Part of my financial goals for the year included sitting down with G-man and TOGETHER working through the budget. While I wanted to have it all hammered out in one sitting, it became clear as we were talking that this was going to be a multi-tiered process.
We went over all the major numbers (total debt by area). He sort of knew those numbers. He was surprised at the monthly cost on them, and how much we are paying in finance charges. When I showed him how much we would save by reducing this and that, he was surprised.
We talked about cost cutting areas, and came to the following agreements:
1) Eliminating the land line phone - savings of $60/month
2) Pay $75 to have the house looked at by the electric company to seal leaks and make energy saving suggestions
3) Shop around for cheaper electric
4) Take shorter showers (5 min max, unless shaving) to save water
5) Reduce grocery cost by doing better meal planning, and eliminating dessert (that one is sad for us....long story, but it goes back to when I was pregnant with the kids in 2002).
6) Eating out less....which should be easier as long as #5 is in place.
This was as far as we got. There is so much more to discuss, but his eyes were getting glazed over by the end. He told me "glad you are the smart one." I told him that it wasn't about being the smart one....it was about the fact that for almost 12 years, I have solely been doing this and now that we will do it together....it will begin to make more sense.
I am so proud of you guys! And I'm not trying to sound condescending, so I hope it doesn't come across that way! The first sit-down is the hardest. As Dave Ramsey says, you have about 17 minutes with the free spirit, and then he's done. The main thing is to keep doing it! We're STILL working on this. Baby steps!
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