Goodbye 2009...HELLO 2010!!

Welcome to my blog! The start of 2010 initiated personal self-reflection. I started to think about the Christmas holiday passing and my failure to send out cards to my family and friends. When I began to brainstorm some alternative to relieve my guilt, I thought about sending out a gratitude card revealing the memories, events, and people James and I appreciated most this year. As my brainstorm continued, I quickly remembered that I am living in the year 2010, and I am a proud member of generation Y; therefore, why on earth would I waste my money on postage, envelopes, paper, or cards when I could just hit one button and share my story with an entire world!? After deep thought, I decided that 2010 is the perfect year to create a blog. James and I have many exciting plans in store this year, and I honored to ask you to be a part of our exciting journey!

To put 2009 to rest for good, I will quickly share the “ah- ha” moments and best learning experiences that we uncovered this year.

James and I took our first step out of our comfort zone and moved two hours from our family to Portland, ME. James graduated after six and a half years of full-time studies with his Bachelor’s in Psychology and his Bachelor’s in Engineering; he was ready to face the ‘real world!’ The “real world” smacked James on his bottom as soon as it saw his face. Within 30 days of employment, James received notification that he would likely lose his job. Additionally, his seven student loan lenders began to knock on our door requesting their cash at a steep 6.8% variable interest (thanks to yours truly, George W.).

I will never forget the panic and fear that passed through my body during the early weeks in January 2009. A million thoughts raced through my mind, “why did we move to this city?” “is this God’s way of telling us that he didn’t want us to move away from our family?” “how will we afford our house in Bangor and our apartment in Portland?” “how will James find another job in this recession?” I felt physically and emotionally sick.

One year later, as I reflect on the seemingly devastating moment in my life, I recognize that these challenges positively changed my life forever. I quickly learned that financial security is critical. James’ Mom bought us the best gift that we have ever received, “Total Money Makeover” by Dave Ramsey. This book has blessed our lives, and the lessons learned will continue to bless our lives forever. If you have not received the opportunity to read this book and learn about the principles Dave preaches, take some time and order the book TODAY! Total Money Make Over!

James and I read Dave’s book in two days, and we immediately turned ourselves into gazelle intense debt reducers!! I called our pesky student loan lenders to calculate a grand combined debt total= $45,000! James used his creative talents to construct a perfect “debt thermometer” that we proudly display at the entrance of our home. We began to brainstorm money saving strategies that would allow us to fill our thermometer quickly!

We started with our grocery budget. We defined a budget of $100 per week that we would devote to food. We started shopping according to portion control; how much chicken do we really need this week? How many servings of fruit will supply our nutritional requirements this week? Our grocery shopping saving proved the biggest success this year! By shopping with a plan, list, sales, and portion control, we managed to spend between $80-$100 all year; additionally, we threw away about six food items for the year and James lost 10 pounds!

We continued our spending elimination process by blocking text message from our cell phone plan (savings $30/month and $360/year). We committed to driving one car (saving thousands in payments, gas, repairs, oil). We changed our internet to a lower speed (saving ($20/mo and $240/year), and we eliminated eating out, visits to the coffee shop, and any other unplanned frivolous expenses.

We experienced multiple “setbacks” throughout the year with our house in Bangor. The furnace deceased. The electrical system from 1900 decided to join the furnace. The foundation decided that he couldn’t mentally handle the demise of his basement friends so he rolled in on himself. To make matters worse, the Bangor code enforcer decided that we hadn’t had enough financial challenges so he informed us that we needed to build a fire escape! Before the house decided to spontaneously combust on us, we had purchased a full bathroom remodel for one of the units.
However, I am proud to announce that despite our setbacks and challenges, in 2009 James and I paid off $24,000 of DEBT!!

Since the introduction of Dave Ramsey penetrated our lives and filled us with peace and a future filled with opportunity, I had to use most of the blog space to elaborate on our 2009 experience with debt, finances, and Dave. I hope that you find our experience an inspiration.

To add to our gratitude list in 2009:

1. James still works 32 hours a week as a Structural Engineer at Stantec.
2. James and I vacationed in Florida, with the in-laws, for the first time, on their pocket book thanks to their success with the Dave Ramsey plan!
3. James and I ran our first 10K race in less than 55 minutes!
4. James continued to follow his passion for baseball and played on a men’s league team in Portland.
5. James and I played on a Flag Football team for two seasons.
6. I graduated with my Master’s in Nursing, and started teaching a Nutrition course at University of Phoenix.
7. Vini lost 3 pounds!
8. James and I had the opportunity to reunite with our best friends from college at Carly and Albert’s wedding in September.
9. James and I spread our Christmas holiday over four days to devote much needed time with each of our families. The 2009 Christmas is our best yet, and we look forward to many more.

That’s all I have for today! Tomorrow you can look forward to our first 2010 experiment: eating nothing but “super foods” for seven days. Before I get into the details, I want to clear my name from this experiment…..James thought of this one all on his own!