for it to be a MAJOR change! At times I question if we are somehow too 'comfortable' with the pace we've settled into lately. Quite honestly there are times where I dont feel very "Gazelle Intense" at all about what we're doing.





And then when you couple with that the fact that we are quickly becoming role models through the ever-extending reach of this blog, Facebook and Twitter it becomes a challenge sometimes to manage a balance between what we're doing as a household vs. what we want to empower you to do as a person/family.





The bottom line is that I feel the need to possibly change the way we are approaching our debt. I'm looking for a way to make it 'fresh' again to us in spite of the fact that we've accomplished so much and are now at our virtual halfway point in the journey.





I'd love to hear ideas from any of you who have felt this same way and done something about it! Please leave me a comment below or hit me up on Twitter with your suggestions!





See ya next time,

@W




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@Risk Remix: A Look Back

Photo courtesy of ZaksterNT

*This is the second time I've turned to this image for a post, the first was "Full Circle: How our TMM Began...". I encourage you to read it as well. This picture represents perfectly how our financial situation felt before (Barren) and how it feels now in comparison (Overflowing)

Today I found myself looking back over a few posts from nearly a year ago, just to see how far we've come in that amount of time. I really must say that I'm pretty amazed by what I saw. The post in question is "1/3 way home" And it was about how excited we were to reach a minor milestone in our journey.

At the time we had just finished paying off the 10th bill out of the 30 that we started with, so we had just passed the 1/3 mark on our debt snowball list.

Fastforward to today and we are WELL into paying off the 32nd bill out of the 41 we now have on that same list. That means we are 3/4 of the way done with the 'list'!

At the same time we have officially passed the Half-way mark on our debt total as well. We've paid off $52,730.06 and have $$51,506 left to pay before we are DEBT FREE!

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES!! So I guess in our case you could say that "Hindsight is 50/50!" We're halfway there!!! I can't wait to see where we are this time next year! We should be heading into the Home Strecth at that point!

It's never too late to start, if you have not already! We're here for you, so let's GO!

@W

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Simple Secrets: Paying on it vs. Paying it OFF

Photo courtesy of Tea & Jam

Ok folks. In my last post we went over the basics of the 7 Baby Steps that have helped us pay off over $53,000 in debt in the last 20 months. But today, I'm going to let you in on a little secret: There should actually be 8 baby steps!

Step Zero: Stop using currently established and available forms of credit, and also stop accepting NEW forms of credit.

This step contains the key to your Total Money Makeover, and it's such a radical shift from 'the norm' that it causes many to fail even before they start. Some folks just cant get their head around living off of CASH.

When you really get the point of this program, you will soon realize that you really don't need credit at all. Not for credit reports, or FICO scores, or for your cash back rewards. You don't need it.

Minor tangent: Speaking of cash back rewards... how much CASH are you really getting BACK when the creditor is charging you interest for the use of your credit line? Think about it!

Now, in my last post I promised to tell you why we REALLY chose to stick with this system, and here is the reason: Because at first we felt like we were doing something WRONG. And when I say 'wrong' I mean we felt like we were being disloyal to the credit industry in some way. It's hard to articulate, but Visa and MasterCard have become so prevalent in our society and in our spending habits, that it felt truly odd to simply make the decision not to use our charge cards! How sick is that?

The entire credit system is propped upon the fact that they NEED you to NEED them. They constantly send the message that if you aren't using credit in some way, you simply will not be able to 'compete' with or keep up with the average consumer. It's a very Pied Piper mentality!

Once we realized why it felt so wrong, it lit a fire in us! And it opened our eyes to the many tactics and tricks that are pressed upon the average consumer.

THIS IS A WAR PEOPLE! And if you haven't noticed, take a look at what this nation has been through in the last 16 months as proof. The housing market collapse, the banking and financial institution implosions, the economy woes, the employment issues. They are all mutations of one virus: CREDIT...

