1Maryann Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 AG, you and your wife are 'normal'. How can you not jump into financial commitments when you are constantly bombarded by commercials touting 'the good life' and telling you that you too deserve it all--cruises, luxury autos, fancy homes, etc. It isn't until you take a step back and analyze these messages critically that you can see what they are doing. It's a subliminal seduction. Kind of like what the processed food industry does to get us to buy more of their products. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArcheoGator Posted January 25, 2014 Author Share Posted January 25, 2014 Well, with regards to finances, I guess we could be called normal. One of the lines that stuck with me from the TMMO book was why we listen to bankers when they profit from our debt. That is a big difference between Ramsey and others such as Orman. Most of them encourage a healthy FICO for when you want something. Yet we all know FICO means you have debt. Yes, it is very much like the food industry. McDonald's is now recognized worldwide more than Santa. That is some marketing. Our money makeover has helped us figure a few things out. We were so tempted to walk away from our house. We lost $30,000 the first year we bought it. Our lifestyles have since changed, and now we would have wanted more land. A neighbor on one side of the house is probably about 20 feet away. Like many houses, it needs work. Now we look at the good side of things. More land would have cost us more money to maintain and pay taxes. If we would have walked away, it would have been years before we got another chance, because your savings is affected by paying rent. Rent money is gone forever. Our neighborhood is quiet and safe, with many good people. As long as that part does not change, we really do not have much reason to leave. I am off to have leftovers. One thing I picked up from the Whole9 is that the category of foods does not determine your meal. What I mean is that I was so programmed to have breakfast foods only in the morning, lunch was supposed to be sandwiches, then dinner is meat and potatoes or pasta. Now, I eat leftovers during whatever time of day I am eating. We waste very little food now, and I don't categorize shopping according to breakfast, lunch, and dinner foods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Sassaman Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 You are quite inspiring ArcheoGator! We need to get ourselves better off financially as well. We are making better choices now, and are thinking ahead better than we ever have, but we still have a long road ahead. You are so right about the rent, it is gone forever. I hate that feeling. I wish we could buy a home. But that is a goal on our list. Keep moving forward I suppose! I am still having a hard time not wanting breakfast foods for breakfast, lunch for lunch, and dinner for dinner. It is a very hard psychological thing for me to break for some reason. Which is kind of funny, because I would totally eat breakfast for dinner sometimes! I am most definitely a work in progress still. I don't really seem to be losing any inches anymore and my skin is sooooo dry. I know part of that is from having to run the heater, but it still seems like things should be a little better by now. Which leads me to the conclusion that I am certainly going to need more than a W30!! Keep up the great work, you are doing awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrunchyLutheranMommy Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 We also used to have the same problem with wasting food. I would menu plan and grocery shop, and then we would get busy during the week and my best laid intentions would go out the window... along with all that food. Grr!! It was infuriating, but we couldn't seem to get out of the cycle. Now I MUST be prepared with meals for the week or we won't eat at all, no fast food fixes anymore! That has forced me to actually reprioritize, be more organized and we have not thrown out any food in three weeks. Everything gets eaten. (A record I think!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Sassaman Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 I hope your W100 is going well ArcheoGator! I am currently not so hot as I have a really bad tooth at the moment, but I am trying to persevere! I am glad to have finished my W30 though because that is what I let sabotage my first attempt. So far I think I am pretty good with dairy and corn, but gluten is definitely a no-go. I'm not so sure I have completely slayed the sugar dragon, but I'm holding it together. I saw the poem you posted on your profile and I really liked it. I am going to print that out and do the same.....post it somewhere quite visible! I have had such a bad relationship with so many things, not just food, that I want to set better examples for my boys. As always, you are inspiring! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArcheoGator Posted February 9, 2014 Author Share Posted February 9, 2014 Things are moving along. Few temptations here and there, but they are becoming avoidable. I stopped checking off the days. I simply marked day 100 on my outlook calendar so I can celebrate when I get there. With 100 days, it just started feeling like my life was ticking by when I physically marked off the days. I am down to two weeks for a doctor visit. I am sure hoping my lab work reflects the changes I am trying to bring. As you know, Julie, our weather has been up and down and that also plays a role on my energy. I normally open the blinds in the morning because I prefer natural light. So if it is gloomy outside, I just feel like couch time and have to force myself to get things done. Today was finally different, and I look forward to a few sunny days in the 70s. I've had a few more hunts without any kills yet. However, I got to see a four point buck who has not yet shed, and a few doe. Go figure I see them when not in season. For now, it is just nice to be out on regular basis. I bought myself my first turkey call and look forward to March for gobbler season. Our money makeover is also going well. We paid off a line of credit, and are one pay period away from paying off our one and only credit card. Our vehicles will then be the next items on our snowball. We use cash now, using the envelope system, and that is really making us prioritize differently. We now budget any fun money, and when it is gone, it is gone. For me, it meant buying a turkey call and I was done for the pay period. Our tax return is due in a few days, and we plan on getting the house painted and dumping the rest on an extra vehicle payment. It is going to feel good to own our vehicles, and subtract that payment from our debt. I have a couple hours of sunlight, so I may go look for our frisbee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArcheoGator Posted February 10, 2014 Author Share Posted February 10, 2014 An afterthought. For those that have helped point me toward Dave Ramsey's philosophies, I am utilizing my tax return because my home needs repair. Normally, Ramsey wants you to get little to no return, and adjust your W-4 accordingly. I agree, because I dislike giving the government a loan with my money and not collecting interest (even though they charge interest on my student loans). My tax return is only higher because of the student credit we collect while my wife is in school. Other than that, we would have very little for the return, which is how we would want it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArcheoGator Posted February 12, 2014 Author Share Posted February 12, 2014 Today I pressure washed the driveway. It was about six hours, minus a couple breaks. I have an electric pressure washer, because we were not going to spend money on a gas version for a tool that we will rarely use. Electric meant it took a lot longer. However, I found it strangely meditative. After almost four years, it is the first time we have had the job done. It looks so much better. I also felt good to get my vitamin D, since our weather was what I would consider perfect today. Afterward, I did some short training with my dog and still wrestled with the boys. I even chatted with a neighbor, which is something my introverted self needs to do more of. What does this have to do with Whole9? Well, it is a job that I have put off. Yet today, I figured I should get it done simply because it needs to be done. That, to me, has everything to do with Whole9. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Sassaman Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Dropping by to see how things are going ArcheoGator! I hope your W100 is treating you well! I finally signed up for some Crossfit classes, so I will update on that when I get to it! Take care! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Sassaman Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 I hope things are well for you, we miss you around here! I started crossfit and I absolutely love it, but I got really sick after my first week and have been off for almost 2 weeks, which has really bummed me out! I hope you're out enjoying the nice weather we've been having lately! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.