If only Dave Ramsey’s math were that simple!

Choosing not to make sense of it all.  

$25,000 in debt and making $50,000.  Live on half you earn and use the other half to pay off debt.  You can have this mess cleaned up in no time.

No, these are exact quotes from Dave Ramsey. Hence I’m not using quotations.  I have, however, heard Dave say similar things to callers on his talk show.  In Dave’s defense, there is no way during a call of just a few minutes he could possibly understand the entire picture.  Nor does Dave possess a magic globe to see into the caller’s future.

In a perfect world, the math would indeed be that simple.  Our bills would be the same each month, and we wouldn’t have pesky things like taxes and benefits taking huge bites of our checks.  Interest on debts wouldn’t compound.  Pay $200 on a credit card…oh what I’d give to see the entire $200 go toward the principle.  But we all know this isn’t realistic.  We don’t live in a perfect world, and living does cost money!

Despite all this, Dave is giving hope, and that is where I prefer to place my focus!

Getting out of debt is a realistic goal.  By cutting expenses, it is possible to live on less than you make.  Doing so frees up money to either pay off debt or save for the future.  Having a written budget is where much of this comes into play.  I have heard Dave say that by doing so, you will feel like you gave yourself a raise.  He is 100% correct, although that didn’t always make much sense to us either.

Perhaps there will come a time where Dave Ramsey’s math makes perfect sense to us.  Right now what I do know is that for the first time in all our married life, hubby and I are seeing progress with our finances.  Instead of our money controlling us, we are controlling it!  We are finally winning, and that is math that does make sense!   Instead of focusing on trying to make sense of it all, we will continue to hold on to the realistic goal of getting out of debt once and for all!