Oh Dave.

I feel as if Ryan and I have had several epiphany's this past week that I will share. (They're going to seem silly to most people but they're extremely serious and important to us.)

1. If we stopped smoking:

• We would save at least $120 a month which means -
• We could stop complaining about needing more work clothes... because we could buy them
• We could stop complaining about having to go on free dates... because we could go on a big ones
• I could stop complaining about missing out on things like "Rocky Horror Picture Show" @ Lyric... because we could afford tickets
• We would have a better chance of growing old together which means -
• Our kids won't have to bury us before they need to
• We can be happily married for longer!
• More time to become millionaires!
• Our kids would be healthier which means -
• We won't feel like bad parents
• We could exercise without our chests hurting which means -
• We could be skinny again
• As mentioned before, our kids have a better chance of seeing their parents grow old

2. If we 100% listened and followed Dave Ramsey's budget like we're supposed to be doing -

• I could stop feeling guilty every day for not doing what I know I should be
• We would have $5,000 in six months meaning we would have our baby emergency fund + able to buy furniture to fill our empty living/dining room + able to buy a stove and dishwasher to match our new fridge
• We would have $10,000 in savings in 18 months for our full on emergency fund - which means we wouldn't have to worry about anything breaking down on us and not being able to afford it
• We could actually buy our parents things for birthdays, holidays, etc.
• We could pay off our car in half the time and be 100% debt free
• We could also pay off our second mortgage within a year - which means our mortgage would be smaller forever!
• We would have to sacrifice a lot to stay on budget and pay things off - meaning we can't just spend money when we want or go to the movies every month... but in the long run, all of that sacrifice would be 200% worth it.
• OH! I forgot the best one - we will retire as millionaires. Which is pretty bad ass.

I realize that life isn't as easy as saying you're going to do it. To stop smoking won't be as easy as just not smoking. Following our budget will not be as easy as saying that we will. It means saying no to what we want. We will have to choose all day long to say no to cigarettes and no to spending money.

We will stop smoking. We will lose weight. We will be millionaires.

I'm pretty confident in the fact that with the both of us on the same page... we can accomplish anything.

All of this talk makes me feel like the blogging world should know about my love for Dave Ramsey. He is a really big part of my life and the things that I believe in. For those who don't know, he's a financial guru who shows you how to change your habits, live debt free, and be 100% financially taken care of. For those interested, you should check him out at: http://www.daveramsey.com/ I know that a lot of people I know don't understand this. They look at him as someone who does what everyone else does... gets people to buy his product. Which he does. I won't argue and say that he doesn't. I have made several purchases from him. I would buy everything he ever wrote if money was no option. His methods make so much sense to me. I could eat, sleep and breathe his financial peace madness if I could. All I know for sure is that Dave Ramsey has literally changed our lives. I used to be so stubborn when it came to listening to people about money. I always thought I had it right. I now know that what I was doing wasn't necessarily "wrong".. if I wanted to live normal. But I don't want to live normal. Normal = debt. Debt = stress and weight on your shoulders. Debt = marital issues. On top of all of his genius, I find him to be such a man of God with a heart of gold. He really gets people. You can tell that he truly feels their pain and struggle in life. I have read so much about him and listened to him so much that I feel like he's my friend. Weird? Maybe. But that's what I love about him. He wants you to know that he's a real person. He gets mad at the IRS too. He cries when someone gets hurt. And he's been bankrupt.. twice before he learned to be smart with his money. When I'm having a hard day, listening to his show is so uplifting. It's so rare to find such a strong man these days.

Needless to say, our lives and thoughts on money and how we treat people have been changed upside down and I love it.

The only thing I don't love is that I get aggravated at other people and their money easier and I feel super guilty now if I make a money mistake. Neither of these things are to an extreme and are bad things, just annoying. I wish I didn't care sometimes.