Credit tells you it's ok to spend more than you actually possess. Credit tells you it's ok to borrow against your future, to acquire something today. Credit can erode your character and your sense of delayed gratification, and it can also ease you into a place of irresponsibility and 'living for the moment' emotional purchasing.

Because of this, you are required to make a change in your approach toward money. This is where the title of my post comes in. People who are comfortable with debt, have no problem "paying on" something far longer then they ever intended to, because they get lulled to sleep by the convenience factor of a payment plan.

Meanwhile, those who have had enough of this game of debt become addicted to "paying off" things as quickly as possible so that they can free up their income and truly live a life that's not dictated by a three digit score, and the limits on their cards.

Thanks for tuning in, I hope you're enjoying this expose' series.

Next up: "The $1,000 Scramble"

You are worthy of the journey!

@W







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These "Baby Steps" AIN'T for Babies!

Photo coutesy of Bettina.Schwarz

In the last 2 posts I've kind of gone thru a sort of 'reset'. Maybe it's a second wind of sorts? I dont know. But I've felt the need to simplify the emotions and actions WE (my wife and I) faced when we first started out so that YOU can duplicate them as much as possible.

In the first post of this mini-series, I laid out exactly what we're doing and how it has helped us pay off $49,000 in debt in only 19 months! In the second post I continued to zoom in on the mindset and underlying philosophy of "Living Like No One Else".

Luckily we never felt overwhelmed with the process, and I think that is in part due to what I intend to share with you in this post. In his book The Total Money Makeover, Dave Ramsey calls them the Baby Steps. They are meant to be simple bullet points on your journey to debt freedom.

But please dont sleep! Just because these steps are simple, doesnt mean they're for 'simple' people. It takes vision, committment, and perseverance to see these steps through to completion!

I want to take a few moments to list them out below, but I'll delve deeper into each step in future posts.

Step One: Save $1000.00 CASH as quickly as you can to start "Emergency Fund"

Step Two: Pay off ALL debt in order from smallest to largest using "Debt Snowball".

Step Three: Save 3-6 months worth of expenses, to fully fund "Emergency Fund".

Step Four: Invest 15% of income into Roth IRA's and Pre-tax retirement.

Step Five: Begin funding your childrens' College Educations.

Step Six: Pay off your home early

Step Seven: Build Wealth & GIVE! (Mutual Funds, Real Estate, ect.)

Step "Zero": STOP using any forms of credit and accepting new forms of credit.

Pretty simple and straight forward right? Well yes, and no. Yes, because they set a framework for you to follow. No, because if you dont follow the framework that has been set... you'll only be making it harder for yourself. In addition, these steps can't tell you how aggressive to be in your Total Money Makeover. The intensity level must be left up to you.

The downfall to the simplicity of this plan is that so many "SMART" people in this world think they need to re-invent the wheel and make it more sophisticated. But as the saying goes "K-I-S-S" (Keep It Simple Stupid).

As I said before, I'll be breaking each step down and explaining why the order is so important. I'll also be sharing exactly why we REALLY chose to stick with this system. As you become more and more familiar with the steps, you will inevitably feel that something is "wrong" about them. This is natural! At first, I did too, until I realized how CONDITIONED i had become by the FICO scores and the credit card industry! They NEED you to NEED them, and they're NOT going to make it EASY for you to cut them loose!

We'll talk about that further in my next post where I'll address the 'objections' I've heard toward getting out of debt. The reason objections is in quotes is because the people objecting were spitting out all the BS that is fed to them daily by the media and credit card industry.

Next Episode: "Paying On It VS. Paying it Off"

You are worthy of the journey!

@W







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Deal or No Deal: Part-time Work that Pays

Photo courtesy of cgat

Warning: this post will be very quick and to the point...

Part-time work has always had it's place in our economy. For some it has been a nessescary way of life, but to others it has been an added vehicle to getting "stuff" at a decent discount.

At some point in your life you may have picked up a job at a favorite department store or big box electronic retail chain... y'know just in case THAT jacket goes on sale... or so you can support your video game addiction with some semblance of pride that you earned it.

