Reprogramming

I am currently undergoing a reprogramming of the mind, heart, and habits. Finding myself in the worse financial state I've been in in my entire life, I've found it necessary to take action. As a good friend of mine tells me, "You need to become solvent for the sake of your children." He is right. I can not continue on in this way for the rest of my life. Otherwise, I won't have peace and I won't have anything to pass on to my children.

Hence, as I often do, I went to work in researching what is needed to turn this ship around. I got books on credit, negotiating, budgeting, and the like. Of all my reading I believe the most informative and helpful book I read was, "THE TOTAL MONEY MAKEOVER" by Dave Ramsey. This book was easy to read, practical, honest, plenty of real life examples to motivate you, and lots of forms for easy use. It was the real deal.

The basic premise of the book is that you pay off all your debt, stick to a budget, save and invest for expenses such as a car, and live life free....and like no one else. Dave tells you to go after being debt free with life or death type of intensity. He admonishes you to get a second job, deliver pizzas if need be, and get this ball rolling. It's a simple plan, not an easy plan. Motivated and ready to go, I set out to find that second job. This has not been easy. I've had a few phone calls and interviews...but schedule seems to get in the way each time. Nevertheless, my search continues.

In the meantime, I have been listening to Dave on the radio almost nightly. Not that he is bringing new information to the table (again, the plan is simple) but he continues to reinforce the thinking and principles behind his plan. He's become like an angel on my shoulder. When I'm getting stressed over the normal financial issues of life I hear his voice and principals reverberating in my ears....

This became evident to me recently when I was stressing about my triple 4 credit score (something I've never seen or knew was possible). I was notified of my score because I went to the dealer to plead for help financing a car that is less eager to eat away my check via gas pump (not to mention new electrical problems come to life daily). Then I realized that my credit score doesn't matter much anymore. I'm moving toward a cash only lifestyle where credit is insignificant. When I reminded myself of that, I found peace of mind and said forget the score, lets get to the cash lifestyle.

With that in mind, I've decided to keep my car for as long as I can. It will be completely paid off in about a year or less. Once it is, I will dedicate my payment to saving up about $6k for the next car. Once that is done, I will then begin to attack these other debts so I can scream, FREEDOM! The other thing I've decided to do is do what is needed to stay where I'm at until I'm literally forced to make a decision otherwise. It just doesn't make sense to do anything else at this time. Essentially, I'm holding the line until reinforcements (promotion, second job, or different higher paying job) comes to bare.

While I work this plan and wait for changes in the pocket to happen I continue to work on my mindset. Reprogramming myself is hard. I've been mis-educated from birth by my family, friends, teachers, banks, and society at large. That's a lot to overcome after 34 years of constant reinforcement. Nevertheless, I resolve to overcome. I recommend that you reprogram yourself as well.