Listening to Dave

So, it's late, and I should be going to bed. However, I just finished watching The Dave Ramsey Show on hulu.com, and it got me thinking about being debt free. I read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover in March, and we started our total money makeover in April. Thank God for our tax refund and budgeting, because at the end of next month, we'll have paid off around $8000 in debt. We're close to halfway on our road to debt-freedom (with the exception of our mortgage). It's thrilling to think of how we can use our money when we don't have to worry about debt. We're hoping to be debt-free by May or June of next year. I'm hoping we can kick it a little more into high gear to get it done faster, but we'll see. How great would it be to pay off everything by the beginning of next year, and then be able to use our tax refund to pay ourselves (into our emergency fund) rather than pay a debt?! Watching or listening to Dave gets me pumped about it; I really should start listening to him more often!

So, if you wonder why I've become a coupon nerd, this is why. If I can cut down the money we spend on food, that's more money we can throw at our debt, which means that's less time we'll owe on our debt. Not to mention, we really want to be saving for cars (so we can pay cash for a nice car), get a bigger house (and only be paying for it for 15 years or less) and get our kids' college funds totally funded so that they can choose whatever college they want to go to when the time comes. I have huge dreams! My hubby, who says he's a realist, hasn't dared to dream those big dreams yet. He's just now realizing that it truly is possible for us to be without my school loan. That's been a monkey on his back since we've gotten married. But, we're getting there!!!