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The Water Cooler
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Dave Ramsey clip that seems like the typical American story right now
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<blockquote data-quote="aarondhgraham" data-source="post: 4161400" data-attributes="member: 13337"><p>Way back in the late 90's,,,</p><p>I became "suddenly single" and on my own.</p><p></p><p>My ex never met a credit plan she didn't like,,,</p><p>When we divorced, with mortgage, auto payment, and credit card,,,</p><p>We (read she, not me) had amassed well over 80,000 dollars in revolving debt.</p><p></p><p>Fortunately for me she did accept responsibility for the debt,,,</p><p>So I got out of the divorce smelling like a rose,,,</p><p>A paid for vehicle, $2000 cash, and no debt.</p><p></p><p>I moved back to Oklahoma and started living a real life again,,,</p><p>But believe me, I had learned my lesson about credit.</p><p>Credit can be insidiously evil.</p><p></p><p>At the age of 47 I decided that working a "job",,,</p><p>Wasn't going to get me anywhere at all.</p><p></p><p>I was in that semi-comfortable,,,</p><p>Three paychecks from being homeless.</p><p></p><p>I decided to bite the bullet and go back to college,,,</p><p>Student loans were the only recourse for me.</p><p></p><p>I was fortunate throughout the pursuit of my BS and MS degrees,,,</p><p>I had good student worker/graduate assistant jobs,,,</p><p>Also some tuition waivers from my college.</p><p></p><p>But what I did that was really important,,,</p><p>Was to stabilize my finances/spending.</p><p></p><p>I didn't live in a nice apartment,,,</p><p>I lived in a one-room efficiency apartment,,,</p><p>It was rough but it was also the cheapest place in town.</p><p></p><p>I made a budget listing my total monthly income,,,</p><p>And compared it to my total expenses.</p><p></p><p>Except for the usual tuition/fees every semester,,,</p><p>I did not touch my student loan money,,,</p><p>I kept it in the savings account.</p><p></p><p>I had to live cheap for sure,,,</p><p>But I had the high-speed internet for school work,,,</p><p>And a Netflix account for all of my entertainment needs.</p><p></p><p>In short I made a budget spreadsheet,,,</p><p>And stuck to it religiously.</p><p></p><p>I walked to campus instead of driving,,,</p><p>I made sandwiches instead of eating at the student union,,,</p><p>And in general resisted the urge to "buy happiness" as a recreational thing.</p><p></p><p>When I graduated with my MS degree,,,</p><p>I still had about 85% of my student loan money in the bank.</p><p></p><p>My strategy was to accept that I would be paying those loans forever,,,</p><p>I took the longest loan payback offered at the time.</p><p></p><p>I know this is against most financial advice,,,</p><p>But even though it was "encumbered money",,,</p><p>I had some peace of mind knowing I had an emergency cushion.</p><p></p><p>When the Fairy Godmother Department helped me get a great job,,,</p><p>I still didn't go crazy with a luxury apt or a new car,,,</p><p>I remained frugal and amassed more savings.</p><p></p><p>I still use that spreadsheet that I made back in 1998,,,</p><p>Of course it's been modified many times since,,,</p><p>As my situation changed and evolved.</p><p></p><p>I wasn't miserly with my expenses,,,</p><p>I just never bought anything at all on credit,,,</p><p>Due to my initial frugality I always had cash for a new TV.</p><p></p><p>I'm extremely proud that I haven't paid a penny of credit card interest,,,</p><p>Since I got my Cabela's card 23-24 years ago.</p><p></p><p>But here's the gist of this long saga,,,</p><p>I was showing one of the young students in my college,,,</p><p>Exactly how to calculate a budget and set up a spreadsheet to manage it.</p><p></p><p>One of my co-workers was watching and said to me,,,</p><p>Oh, you use the Dave Ramsey Budget Method.</p><p></p><p>"Dave who?" I replied.</p><p></p><p>So I Googled him and read some of his basic advice,,,</p><p>It seems that what I called my common sense approach to budgeting,,,</p><p>Was something that he had gotten very wealthy promoting to the needy masses.</p><p></p><p>But that's all it was really,,,</p><p>Common Sense.</p><p></p><p>Calculate your total income,,,</p><p>Then calculate your total expenses,,,</p><p>Then compare the two against the other.</p><p></p><p>If you make more then you spend great,,,</p><p>You are having a good start.</p><p></p><p>If you spend more than you make,,,</p><p>You are in need of some life adjustments.</p><p></p><p>My Pop always said,,,</p><p>If you can't meet your monthly expenses,,,</p><p>There is really only two things you can do to remedy that.</p><p></p><p>Spend less or make more.</p><p></p><p>I ( like countless people before me),,,</p><p>Had invented the Dave Ramsey method on my own.</p><p></p><p>But again it was only practicing common sense.</p><p></p><p>I'm retired now living off of a pension from OSU,,,</p><p>And my Social Security Income check.