Friday, October 13, 2006

One for the Money

Though I'm not particularly good at saving money (as my husband will quickly point out), I love book keeping. I took a finance class my last semester at BYU and enjoyed all the classes I attended (which amount to about half of the total classes). I also read the ever popular "Financial Peace" by Dave Ramsey, which gives the nutshell explanation of a semester long class. Ramsey recommends doing a cash based system and getting rid of all credit cards--and even debit cards. Going cash based for me though, is like dieting--I'll start tomorrow. I know it's the only way for me to cut back on impulse spending--if all my money is allocated and I buy something on an impulse, the money gets drawn from another source (i.e. the entertainment fund). So again, to pair it to dieting, I like my chocolate--I have a hard time resisting eating it when it's around; similarly, if I have my debit card in my wallet and I find the oh so perfect item, it is far too easy for me to justify buying it (and start the cash based system tomorrow). I don't want to leave my debit card at home though, what if there's an emergency, or I need a tank of gas--with kids, it's much easier to pay at the pump. So basically, starting a cash based system for me is like walking around with a bar of chocolate in my purse and not eating it. Can it be done? Time will tell.

You can buy "Financial Peace" here.

5 comments:

Kaila said...

That brings up one of my favorite excuses for not starting the cash based system yet: when the homelss people come knocking on my door, I simply tell them I don't carry cash. Unfortunately, once we move away from the homeless shelter, that excuse is no longer valid. So your teenagers don't love fairies and Care Bears any more? How tragic!

Kaila said...

That last comment sounds like my husband and I currently reside at the homeless shelter. Correction: We live NEXT to the shelter (and 3 half way houses).

Kaila said...

If it's any consolation, I do believe in fairies, and Gabby sure appreciates finding them in your garden. She's very disappointed that so far none have shown up at our house (I think they're just scared of the homeless people).

Julie Young said...

I'm cracking up so hard right now, it's unbelievable. I love you two, and mom, you know you love having a teenager like me. But good thing I hate cash, you'll just have to deal with Misha.

Kaila said...

So Jules, do you believe in fairies?