Now I'm not here to pick on you if you are one who still is working that PT because you want to. But if you are now looking to pick up a second gig because you have to, I urge you to stay away from any place where you could potentially cash in on your employee discount. Alas this means you've gotta find 'work' vs. landing a 'gig'.

If you have a weakness for gadgets then what's the point in taking a job at Best Buy? If your express purpose for getting extra work was to make ends meet, then you'll be setting yourself up to undercut your goals if you do this.

That's why I made the title of this post "Deal or No Deal". You must make up in your mind what type of deal your really going after by picking up that nice little retail opportunity. Is it the kind that gives you the discount on stuff, or the kind that puts you ahead of the game while things are rough? It's key that you don't go into the situation kidding yourself!

This might even mean taking on a job you HATE, or look down on. But dont worry, it'll be good for ya!

Last summer I started considering picking up a side-job in the evenings. The opportunity that I kept coming back to at the time was delivering pizza's (One of Dave Ramsey's prime examples of a Gazelle Intense hustle.) Truth be told, had it not been for the insane gas price wars last year, I would have gladly taken a job slanging pies! Not because I love the work, but precisely because I hated the thought of that type of work. But it would've brought in some steady hustle money to throw at our debt.

I wasnt concerned with whether or not I'd get a discount on the food, I dont even like pizza enough to do it for that reason. And I wasnt exactly thrilled about slapping one of those lighted pizza signs on my car. But I knew that I could basically challenge myself to bring in a certain dollar amount per night in tips, and at the same time call out my own hours in which to bring those tips in. At the time that was a win-win to some degree.

Not shortly after I put aside the thought of delivering pizza's (right around when gas became $4 buck a gallon!) I was given a nice promotion and raise on my FT job. Problem solved! But I still would have had no problem going through with the pizza plan if the raise had never come and gas was resonable.

Part of the reason I'm even writing this post right now is because I may be getting an itch to again look at taking on some extra work. Not because money is tight right now, but because I dont want to wait until it is tight to get my butt out there to defray the cost!

So there ya have it, just a few thoughts from @W on where you should put your focus if you find yourself needing to bring in extra "dough" lol.

Thanks,

@W





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Forgive Us Our Debts...

Photo courtesy of Doc Stampede

Welcome to @riskliving blog, season 2...

Though we're only 2 weeks into this year, I'm already seeing a pattern or theme for what this year might hold for the blog.

Yes, it will still be about debt, but in many more ways than the financial kind.

This process is turning into something LIFE changing for us instead of just changing our financial situation.

See, somewhere along the way in 2008 a different mission was handed to us (my wife and I) than the one we signed up for. We just wanted to be debt free. No collections agencies, no past due bills, no accounts in default, no more screening 'Unknown Callers'... we got fed up with it.

But we soon realized we had a calling to not just pull ourselves out of the pit, but to try to bring YOU along at the same time. Back in the mid 90's there was a song called "It Ain't No Fun If My Homies Can't Have None..." and though the message of that song is VASTLY off-topic, the point still applies.

We need you on this journey with us.

If you don't band together with us in this effort to eliminate debt it will make our life worse! No, really! Who will we go on cruises with, who will we sow and give with, who will we travel and vacation with if we're out of debt and you're still in? We won't really get to see you much, because you won't be able to do the things that we have been positioning ourselves to do!

We want you to be a part of this movement, this family.

Jesus once asked the question "Who is my Mother, and who are my brothers but they that do the will of my Father which is in heaven!" Matthew 12:48-50 (paraphrased)

And one aspect of our Father's will is for us to not be mired in debt. In fact Jesus even taught us to pray for the forgiveness of our debts in the 'Lord's Prayer'. Matthew 6:9-15

Now I know what you're saying: "@W, He wasn't talking about that type of debt."

But I beg to differ, He didn't specify what type of debt because He was talking about ALL forms of debt...

Well... all except for maybe one type of debt: The Debt of Gratitude.

