2011- The Year of the Gazelle!

If you don't know who Dave Ramsey is then you have no idea what I am talking about. In short, Dave Ramsey is a godly man that teaches how to get out of debt, stay there and build wealth! He is awesome and I recommend everyone take his Financial Peace University class or at the very least buy his books.

Mike and I took FPU in the spring of 2008. We put a lot of Dave's wisdom into practice and have since payed down a lot of debt.

Then we had Jonah.....
Then we had Micah.....
Then we moved.....

So long story short, we NEVER got gazelle intense. That is about to change. Mike feels the Lord telling him that we can be debt FREE (credit cards, both cars, and all student loans) by the end of 2011!! Mike and I have agreed that we will not get specific about our income or debt but I will tell you, that on paper, this is IMPOSSIBLE!

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26

So how in the world are we going to do this?

1. We will put our trust in the Lord!

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
Proverbs 3:5

2. We will not use the fact that we have not found a church home as an excuse not to tithe. We will make sure to always give back to the Lord what is already His.

One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.
Proverbs 11:24

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
Malachi 3:10

3. We are going to "work" Dave Ramsey's baby steps.

4. Mike has taken a side job tutoring math. This was a hard one for me because the boys and I want him at home and quite frankly by the end of the day I am about to loose my mind!!

5. We are on a strict budget! We will very much limit eating out and any extra spending. I will have to menu plan and cook on a tight budget. Dave jokes that you are on "rice and beans & beans and rice" and 1-2 nights a week we will eat vegetarian to lower the grocery bill. I will also start couponing again.

We are putting this out in the public for several reasons. 1. I love blogging to keep myself accountable. 2. We hope that we might inspire someone else because debt has become a normal part of life for most people. 3. We want our family and friends to know that this is why we will be acting "strange" for a while. We want to "live like no one else, so that later we get to live like no one else".

I am still debating on how to update our progress on the blog. I am thinking about marking our progress through the baby steps on the right side?? However I decide, I will make sure to let my one reader know how we are doing ;-) I will also start Menu Planning Monday again next week.