Sins of the Finances: Chapter 1

"He who fails to plan is planning to fail."
--Winston Churchill

I've spent the last few months in deep reflection following reading The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. And yes, I used to poo-poo on Dave, and though I still have a few issues with a few of his preachings, I am now at a point in my life where I am ready to tackle our financial problems. More importantly, I first accepted, with blinding clarity, that there was a problem that needed fixing and fast!

We all know about "Keeping up with the Joneses." And though I really don't think that I fall into that trap very often, I do fall into the trap of "Cultural Expectations." I really like the way Dave explains the latter one. I fell for many. I realized not long ago that when we were thinking about buying our first house, not only did I want us to have our own house but I also wanted to prove something to...exactly who I'm not sure. "See, I'm successful. I may not be a lawyer or another easy to check box, but I'm successful." I also wanted a baby really badly, so I'm lumping a small percentage of want under nesting.

But let me back up, because it makes the most sense to start at the beginning.

Doug and I started dating the same month that I moved out of my parents' house and in with three friends. Interesting that we met at the same time in my life when I first had to pay (a portion of) rent, utilities, groceries, etc. I worked part-time as a student worker on campus making minimum wage. I have no idea what minimum wage was back then, but I know that 20 hours of work did not make for a very big paycheck. My college tuition was taken care of via scholarships and my college fund, and I did not have any student loans. My dad was helping me by paying for my car, insurance and a little bit of cash toward groceries. Looking back, I am not at all surprised at where my first credit card balances came from.

Four months later, Doug and I got engaged, and the wedding planning began. My parents had no wedding fund planned. I tried very hard to walk the line of not wasting their money and still having the wedding I had always dreamed of. I paid for a good chunk of the little stuff, and $1000 was taken out of my college fund for wedding use. My parents took a hit to their CCs for the rest. As for my engagement ring, Doug sold his second vehicle (what 25 year old has two vehicles?) to buy it. But here is where it gets ugly. We financed our wedding bands (though we did pay them off during the "no interest" timeframe) and charged our honeymoon (TO JAMAICA) on a credit card. Yep, we did. Hear those cultural expectations anywhere? Surely you do, it's the note right before STUPIDITY.

So though we were blessed to be entering marriage with neither spouse having student loans, we did enter with debt. I think that closes out Chapter 1 pretty nicely.

And that quote at the top of the page? That is the theme of this "book" I am writing. Most of our financial sins fall squarely under that Failing to Plan heading. You'll see.