The Total Money Makeover

I've been working my *** off to get our finances in gear for our Total Money Makeover. I've got the cash flow sheet done and working on the allocation sheets and I've got 4 more days before we go LIVE! In the meantime, I have to report that we have paid off our American Excess (I mean American Express)/Costco card yesterday! Wanna hear the funniest part? We checked the mail today and they sent us our "new" cards! CHEETAH!!! (We scream this every time we get a darned credit card offer, etc -- we've even got the kidlet doing it now). LOL! Hmmm...won't be needing those! We are down to only 1 credit card of the 2 that we had balances on. I'm getting GAZELLE INTENSE, baby! We have a few more things to go including getting my van paid off, but I think we're doing AWESOME right now.

We've been recording and watching Dave Ramsey on FOX Business. If you even watch it just once, it's well worth it! When you become debt free, you call the Dave Ramsey Show and tell your 'story' and scream "We're debt free!". It is enlightening to see others in the same situation or worse (one couple paid off $300k of debt in 5 years!) and that sure motivates you to TCB (take care of business)! I have learned so much by watching or listening to the show daily. Dave also asks people to videotape their 'plastictomys' (the destroying of your credit cards). I've seen really funny ones and trying to think of something original for us to do to ours! If anything, it's entertaining yet informative with lots of great tips on how to totally get out of debt. Now, with interest rates so darn low now, the next thing we need to do is get our house refinanced!

Have been selling off all the extra "stuff" we have around the house. I keep asking myself why I keep all this c**p around that I really don't 1) need 2) and takes up needed space 3) and don't even remember why I have it/bought it or gotten rid of it. I think I had "stuffitis". I am even going to sell some of my prized rubber stamps that I've collected over 20 years. Half of them I don't even use! They are taking up way too much space in the extra bedroom and I don't have room for it downstairs in my studio. So time to start sorting, ebaying or craiglisting 'em.

The big news here today is that President Clinton was in town. I heard they had a huge crowd. Me, I stayed home and cleaned up the high chair...that I'm selling! LOL. OK -- I've lost it....

My aunt is having open heart surgery at Queens Hospital in Oahu on Monday..she's in her 70's and has never had problems but they found 3 arteries clogged and possible damage to a valve. Hopefully she'll do OK. We also heard from family that one of my sister-in-laws husband committed suicide last week. It has been a rough two weeks, which explains my break in between blogging. Don't know when the funeral is yet; police were still investigating the death.

We start Financial Peace University class tomorrow evening. Should be interesting to be in a room full of people doing the same thing you are. We are doing it midway since they already started the courses. Dave will also be in Portland in November and we are thinking of purchasing tickets to go through the Total Money Makeover live event.

Everyone's asleep and now it's time for me to go and play with my scrapbook stuff and stamp stuff. I need a creative break from my cash flow budget sheets. See ya!