So this will be my first serious post on our blog. If you know me at all, you know that I enjoy talking about financial issues (OK so enjoy is a VAST understatement). Our good friends Damien and Natalya had mentioned Dave Ramsey a few times during financial discussions, but I was always quick to dismiss what they shared with us because the ideas seemed "too conservative", "unreasonable", and "impossible". For example, Dave says you should cut up all credit cards, not buy anything unless you can write a check for it (or use a debit card), with exception of a house on which you shouldn't have greater than a 15 year mortgage. About a month ago I was sitting at work bored, and decided I would listen to Dave Ramsey's radio show. On his show Dave answers caller's questions about money issues. In the process of listening to Dave give these people advice I had a huge paradigm change about money. Long story short, Alisa and I are reading Dave's books and committing to follow his money advice for the rest of our lives.

Now many of you are probably thinking, "How can you be so committed to the teachings of this guy?". Or maybe you think we've been roped in to some "secret" get rich quick plan. First, Dave will be the first to admit there is no "secret" to getting rich; he teaches that handling money is 80% behavior and only 20% knowledge. The secret is not just knowing what to do, but having the discipline to control spending habits and lifestyles. And as to to how we can be so committed to this plan...maybe it will be best if I share some of his teachings. As you read over these statements think about where you hear these principles taught regularly.

-Stay out/get out of debt because "the borrower is a servant to the lender" says Proverbs. I always enjoy when Dave challenges people to find one good statement about debt in the bible (I would extend that challenge to any modern day scriptures).
-Have 3-6 months expenses set aside for rainy days. Dave calls this building a wall between you and Murphy (you know, Murphy's law?). People tell Dave he needs to be more positive, and his response is always "I am positive...that it is going to rain"
-No matter your income develop the habit of tithing/giving

As you can see, Dave's main goal is not getting rich. He wants people to reach "Financial Peace", in fact that is the name of his first book. He teaches basic principles that anyone, at any point in life can follow. He makes you realize building wealth and financial peace are not as much a function of what you make, as how much you spend of what you make. How many of us have heard of some professional athlete, musician, or actor going broke when they've made millions? Just recently I heard Ed McMahon and Michael Jackson were fighting foreclosure on their homes.

So why am I blogging about this? Mainly because we are so grateful for Damien and Natalya introducing us to Dave, and I would feel guilty if I did not at least attempt to share this stuff with other people too. Now I know that many of you will just think we're crazy and that we're joining some weird cult, but frankly we don't care. For the first time in our marriage, budgeting did not end with Alisa falling asleep or us getting frustrated, and we're already enjoying the peace that comes with preparing for tough times so that they will hopefully be a blip on the radar and not a life catastrophe.

For those that are curious, I refer you to Dave's website www.daveramsey.com. It is great timing because until Tuesday his books are all on sale for $10.00. I would recommend starting with "Total Money Makeover"; it is a very easy read and very entertaining.