FREE Slurpee!

Tomorrow, July 11th, in honor of the national "7-11 Day" you can get a free slurpee from participating stores. You know what this means, slurpee for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Awe. Yeah. I may have an addiction problem here.

So I have to write about a book I just started reading last weekend that has really made me question a lot of things I do with money and how I view it. The book is "Total Money Makeover" and it's equally awesome and enlightening and also cruel and depressing. His whole idea, which doesn't seem like it should even be considered an idea but more of a norm is to only spend what you have. Duh. But in a time of credit card offers left and right and the "spend now, pay later" mentality it's so darn easy to fall into the trap and find yourself 6 feet under covered in past due bills.

I'll be honest, I've always had a problem with shopping. I love getting something new whether it be a new notebooks, eye shadow or clothes; I just love shopping. When I was single it was no problem to lavish myself at department stores because in the end I was the one who would suffer the consequences, which was usually not enough money to buy groceries. Now that my finances are "our" finances though I can't justify buying something without first consulting my other-half. And, since we're living on a tight budget, asking if I can spend $100 at Target on stuff I don't need just doesn't fly. Don't get me wrong when I say "ask" because trust me, I hate the idea of having to ask someone else to spend my money. But again, it's "our" money. It's a vicious cycle.

Back to the book... Dave's money-game-plan is to pay off one bill at a time until you are, however many months and cute-less clothes later, debt-free. Eric and I don't have a ton of debt considering how much the average American owes, but we still want to be debt-free and with money in a savings account so we can plan and take trips instead of crossing our fingers that we can eventually afford to leave the state of Texas like we have been. So this is our first official month on this plan. The first card to be paid off will be the Discover card. Then WaMu. Then British Airways, which will take a wwwhhhiiilllleeee. Then the medical bills, again this is going to take some time. Then then then then. However many months down the road when we are completely free from credit card dependency and receiving 18 paper bills each month, we can smile and know we did a good thing so early into our marriage.

If you have any debt, read this book. It's really good. Plus, Dave, the guy that wrote it is a Christian so there's lots of good scriptures mentioned throughout the book that will make you want to get on your face and repent. I tore my clothes and put ashes on my head after the first chapter.

Free slurpee and a great book. Good times.