I now know that even after all my bills are paid off and I don't owe another red cent of debt. I will still owe something.

I WILL NEVER BE DEBT FREE, because I will always be indebted to both those who have served as our mentors in this process and those who have looked to us as examples. If you are reading this, then you fall into one of those 2 categories.

That is the only debt I'm willing to live with!

@W






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We're Getting PUMPED!!

Our budget is finally about to pack on some serious muscle in this war we've waged on our debt!

The Lord is aligning a number of things at JUST the right time as far as our finances are concerned. My wife just got a DREAM of a part-time job. (Ka-ching $$) My job just assigned me to a large overtime project. (KA-ching $$$) And largest of all in the next few days we'll be paying off a major loan that will push an extra 5 'bills' ($500) straight to our debt snowball! (KA-CHINGY ching chang $$$$!!) LOL

Now usually our budget meetings have become pretty fluid and pain-free, but last night took it to a whole new level. We were actually GIDDY talking about out finances! We were joking around and giving each other funny lil nicknames. For instance, because I'm the one that actually plots out our budget spreadsheet, and withdraws the cash ect. I made a joke that she should call me the "Comptroller". And since she's so great at filing our budgets, papers, and bills as well as keeping track of the decisions we make, as well as the follow-up involved so that we can ACT once we have the money in hand, I said I'm gonna call her the "Administrator" lol. Well to make a long story short we settled on the fact that she's the "Commissioner", and I am the "Mayor" lol! (right honey?)

So anyway, as you can see this new turn of events has us STOKED! And we are both certain in the fact that the Lord is blessing our efforts in ways we could only dream of! For the longest time both of us have been 'worried' about our Gazelle Intensity, because certain circumstances prevented us from generating any extra income. We 'wanted' to get to a point where it could be realistic, but even a recently as last month it just didn't seem possible.

We knew the loan would be paid off in November and that had us amped enough, but we didn't know where else we could squeeze out more income. For the time being that no longer appears to be an issue and I truly and openly praise God for making a way. We're so undeserving of how well He's protecting and accelerating our efforts! WOW!

Which brings me to my point for today: It's really true that He will make ways for you, when you start moving His way! (Oooh I LIKE that one, did that really just come from ME?! lol)

Mmm, I think I can stop right there for now, that'll preach all by itself!

For those of you who are attempting a Total Money Makeover, and really giving it your ALL, THIS is for YOU. It doesn't start out easy, and it doesn't always feel easy as you're going through it, but I can GUARANTEE that it is EASILY worth the effort! (Man I'm just on a roll today with the good quotes! lol)

You will suddenly see things open up in amazing ways as you continue in this process as long as your heart is in it for the right reasons. Not to BE RICH, or to flaunt your newly reclaimed income potential recklessly. No not at all! Chasing those things is what got you here in the first place! Instead, once this process takes ahold of the way you think, feel, and interact with your money, you wont even WANT all of the things your money will now be able to afford you! Yes, when you get to the other side of this thing - when you are finally able to scream "WE"RE DEBT FREE!!!!!!" by all means celebrate and enjoy your accomplishment. But I promise you, you wont be out to blow your extra income on every DVD that Best Buy carries, or every new toy for your car, or every color that Gucci bag comes in. I just don't think it's possible to go through this process and hold on to that type of materialistic mentality.

I'm not saying you wont get nice stuff once your debt free. Oh yes you will, but you wont be living your life slaving to acquire those things, because you'll be in a position to safely afford them while living within your means. And there's a BIG difference between the two.

"If you live like no one else...one day you will live like no one else!"

Lord, I cant wait for that day. But thank you in the meantime for what you are allowing us to do with each day you give us between now and the day we pay off that last bill! And Lord you know this isn't just about the money for us. I love you for what you are teaching me as a steward and a husband. I love that what we are learning can be just as easily applied to how we steward our TIME, or set our PRIORITIES, or how we manage all of the other resources you've given us. My marriage is stronger for us having gone through this. I am stronger in my trust that you will provide in EVERY circumstance what is needed for me to rely totally on you. If I wasn't going through this process, I don't know how else you would have shown me all that you are teaching me. But I'm thankful that you chose to call us to bear witness to this message. Thank you for your ways and your mercy towards me and my family. We do this to honor YOU... because you really do own it all!