</p><p></p><p>I still use the same budgeting method as I did before,,,</p><p>My total income is less than 3,000 per month,,,</p><p>But by budgeting carefully it's enough.</p><p></p><p>In 17 years of work after college,,,</p><p>I own my own home (hovel),,,</p><p>With money in the bank.</p><p></p><p>It's not difficult and it's not complicated,,,</p><p>Just figure out what your means are and live within them.</p><p></p><p>If that's not enough to satisfy your desires,,,</p><p>Do something else to create more income for yourself.</p><p></p><p>'Nuff said?</p><p></p><p>Aarond</p><p></p><p>.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="aarondhgraham, post: 4161400, member: 13337"] Way back in the late 90's,,, I became "suddenly single" and on my own. My ex never met a credit plan she didn't like,,, When we divorced, with mortgage, auto payment, and credit card,,, We (read she, not me) had amassed well over 80,000 dollars in revolving debt. Fortunately for me she did accept responsibility for the debt,,, So I got out of the divorce smelling like a rose,,, A paid for vehicle, $2000 cash, and no debt. I moved back to Oklahoma and started living a real life again,,, But believe me, I had learned my lesson about credit. Credit can be insidiously evil. At the age of 47 I decided that working a "job",,, Wasn't going to get me anywhere at all. I was in that semi-comfortable,,, Three paychecks from being homeless. I decided to bite the bullet and go back to college,,, Student loans were the only recourse for me. I was fortunate throughout the pursuit of my BS and MS degrees,,, I had good student worker/graduate assistant jobs,,, Also some tuition waivers from my college. But what I did that was really important,,, Was to stabilize my finances/spending. I didn't live in a nice apartment,,, I lived in a one-room efficiency apartment,,, It was rough but it was also the cheapest place in town. I made a budget listing my total monthly income,,, And compared it to my total expenses. Except for the usual tuition/fees every semester,,, I did not touch my student loan money,,, I kept it in the savings account. I had to live cheap for sure,,, But I had the high-speed internet for school work,,, And a Netflix account for all of my entertainment needs. In short I made a budget spreadsheet,,, And stuck to it religiously. I walked to campus instead of driving,,, I made sandwiches instead of eating at the student union,,, And in general resisted the urge to "buy happiness" as a recreational thing. When I graduated with my MS degree,,, I still had about 85% of my student loan money in the bank. My strategy was to accept that I would be paying those loans forever,,, I took the longest loan payback offered at the time. I know this is against most financial advice,,, But even though it was "encumbered money",,, I had some peace of mind knowing I had an emergency cushion. When the Fairy Godmother Department helped me get a great job,,, I still didn't go crazy with a luxury apt or a new car,,, I remained frugal and amassed more savings. I still use that spreadsheet that I made back in 1998,,, Of course it's been modified many times since,,, As my situation changed and evolved. I wasn't miserly with my expenses,,, I just never bought anything at all on credit,,, Due to my initial frugality I always had cash for a new TV. I'm extremely proud that I haven't paid a penny of credit card interest,,, Since I got my Cabela's card 23-24 years ago. But here's the gist of this long saga,,, I was showing one of the young students in my college,,, Exactly how to calculate a budget and set up a spreadsheet to manage it. One of my co-workers was watching and said to me,,, Oh, you use the Dave Ramsey Budget Method. "Dave who?" I replied. So I Googled him and read some of his basic advice,,, It seems that what I called my common sense approach to budgeting,,, Was something that he had gotten very wealthy promoting to the needy masses. But that's all it was really,,, Common Sense. Calculate your total income,,, Then calculate your total expenses,,, Then compare the two against the other. If you make more then you spend great,,, You are having a good start. If you spend more than you make,,, You are in need of some life adjustments. My Pop always said,,, If you can't meet your monthly expenses,,, There is really only two things you can do to remedy that. Spend less or make more. I ( like countless people before me),,, Had invented the Dave Ramsey method on my own. But again it was only practicing common sense. I'm retired now living off of a pension from OSU,,, And my Social Security Income check. I still use the same budgeting method as I did before,,, My total income is less than 3,000 per month,,, But by budgeting carefully it's enough. In 17 years of work after college,,, I own my own home (hovel),,, With money in the bank. It's not difficult and it's not complicated,,, Just figure out what your means are and live within them. If that's not enough to satisfy your desires,,, Do something else to create more income for yourself. 'Nuff said? Aarond . [/QUOTE]
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