Wow. Small Conversation, Big Realizations

As I left work yesterday, I saw a guy named Jay, who teaches history at my school. To say hello, I said, "Well, Jay, another day." He responded with, "Another buck." Thinking he would understand what I meant as he is a fellow teacher, I quipped, "But just one buck, just one!" He said, "Jethro, how long you been teaching?" After I told this seasoned veteran of 20+ years that I have been teaching only two, he responded with a sage comment, "Jethro, don't ever complain about the money, because that is all you will ever think about and you will never be happy." I smiled and said that it was a good point. But then I realized, teachers here in Utah really do get paid poorly, and I mean bottom of the barrel. He does make a strike an interesting chord, though, and I must remember it. It is not all about the money, but I still need to support my family.

After having a day to think about that conversation, though, I have begun to realize again that I have been so blessed by the Lord. I certainly don't make a lot of money. In fact, according to Utah's Right to Know, I make...well, if you really want to know, you can go check it out. When you do the math on that, paying tithing first, realizing that taxes are taken out, then you add in rent, groceries, over-priced health insurance, and car payment and insurance, that doesn't leave us with very much each month to buy food, diapers, and other necessities. But, we have been very blessed. Katya gets SSI money from the government every month. I have been able to find easy, non-time consuming second jobs while I have been going to graduate school for the last two years. We always end up with just enough or a little extra. That is not because the legislature decided to give us a little extra pay, or the district "forgot" to pay us the full amount, or whatever. It is because the Lord is looking out for us. He finds ways to stretch that money and give us extra money. I know that it is because we pay our tithing first. The Lord blesses us for our sacrifice, and I am grateful that He does. We could not survive without His blessings.
It isn't about the money, but it is.

This time is very difficult for us because we don't make a lot, but we have never been happier. Making more money right now wouldn't make us happier. We are struggling and that is okay. We are making wise financial decisions right now to help us enjoy life later. It will be a struggle for a few more years. The Lord is not going to stop blessing us just because we caught Him in the act. He is going to continue to give us just enough to get by and be happy. He is the one who makes us happy. He is the one who blesses us. He is the one who makes everything worth it.

I thank Him for inspiring Jay to remind me about what really makes me happy. My faith and assurance and trust in God makes me happy. He has blessed me with the most beautiful and wonderful wife a body could ever ask for, and two amazing daughters that bring joy to my heart when they smile at me as I walk in the door at the end of a long day.

How can I not be grateful?

Finally!!!

Well, we finally did it. We cut up our credit card. I have had this card since 2003 right when I got back from my mission. Before I wised up and got an emergency fund, this card served me well. I have been really good about paying the balance off quickly, and I have not used it that much. I could have used it a lot more, but I am glad I didn't. The thing that was holding us back was Staci never wanted to get rid of it, just in case we needed it for an emergency. First off, we never used it for an emergency. Staci never used it at all, but I did, and only for stuff that I wanted, but didn't have the money for.

I haven't put anything on it for quite a while, and I wanted to just shred it, but Staci wanted me to keep it. I have been trying to get rid of it (while still using because we had it), and I think Staci was getting sick of me using it. I suggested that we get rid of it many times by saying, "Dave Ramsey says you should..." Well, NOBODY likes being told what to do, especially if he or she doesn't really believe in it. So, a couple months ago, instead of saying, "Dave says this..." I started just talking to Staci about our money situation, and not even mentioning Dave Ramsey. Well, that helped a lot. Staci started getting more interested in getting out of debt, and staying out. I bought a little book for six bucks by Dave Ramsey, and she started reading it. Then, she started reading stories on his website. Then, finally, she said, "We should just cut up our credit card." I said, "Great! I will close the Wells Fargo Checking Account that we have open, also." We only use that as an easy way to pay off our credit card when we charge something to it. So, I went and closed them both, and now we are good to go. The only debts that we have left are our student loans, and our car loan. I am going to try and get a scholarship for this next school year so that I don't have to take out a loan for another year. We have almost enough money to cover spring and summer tuition, and if I get a good job this summer when school is out, I can save enough for the fall and winter tuition next year. It will be tight for a while, but we will make it. Hopefully, we can have our car paid off by the time I finish my grad program (April or August 2009).

I think another thing that has helped Staci be okay with getting rid of our credit card, is that we got a checking account through ING Direct, where our Emergency Fund account it. The checking account gives us 4% APY (3.93% interest rate). We can write checks (via the web), use our debit card, or transfer money to our regular checking account. It also allows for faster access to our emergency fund.

We are pretty excited about finally being able to get out of debt.

Moving into our new apartment really helped us a lot. The other thing that really helped is doing a zero-based budget (PDF forms here). That is where every dime we make has a home before we get paid. That way, our checking account is down to $0 (except for gas money) before we even get paid. It doesn't mean that we don't have money for everything, but it means that we are never left at the end of the month with extra money waiting for us to blow it on something that is not in the budget.

Those two things (cheaper apartment and zero-based budget) made it feel like we got a raise.