Your servant,

@W






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An exciting new partnership: Gasbuddy comes to @Risk Blog

Hi there gazelle-intense guys and gals,

I just wanted to give a quick update on a new addition to our site that I'm pretty excited about! In honor of the much needed decline we've seen at the pumps recently, I've joined forces with Gasbuddy.com and they've allowed me to place 2 info boxes over on the right side of the blog. The first is a search box where you can quickly find the lowest gas prices in your area by simply typing in your city, state, or zip code. The second is an info box that lists the lowest and highest gas price listed in your state in realtime!

In the futue I look forward to bringing more handy tools like this to the site that will only help in your efforts to dump that debt in the easiest and smartest ways possible.

I hope you enjoy this neat addition. It's my pleasure to make these types of tools available!

Thanks for being a part of the site,

@W

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The @Risk Bailout Plan...

Dow: Down 778 points in one day...

Congress: On crack...

The current bank that holds my account: Changes by the minute....

Financial outlook: Bleakest we've EVER seen...

Personal Opinion on this whole mess:

THIS IS WHY I NEED TO BE DEBT FREE!!! (And why you do too!)

What are we waiting for? What's it gonna take? Why are you surprised?

And most importantly, what are you going to do about it?

Oh and lets end this on a high note.... this just in: Oil is now $95/barrell!

(See, it aint ALL bad news!)

This too shall pass,

@W







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An Open Letter to my DEBT...

I need this relationship to be over.

I've said it a million times in my head, and I've said it to others about you, but never directly to you . Forgive me if I sound rude or ruthless, but I need this to feel as painful for you as having you in my life was for me.

I'm leaving you behind because you bring nothing but pain and remorse. You are what stands between me and my dreams. You've been the cause of so much strife and confusion in my life. I've thought about YOU more than probabbly anything else in my life, and that's just not right.
You were always good for showing me a good time... And then leaving me stuck with the bill. I cant count the times you told me to freely use you, to rely on you. Only to find out later YOU were using ME!

And when I had exhausted my resources you never lent a hand. Instead you sent merciless goons after me. But time after time I came back to for more because I thought you were the only way. The way to everything I thought I wanted.

I've finally got up the nerve to head out on my own without you. I know you wont miss me cause I never was your 'only'. I'm finally at a point in my life where I can SEE living life without you!
Oh yeah, I'm so through with you! But I want you to know I'm not angry with you. In fact I'm grateful because of what you've allowed me to learn about myself. I'm different from the dude you met in college. Thank you sooo much for putting me up on the game. Now that I know you inside out, you'll never be able to get me back.

So I urge you to enjoy what time you have left with me. I've made a vow to get rid of as much of you as I can each and every day till there's nothing left of you in my life.

Yes it's a slow painful process like climbing a mountain using only your fingers... Or scraping peanut butter out of a jar using a toothpick... But once you're gone I wont ever have to do it again.

I pray my children never meet you. In fact I forbid you from ever coming around them. Going forward you are to keep your hands off of my family... PERIOD!

Again, I'm not mad at you. You were only doing what you were designed to do. Just know that you cant do it to US anymore. I just thought it would only be fair of me to be straight up with you and tell you why I'm leaving you.

I cant wait to be free of you...

@W




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@Risk Theater: FPU Plasectomy Edition

Photo courtesy of SmittyToday

One of Dave Ramsey's claims to fame is a simple ritual called the Plasectomy.

At the end of his Financial Peace University course he allows families to come up on stage and forever exorcise their credit card debt by slicing up their plastic in the most creative ways possible.

