For the DR followers...

[Jill2150]

We are pretty close to being done with BB2, just have 1 SL to pay off(another year or so)
My question is, do you all still vacation during any of the steps. It doesn't seem very "gazelle" like, but I would like to take some kind of family vacation next year.

Also, BB6 is paying off house, but what if you are wanting to move to a new house? Do you just hold off on that step till you move? We are still in our "starter" home.

I couldn't find anything about this in the llnoe forums, I probably need to get the TMM book, this I'm sure will help also.

TIA!

 

[PrincessBelle09]

Vacation: DR would say to do a staycation or something super cheap, of course. In my situation, I don't know that will work for me. DH and I are on BS2 and will be finished within the next year once I'm done with school and we're both working full time. However, we will have my student loans to pay off which will not need to be paid back until next December. We're currently planning to go to WDW in between paying off CC debt and his loans and paying off mine. He hasn't been since he a super little kid and I want us to go once before we have children. Then, we're both going to law and grad school and will have take out more loans. We've weighed the costs and benefits, and though DR would be against taking out loans for higher education, we feel that the career and salary benefits will outweigh the temporary debt. I think it's important to try and stay on track if you're doing the Baby Steps, but sometimes it's necessary to make concessions for what will work for your situation. As my FIL says, "Be smarter than your GPS."

House: Pay it off. Even though you're in your "starter home," the more you get paid off of that house, the more you'll get returned to you in the sale in addition to not paying as much in interest. If you manage to pay off the entire mortgage before relocating, you will not have to worry about the possibility of paying two mortgages while waiting for the starter home to sell. Owning the home outright will also put you in a better bargaining position when selling because it decreases the possibility of a desperate sale. The longer you take to pay off a home, the more it ends up costing you.

 

[KristinU]

We didn't take a vacation during the first baby steps, in fact we cancelled a Disney vacation during that time...and quite honestly it was a very empowering thing for us. We really felt good about the decision and it enabled us to dig in even deeper and get stronger resolve. We really cut back to bare bones and got through BS2 in about 6 months, over the course of a spring and summer. That summer was one of the best summers for our family - lots of family time with hikes, games at home, etc. I think the frugality of that summer made us much closer as a couple and family. We also started earning little local perks through carpooling (www.nuride.com) and started doing quite a few local/regional "staycation" sorts of outings (we still do this).

Do you have any hotel points or anything like that? Even paying for an overnight at a local or regional hotel might do the trick for getting refreshed with a mini vacation. Maybe check some nearby state parks for cabins - they're inexpensive and a fun family getaway. Check out some local history, there's lots to see and do out there outside of WDW...(I know, I know, I need to remember I'm here on the DIS, LOL!)

 

[bumbershoot]

We had just bought (financed) DVC before seeing the light, and we chose to not sell it. Therefore, we are vacationing, though nowhere near as much as we were before, since we are already paying for it. Instead of going every 4 months or so to DLR, we haven't been to DLR in over a year now, to fully fund the vacation "envelope", so to speak, and we'll be having a huge WDW vacation in 22 days here.

We could have rented the points out, we could have taken little camping trips here and there, etc, but from our past camping experiences (tent camping at state campgrounds), just a normal weekend camping for us can cost quite a bit, much more than we ever expect, and we decided that just doing one BIG vacation would probably actually cost less.

It's not officially 'gazelle' but it's far far better than we were doing before!

 

[shellynn24]

I know I am late to the party, but what are you guys talking about? Sorry for the thread hijack...

 

[vicki_c]

I know I am late to the party, but what are you guys talking about? Sorry for the thread hijack...

Following Dave Ramsey's plan for debt reduction / financial freedom - the "baby steps" they are called.

 

[Leshaface]

I'm super interested in trying his methods (have only heard great things about him and his methods, but haven't read anything yet), i'm wondering though...is it hard? I mean, you're pretty much altering your life a bit right? I'm sure it's so worth it though...do you know if there are any DR books available at libraries?

TIA!

 

[DawnM]

We did not take a vacation during the first baby steps, but we did visit family and do local things like a day at the beach or a day at the mountains.

Once we paid off our debts AND had half of our emergency fund (so basically 3 months' worth) we went on vacation.

Dawn

 

[Tink-aholic]

I'm super interested in trying his methods (have only heard great things about him and his methods, but haven't read anything yet), i'm wondering though...is it hard? I mean, you're pretty much altering your life a bit right? I'm sure it's so worth it though...do you know if there are any DR books available at libraries?

