…and we’re still working on stopping the bleeding. Nate’s GI Bill checks were really padding our bank account, and instead of using it to pay off more debt as originally planned, we gave in and used a little bit here and there to do what? Apparently fritter it away on things like fast food, books, and only god knows what else. Clearly, we had not learned anything about being frugal or getting out of debt.
And now the checks have stopped coming. Actually, they stopped coming a couple of months ago, but I had had the wherewithal to put some of it in savings so it took us a couple of months to realize where we really were: The Emergency Room.
Yeah, I’m not scoffing at Dave Ramsey anymore (ok, I wasn’t really scoffing to begin with, just asking some rather impertinent questions). No, we didn’t literally end up in the emergency room. We did have to cash an immature Series EE Bond, though. And Nate has almost completely maxed out that credit card I was so party-happy we had paid off. “I did say I wanted to keep it for emergencies, and this is one!” Point taken, but still.
Until now, Nate has been content to let me handle the finances. And I was fine to handle them, they gave me a sense of control and I could spend some money without him knowing that I had (ahem). I finally told him that either he had to take over or that we had to do this together. I wasn’t going to shoulder all the blame (even though I felt like it was mostly my fault; even though he was the one eating fast food every other day). Of course, it does no good to sit around playing the blame game or having a pity party. Nate decided that we were going to do this together. And so we have been. Which means while I’m not shouldering any blame, I also can’t sneak in a trip to Burgerville with Seth (which had somehow turned into a weekly thing!). He recently assured me that everything will be okay.
My brother once told me, “everything is an opportunity” and so rather than look at this and despair over our seeming lack of growth and maturity, I’m seeing this as another chance to get it right. Da Vinci, Edison, and all the other successful greats made a lot of mistakes, right? I wonder: are there any financial greats that made these kinds of mistakes? It remains to be seen.
Ah, yes. I handle the finances in our house too, and it is so easy to scold my husband for eating out every day without mentioning that little “treat” I bought myself! However, he’s not going to be joining me any time soon, so I try not to be too harsh (he knows he spends a lot of money eating out) and to tell him when I’ve fallen off the wagon too.
Very honest and refreshing.
Don’t be too harsh on yourself. We have all been there once, or twice. I too knew the thrill of paying off a credit card, only to run it up again. I also splurge ($5.00 foot longs and ice cream). And sometimes there is the technical gadget I just must have. So it goes.
It is amazing how many things we have to learn about money, the bad habits we have to unlearn, and the consumer pressures we have to fend off. It’s not easy being …uh… green.
I am blessed with a wife who supports me in my frugal endeavors. She doesn’t spend excessively, she can stretch a dollar until it screams for mercy. I credit her with much of the success we have had in staying afloat. You and Nate have to get together on this.
Ah, well. It’s a new year, a new decade. So pull out a fresh pad of paper, sharpen a new pencil. Time for a new start.