I'm a dreamer and a bit of an optimist. I am one of those who believes anything is possible with the right kind of effort and hard work. If for some reason things don't work out like I plan, you know what? That probably means there is something better coming my way :).
The other day I had an interesting conversation with some family members and I decided I wanted to write about it here.
First, I'll give you some background information. My husband and I started following Dave Ramsey's financial program. I love it. I listen to the show all the time, and I have checked out most of the Dave Ramsey books and dvds they have at the library A little before that my husband had decided he wanted to buy a house, but honestly, we're poor college students. We don't have the money to buy a house yet. I have a decent job for someone with little college education and my husband is working part time as well, and we are making enough to make ends meet and pay for most of his college with cash. We did have to take out a small student loan when we first got married to pay for part of it with the goal to have it paid off before he graduates. We started Dave Ramsey's plan about 2-3 months ago. We just completed baby step one and set up our budget to start with baby step 2 next month. (that's probably more info than you needed) anyways
My husband loves to save money any way he can. Part of the reason he wanted to buy a house is because he felt like it would be cheaper. I didn't know how to explain that I disagreed with that statement. We came up with an excel spreadsheet that calculated whether it would be cheaper to rent and save for a few year and then buy the house in cash, to rent and save for a good down payment on a house, or to just buy a house now with a very small down payment. All of it depends on how much money we're making, how much our rent will be, and how much we are able to save each month. Basically we figured out if my husband makes $50,000 a year after we graduate and we're able to live on less than $25,000 a year we could save $25,000 a year and buy a $100,000 house with cash in 4 years. That sounds awesome doesn't it?
Well, we all know there is opposition in all things. If you have ever watched or listened to the dave ramsey show and people doing their debt free screams Dave almost always asks the debt free screamers if they had people that made fun of them for what they were doing. Well, I knew there would be some comments from my dad because I was taught debt is a tool and its ok to have debt. He said once we start making that kind of money we will want to spend it. I know that. Actually, I was planning for some increase in spending. I also know that I would rather have a paid for house, drive a car that is falling apart, and no debt; than to have a mortgage, a brand new car, and a lot of debt. That's one of the advantages to being a dreamer. Your dreams can outweigh your present wants and desires with the hope that, like Dave Ramsey says:"if you live like no one else, later you can live like no one else."
There was another reaction I wasn't expecting. One day while we were over at my in-laws house, My husband decided to talk about finances and our new plan to get out of debt and save up for a house and pay for it in cash. Which is not a problem, when you discover something cool, usually you want to share it, especially with family. I have no idea what their finances are like. I do know they are debt free, they don't make a whole lot of money, they are really good with the money they make, and save for many purchases. I don't know if they have a budget or if they have ever budgeted, but that's not my point. So we're telling them our plan and they told us they would have never been able to do what we were planning because they didn't make enough money. They told us that once you start making a certain amount of money you don't have to be smart with money anymore. They said that we wouldn't have to be smart with money if we were making $50,000 a year. They told us we should plan as if we're gonna be working at Mcdonalds, and if something better happens that's nice, but plan for the worst. I was surprised! Other than my mom who supports me in everything I do, These were the people I thought would be excited. Well, I didn't say much at that time. I feel like they think I'm crazy a lot of the time when I mention finances anyways.
There was one line that kept bothering me, "plan as if you're gonna be working at mcdonalds". Really? Plan to make minimum wage?!?!?!? I currently work 1 full time job and 2 part time jobs, NONE of them pay minimum wage. (I keep all three because I like them not because I have to work 3 jobs to get by). My husband has a part time job that seems willing to hire him on full time after he graduates and it pays more than minimum wage. So if we were planning on living on a Mcdonalds income, We'd be planning making less than what we currently make. WHY?!? I don't know about you, but I plan to progress in life, not move back. Why shoot for the ground when you're already standing up? Why would you PLAN to fall on your face? Yeah, it's a good idea to plan incase of an emergency, but that isn't your goal. Your goal is, as this anonymous quote states: "shoot for the moon, even if you miss you'll land among stars."
You can do anything that you put your mind to. It's ok to have big dreams, in fact I recommend it. Don't plan to fall on your face, plan to fly while being content with standing for now.
[disclaimer: I really do love the friends and family I am wrote about in this post. I am not mad at any of them. I am simply using the experience I have to illustrate a point.]