TIA!

Of course you can get his books at libraries -- and that is very DR of you!

I visit this site every day for motivation and ideas. You can even post your budget on there and the kind people will show you where you can trim it, if you want: www.livinglikenooneelse.com or llnoe.com.

Good luck!

 

[bumbershoot]

Of course you can get his books at libraries -- and that is very DR of you!

I visit this site every day for motivation and ideas. You can even post your budget on there and the kind people will show you where you can trim it, if you want: www.livinglikenooneelse.com or llnoe.com.

Good luck!

I got Total Money Makeover from the library, and joined llnoe.com. I also scoured DR's own website for free articles, and I read his message boards (not sure if you can still do that, read the "open" forums but you can't post unless you pay and join).

 

[Jill2150]

Thanks all! My DD starts kindergarten in August and my other DD will be one next week and we were thinking of going somewhere next summer. So not as much to do at that age but the beach or Disney. We are also in St. Louis, Mo, so not many places that are too close to us that I would call fun (already been to Branson). Just was curious if others had done their own adoption to the plan and had gone on vacations. I think my goal will be to be done with BS2 before we vacation so that I feel much better about it.

Good thinking on going to the library for that book. I hope reading it doesn't deter me from wanting to vacation

 

[KristinU]

Our library didn't have TMMO, so we bought it. After that we read Financial Peace and hosted a couple of rounds of the Financial Peace University at our church. All very helpful, but I think TMMO had the most "bang for the buck" in a format that really spoke to DH and me. So if your library has both books, I'd recommend starting with TMMO (just my humble opinion of course!)

Also, if anyone can't find the books at their library, I just got an e-mail this morning that the DR website is having a sale - most books and audio are $10: http://http://www.daveramsey.com/store/c10.html?ectid=dd1011.1_1

And yeah, Leshaface, it is hard at times...a major paradigm shift for us, but soooo soooo worth it!

 

[maxiesmom]

While it may not be very gazelle like of me, I do vacation during the baby steps. I just make darned sure I pay cash for everything.

I'm not going to put the rest of my life on hold while I try to get out of debt. You do not get those years back once you are debt free, and that is especially true if you have children.

I think life is too fragile to put things like family vacations off for years. I know too many people who have lost loved ones unexpectedly. Just this year one coworker had her husband (in his 40's) have a massive heart attack and die, and another ex-coworker lost his daughter (in her 20's) to a brain annyurism. One lost a nephew to domestic violence.

Life is way too short and too precious to put everything off until that golden time where you have enough money saved. I know Dave R doesn't agree, but that is how I feel.

 

[mrodgers]

I've been married for 13 years. We busted our tails working for 3 years. Then I busted my tail for 9 years while my wife busted her tail staying at home with the kids. Now we both bust our tails again at work.

13 years we've been married. We finally took our honeymoon, to Disneyworld, with 6 and 9 year old girls in tow. We are in debt. 9 years of working class wages and mom staying home to raise the kids will do that. She went back to work a year and a half ago and we paid cash for the vacation.

We still have debt. I've been looking at the DR program. I'm not fully into it. I am at the first step. We got ourselves behind at the end of summer and we are catching up. I have a budget laid out, basically we've always played the "figure out how to pay" non monthly bills such as car insurance and taxes. The budget takes care of this. The first part of the budget gets us caught up by the end of the year. The 2nd phase of the budget begins to pay debt next year while saving up the money to pay car insurance, taxes, etc. The 3rd phase is in 2012 when the car is paid off and we have a large chunk extra.

None of my budget takes into account overtime worked and estimates my wife's part time income on the low side. Nor is tax return (small) counted. I will be going on vacation. I'm not waiting to say to the kids, "We are finally out of debt, let's go on vacation" to have them say, "Er, mom, dad, we're married now and have our own kids..." We will pay for vacation with using the tax return and paying in cash.

13 years we busted our tails and got ourselves into debt. According to the budget, we can take that 13 years of debt and pay it off in 4, while still having the money in cash to spend on a vacation. I've run ragged for 13 years and that week in Disney may not have been the most ideal or relaxing vacation for us (we weren't thrilled with it and wonder what the big fuss is all about,) but it was time and stress relief away from the day in and day out bustle of life. It is important to get away and leave everything miles away to refresh yourself.