Check out the video below as an example:



One day very soon this will be us... um well maybe not this exact way, but the day is coming when we'll take part in this ritual too! You gotta love it! lol

Now that's what I call Gazelle Intense!

@W

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Full Circle: How Our TMM Began...

Photo courtesy of ZaksterNT

Over the past 2 weeks I've taken a break from the blog. I needed to clear my head because I've been overwhelmed by the resonsibility I feel towards you as my readers. See I want to reach you, but most of the time I dont know how effectively I'm doing that. I thought about extending this 'break' for the blog through the rest of the year. I thought about quitting it altogether. But something happened last Saturday that changed my mind.

I've often heard the saying: "When you feel you've reached the end, try going back to the beginning."

Last week my wife and I went away for the weekend with a group of married couples for our annual Duets Retreat. On Saturday morning, my wife shared a portion of our financial testimony with the group and it was incredibly powerful to hear it from her.

No sooner than my wife stopped talking, the couple next to us tapped her on the shoulder. They wanted to know more. A few hours later, while walking with another couple, the conversation again turned to the testimony she gave. We spent the rest of the afternoon sharing with them just a few of the blessings we've experienced since this journey began for us. There is something beautiful about witnessing someone hungry to change their life for the better, and it continually blesses us to be a part of moments like that.

There was something I kept identifying with in that couple. It was an urgent need for change. It made me realize that it was a year ago this week that we were first exposed to Dave Ramsey's TMM. The similarities are strangely alike the more I think about it.

This time last year my wife and I were just getting back from our Honeymoon, which we celebrated at the same location as this year' Duets retreat. The next week at church, a young couple ran up to us in the lobby and happily pushed a bag into our hands. The couple was on the leadership council for the ministry, and had taken extra special care of us at the retreat. Inside the bag, was a book wrapped in tissue paper... The Total Money Makeover. At the time we were more grateful for the thought and gesture than we were for the actual book.

A month went by. It was now September and we had never given the book a second glance, but we were now in the greatest financial challenge of our young marriage. We prayed over who to call, who to open up to about the trouble we were facing, and the Lord directed us to them again.

So on September 13th (my birthday) we called and explained the situation to them and they proceeded to share their amazing testimony with us. All we were looking for was Godly counsel from people who had been in our shoes before, nothing else... but by the end of the conversation they had offered to gift us a portion of the money we needed for our situation. (And not a small gift either!) A few days later, we went over to their house to pick up the gift, and they had another one waiting for us to go along with it. It was Dave Ramsey's 13-cd Financial Peace University set.

From that moment on we became students of this movement, and stewards of the message. We began our makeover officially in October when we did our budget, and started having weekly meetings. But the seeds were planted in August and September when they handed us the book (that we never looked at tsk tsk tsk...) and again when they gave us counsel and set an excellent example of generosity through their cheerful giving.

In Revelations 12:11 (KJV) is says: And they overcame by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

NEVER discount the power of your testimony! I never thought we would be here, or at least not this early in our marriage. I was thinking we would reach it maybe 10 years from now... maybe. But within the next year we will have erased ALL of our debt with the exception of our mortgage. All within 2 years of grinding and putting off the instant gratification this world tries to shove down our throats daily. And the only reason I'm online typing this out to you is so that you can KNOW you can do this too. That's it. That's our tesimony in a sentence! We are doing this because we know that YOU can do this.

And so now it has come full circle for us a year later. Now we are on the leadership counsel for the couple's ministry. Now others are seeking us out for the same counsel we sought. And now we get to be the couple gleefully pushing a bag into another couple's hands with the book inside.

Today, I'm honored to push this post into your hand with the same energy and enthusiasm as it was handed to me!

...And to think I almost gave that up.

@W

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How Cycling is Changing My Finances & My Life...

Photo courtesy of .kol tregaskes

I'll be turning 30 in September, and I wanted to do something monumental to celebrate. I was looking for a personal challenge that would both push me and reward me on a number of levels. Somehow cycling has become that challenge for me.

