Don't Tell Dave

My wife and I are living proof that you can live like no one else when you first live like no one else.  When she came home from the library over ten years ago with Dave Ramsey's book about living a debt free life we decided to get on board.  On St. Patrick's day this year we made our final mortgage payment.  The way we did it is not Dave Ramsey approved.  He mentions on his radio show that no one ever became a millionaire using reward schemes.  I agree with that statement.  Where I see things a bit differently has to do with how my wife and I pay our expenses.  We "pretend" our credit card is a debit card and charge almost everything first.  Once the charge clears pending we make a payment to bring the balance back to zero.  The deal we made is that if we ever pay interest the card gets cut up.  So far so good.  The best part about our system is that we used our reward certificate ($952) to retire our mortgage.  Future reward certificates are used for travel.  Even though the vacation money is already in the bank, we still charge first to get the extra bucks.

This is a good time of year to think about your goals for next year.  Set up strategies that help you get a grip on your finances.  Change your food habits to decrease your waistline while increasing your energy.  And if you decide to turn your credit card into a pretend debit card, please don't tell Dave on me.  Have a great day.