The Long Con

So, why am I here?  Why are we doing this?  The honest answer is, "I don't know."  But only if the question is about the amount we owe.  We are so far in debt that I don't really know how much we owe, and I certainly can't figure how much we'll end up paying off.  I do know that we owe over $400,000 in federal student loans and almost $140,000 in private loans, mostly for education.  We owe a lot.  And we don't want to owe a lot for a long time.  That's why we're doing this.

I met Chris in law school.  Law school used to be a guaranteed good future.  But the economy, greedy law schools and a few surprises changed our prospects.  I lost my house during school due to a dead-beat renter.  I have a $15,000 judgment against her, worth roughly the paper on which it's written.  But the big surprise came in our 3rd year when I got pregnant with our son.  We graduated in April and Jack was born in July, three weeks before the bar exam.  Obviously, I didn't take it.  So I have law school loans and I can't practice law!  Not a financially viable position.  And due to the economy, Chris had trouble finding work out of school.  This one-two punch financially, and emotionally, devastated us.  And led us to one conclusion:  We will never not be in control of our lives, financially or otherwise, ever again!

Fast-forward a few months... Chris is practicing law for a better than average salary and I am working part-time waiting tables and staying home with Jack.  But to an end:  The money I am making will go toward daycare and study supplies for me to take the July 2013 bar.  Then I can earn lawyer money too.

And all the while, we're working on our snowball and taking control of our future.  Our loans have a twenty-five year term; we'll be done in 8.  Then our sweet lawyer salaries will belong to us, along with our future.

Elle: The Best Worst Car EVER!

Despite living in Southern California, my husband and I own one car.  We are lucky that he can work out of the house and I am walking distance to my part-time job.  But even when that wasn't the case, we shared the car and did a lot of dropping-off and scheduling maneuvers to make it work.  And I hated it.  Absolutely, positively hated it.

You see, I'm 35 and a law school graduate.  So I deserve a new car, dammit!  After all, doesn't a stay-at-home-mom with a part-time job in her neighborhood need a shiny new car to haul groceries?  And to show it off to people that I don't know?  So, we made the smart decision:  We were going to save up and LEASE a car.  That's right, lease.  Why buy something you don't need that loses value by the minute when you can rent something you don't need, watch it lose value, maintain it for the duration and be empty-handed at the end of the term?  We're so smart!!!

See the wires on the trunk?  That's where the spoiler fell from!!

Then I read Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover."  So much for being a smarty-pants.  Instead of a brand new car, we've decided to keep the one we had.  But the best part?  I now love that car that I once despised.  It used to be a symbol of my "failure"; that's right, I don't have a new car so I'm (obviously) a bad, unsuccessful, pathetic person.  But now, our 2001 Honda with the broken spoiler is my medal of honor.  She is proof that I am patient, responsible, and thoughtful of my family's future.  I smile whenever I get in, knowing that she'll get me where I'm going.  Not just my physical destination, but to my debt-free life.  And our dream car?  The one we had our eye on?  We see it cruising around town occasionally.  And we agree, it's a nice car.  But having a plan and working it for our future makes our beat up Honda the best car on the road.

Starting to Roll

This is our second official month of following the Dave Ramsey plan (August '12).  Of course, my hours got cut, the car battery died and one of the dogs got sick.  But while these issues affect our snowball payment, they are no longer month-destroying problems.  Luckily, we have irregular income and a budget.  We follow the envelope system and know where each dollar goes.  And because of our irregular income,  I base our budget on the low-end of our earning potential.  Thus our "extra" money goes toward the snowball.  So even with our financial hiccups, we will still have enough money to finish a debt (a $371 payoff) and move to our next loan!!

You know what's really weird?  I look forward to paying our bills!  Seriously.  I don't dread them, don't avoid them, and, honestly, don't feel exhausted, scared, or trapped by them.  We have an incredible amount of debt.  But we also have an incredible plan.  And we'll win!!!