A few years ago when my wife first moved into her condo, we saw 2 mountain bikes (male and female) next to the dumpster with a note on them that read: "Free Bikes, only about 100 miles worth of use ... Enjoy!" So we looked around to make sure this wasn't some sort of setup, and then wheeled them bad boys inside before the person changed their mind! lol

The bikes sat, the tires got flat, and we never ended up riding them until last month.

Around the same time a co-worker of mine who also lives close by, told me how he bikes in to work once or twice a week. He said the health benefits from it made him feel brand new, and that by doing so he saves about $30 in gas per week. ($$Ca-ching$$)

After hearing that, I was sold on the idea... but he went on to explain that it takes him 1 hour and 45 mins. to get to work, and that's just ONE WAY! Also it's about 26 miles from Leesburg to Tyson's Corner... or the distance of a marathon!

Like I said I was already sold on the idea because gas ain't cheap and $30 a week equals $120 a month that can go towards debt... That's a no brainer for a Gazelle Intense dude like myself right?

Yeah, I was sold alright, that is until I got out on the WO&D Trail for the first time. I was overdressed, poorly hydrated, and over-confident. It took me about an hour to go 5 miles my first time out. but it taught me a lesson in preparation. (Click the link to read my wife's excellent article on it) The next time out it took me 30 mins. but it taught me how to efficiently use my gearshift. Each time out I kept learning something new and adding it to my routine and now I can do that same 5 miles in about 15 mins. But while these time improvements were great for a 5 mile distance, they accounted for roughly 10% of the total distance to my goal.

See, It's great to have short-term goals, but it's important to keep in mind how well they are helping you meet your expected goal. This is particularly important to keep in mind when dealing with finances. Yes, it's hard to stop living in the moment and focusing on what this week's check will do for you this week. But at some point I hope you'll ask your self "What do I need to do so that one day I won't need to worry about next week's check being short?" or " When do I want to stop working for my income?" or "When do I want to start saving for my future, retirement, children, or business?".

Short-term goals are great. But they're called 'short-term' for a reason. They are meant to lead to a larger success, and they provide you with the momentum and confidence to do so.

Yesterday, I reached my goal in cycling, I made it all the way to my job in 1 hour and 40 mins. And I achieved this a full month before my birthday! Yes it's a great feat and I'm proud of what I accomplished. But it has now forced my long-term goal to change. See I didn't take into account that once I made it to my goal, I would also have to cycle all the way back home the same day.(I barely had enough energy to make TO my goal lol. You mean to tell me I gotta go BACK?!) So now my next challenge is to be able to make it to work and back home in decent time! But at least all it costs me is a FREE gallon of water per round trip instead of $4 per gallon of gas to drive!

Happy Trails!

@W

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@ Risk Theater: Gazelle Intense Sunday Edition.

Photo courtesy of Barbara J H

I got an overwhelmingly positive response after putting up the last video so I decided to make it a weekly addition to the site! Thanks for the feedback folks.

Ok so pretty much like last time, this video has another surprise ending. Just when it looks like all is lost... well click the vid and see for yourself!





So how do ya like that? The buck fakes out not only the cheetah but the hyena TOO and skips away singing ~Hi hater, hi hater, hi hater, you see me, hi hater LOL ~ (hit the link for a snipet if you dont already know...)

To me this is a great illustration of the fact that although your finances may seem like they're being attacked from multiple angles, you can recover if you hang in there! The gazelle could have called it quits when the cheetah had him by the THROAT, but he didnt. Instead he composed himself, waited for the right time, and then got up out of there with the quickness!

I hope you take this to heart and realize it's never too late to get in the debt elimanation game... especially when you're "gazelle intense" about it!

Have a great week!

@W

If you liked this post, please help us decrease our debt by donating.

Happy Financial Independence Day!!

photo courtesy of Will Hirzy

No, we're not Debt-Free yet, but we have lightened our non-mortgage debt load by almost $15000.00 since October! That's more than $1600/month going straight towards debt on average! WOW!

