Ranting

There are approximately 15 blogs that I follow regularly. I enjoy reading them, but at times, they make me feel bad about not only myself but our home life.  Am I the only one who gets annoyed with blogs that are ALWAYS so upbeat?  I wonder if these particular people EVER have a bad day.  Do you EVER trip over your own two feet and fall flat on your face like I do?  Does your house EVER have ANYTHING out of place?  Do you ever cry? Worse yet, do you ever bawl?  Do you ever get mad?  Are there times that you cant stand being in the same room as your husband?

I will tell you flat out, I am nowhere near perfect.  I know that no one is.  But there are people who show the world through their websites or blogs that they do no wrong.  They feel no sense of pain or disappointment.  To me, that’s not real life.  At least, that’s not MY real life. 

I have friends from high school that I have reconnected with through Facebook.  They were not necessarily my best friends but people I enjoyed being with and going out with. I usually hung out with two of my friends, Rachel and Tina.  I always felt like the ugly duckling in the group.  They were (still are) so beautiful, wore all the best clothes, were very popular, thin, had boyfriends, etc.  There was a sweet gal named Brenda that signed up with us three to do kickboxing every week.  Rachel’s boyfriend (so handsome!) was the U.S. Champ in kickboxing, and we trained with him as our leader (among a group of 10 other people.)  We would take my big beast of a vehicle at the time (because we could all fit into the ’79 Ford LTD) and beat each other up for an hour a week.  We had great times working out together, and fun afterwards going out for ice cream and just chatting. 

I reconnected with Brenda on Facebook back in 2009, 10 years after graduating from High School.  We started talking about life and what we’ve been up to, and she said something along the lines that out of us “3 Musketeers” (as we were called), I was her favorite.  She said she never felt like she had to hide anything from me.  She said that she could open up to me because she knew I could relate to her so much better than the other two ever could, and that I was more REAL than my other two friends.  Oh, and did I mention that I can keep a secret with the best of ‘em?

My friend here at work (who is in her mid-50’s,) has told me more about her life than she’s told her best friend of nearly 40 years.  I know her deepest, darkest secrets that her best friend doesn’t even know about.  I am honored that she trusted me with them.

Oy! I’m getting side-tracked (on how perfect I am. LOL!) My point is that I am NOT perfect.  However, I am open-minded.  I am willing to talk about what I go through daily.  Whether it’s about my sex life (or lack thereof,) the awful pimple I have on my nose, the bad breath I wake up with in the mornings.  I fail sometimes but I am OK with picking myself up, kicking myself in the butt, laughing it off and trying again.  My marriage is sometimes rocky. I am f-a-t. I suffer from anxiety and depression.  I have a short fuse. I am not ashamed to tell you, the reader, about any of this.  I PRIDE MYSELF ON BEING REAL!  This is ME.  The good, the bad and the ugly!

"Having A Car Note When You're Married Is A Given"

I was having a conversation with a woman here at work.  She is single, and her kids are grown and out of the house.  We were talking about bills.  I was talking about our efforts to pay off Todd’s vehicle by the end of this month.  She said, “Having a car note when you’re married is a given.  One of you needs to have a note.”  

I told her that we are striving to be without ANY notes, but she kept persisting that it’s not likely that we will be without a car note for long.  She continued, “It seems like the mechanics know when you don’t have a car note, because they just keep charging $400 every time you take your car in to get fixed.  You are better off with a newer car and a note!”

I was a bit perturbed (to say the least) when she was saying this.  THESE ideas are what are keeping people in the United States in debt!  It is absolutely absurd! 

I bit my tongue and let her go on her way.  If she really believes this, then there is no sense in me talking until I’m blue in the face about how I believe that debt-freedom is the way to go.

I understand that not everyone has a handy hubby like I do.  I am blessed that Todd can work on our cars.  Heck, he rebuilt a transmission on his old clunker car for a FRACTION of the price.  But Todd and I both have new(er) vehicles.  Todd maintains our vehicles very well.  When we bought my vehicle (brand new in 2006,) he sprayed underneath of it so that it wouldn’t rust.  He did the same with his when he bought it.  My car is an ’07 and his is an ‘08.  If we can’t keep these vehicles up and running for another 5-7 years, I would be very disappointed.  

Rant : Dave Ramsey Caller

I listen to Dave Ramsey’s podcast on my drive into work every day.  This helps me to stay motivated with our “debt snowball,” and quite frankly, shows me that we don’t have it nearly as bad as others!

When I listen to some of these callers, I am in shock.  The one woman I was listening to today has an income of $30,000/year and a mortgage payment of $950/month!  Are you serious?  No WONDER you are broke. 

Another woman called in and states she has a $100,000 second mortgage on her house.  SECOND MORTGAGE.  She states, “Well, we got a new kitchen, and I have a car on it…”  Dave asks how much the car was, and she nonchalantly replies, “$38,000.”   When this woman stated she had a $100,000 SECOND MORTGAGE, I said, “whoah!”  And then, when she said she had a $38,000 vehicle, I was in disbelief.

I may be a bit biased because Todd and I bought our home at auction for $35,000.  We had to put in a $16,000 septic, $5,000 roof, and many repairs (that are still going).  Our total mortgage is less than one year of our gross salary.  Our mortgage is about a quarter of my take home salary. We could have easily purchased a home that was 3 times the amount of our current mortgage, but I cannot imagine the stress that would come along with it.  We have piece of mind knowing that if either one of us were to lose our job, we could live off of one income.

Onto vehicles: Does anyone really need a $38,000 vehicle?  Ok…I admit, I would like an all electric car.  There is a manufacturer in our area that makes them.  I cannot justify buying an automobile that cost more than our house.  We have two vehicles that were both $12,000 or less to purchase.  And guess what?  I bet both of our vehicles get better gas mileage than this lady’s $38,000 vehicle.  No, no one will ever come up to me and say, “Wow.  What a luxurious vehicle you have!”  But I have always had people ask me, “What kind of car is that?  What type of mileage do you get?” 

My point is, I am Ok with being mediocre.  Or as Dave Ramsey calls it, “weird.”  If that means I am able to become Financially Independent by not owning a $200,000 home, a $40,000 car, and making $100,000/year – then sobeit.