It is with this in mind that I randomly deem today July 3rd, 2008 as

Financial Independence Day!

While on this debt-dumping journey I feel it's important that you take every opportunity to celebrate your progress in various ways. Some of the celebration may be legitimate, and some of it may be random, contrived, or just plain non-sensical. (Ahem - like this post) But no matter what, the fact remains that the accomplishments should be recognized whether great or small.

We've only been at this for 9 months and so many positive things have come about as a result of this experience. This blog, many of the friends we've made, the lives we've touched and the people that have touched ours - much of it has stemmed from our mission to wipe out our debt for good! It is truly changing us and the way we use ALL of our resources, not just our money. This thing is deep!

Monday will be the one year wedding anniversary for my wife and I. And I can truly say that I never imagined it could be THIS way. Now, hear me out... Marriage has lived up to every expectation and hope that I had, but before the debt-freedom initiative entered our lives, I had envisioned a life where I was going to have to work much harder for the happiness of my family. I was willing to sacrifice -- for my wife and future children -- the thought of possibly NEVER retiring so that I could make ends meet, put the kids through school and one day build a dream house with my wife. But I never, NEVER thought life could be lived this way. I'd never seen it done, I didn't think it was realistic, and everything about my lifestyle and buying habits was completely opposed to it.

This experience has taught me that ALL of those things and more WILL be possible because of the sacrifice we're putting in now. And we're still only at the beginning it seems. We've knocked out just above 25% of our consumer debt excluding the mortgage. And as you'll remember we've paid off 10 of the 30 -- or one-third -- of the accounts we started out with.

I'm not saying it's been all easy street, but it's been well worth it. I see my family walking with a vision and a purpose that is both awe inspiring and humbling. I never thought I could be 'this' guy. To my wife of one year, I hope you hear the excitement in my voice, this one’s for US!

So yes, we still have a lot of the 'baby' present in our 'baby steps' lol. But we are making great progress...

And that to me is cause enough for celebration,

@W

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The Predator, The Prey, & The Unexpected Protector...

Photo courtesy of Olivier DELAERE

This is my first attempt to put video up on the site. I hope you enjoy this. During my last post I mentioned how Dave Ramsey advises debt-dumpers to be "Gazelle Intense". Well I found this video on YouTube that illustrates that saying, but with a twist. In this clip a cheetah (the predatory lenders of the world) is mercilessly toying with a baby gazelle (you and me) ... but the most amazing part is WHO steps in to protect the baby gazelle from the clutches of the enemy!



After watching that, I can't help but think of how Christ steps in to protect us when the enemy comes around to toy with us. My favorite part is that he doesn't even DO anything, just his mere presence makes the enemy roll out!

Hope this blesses you as much as it did me!

@W

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Snowflakes in June!!

Photo courtesy of redjar

We finally did it, we became a part of the snowflake revolution!

What is "snowflaking", and what's so great about it? Snowflaking is a spinoff of the Debt Snowball concept. Jaimie at I’ve Paid for This Twice Already puts it this way:

"What are snowballs made of? Snowflakes!"... "I also try to collect little bits of money wherever I can, and to apply those to my top priority debt (my credit card)."

As of our last check in June we've decided to try to snowflake as much as we can to replenish our emergency fund. For me this is great, because I was personally already trying to do this for my food money anyway, now I just have the seal of approval from the wife to do it across all of our finances.

Since I've been paying by cash for my food using the envelope system, each day I come home with a pocket full of change. I drop it into my automatic change counter, and at the end of the month take it to a local bank and exchange it for bills. I would then use the cash towards buying a small personal reward like a CD, or I would put it towards a household expense. But now I've decided to make sure that all that change, and any other remaining money from the previous paycheck go towards our emergency fund.

I'm becoming what Dave Ramsey calls "Gazelle Intense!" Cheeetahh!!! (If you dont understand, click the link...lol.)

Unfortunately that's all I have time to post right now.

Thanks for tuning in!

@W

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