PocketCoinage

I just wanted to announce to the world that I am DEBT FREE! Debt free except the house, that is.  It’s such an awesome feeling to know that you do not owe another lender any money.  When I first started out on my own with finances, I just assumed that student loans and auto loans were just the normal thing to do and it’s true.  Debt is really just normal in America.  It’s very abnormal to be debt free.

My debt free fire really started with my auto loan.  I really disliked Chase Auto Finance.  They would apply my principle payment as monthly pre-payments!  A large tax return helped put Chase to bed 3 years before I was scheduled to pay it off.

Once the auto loan was paid off in early 2010, I rolled that payment into my student loan.  That brought it down from a 10 year payoff to roughly a 5 year payoff.  I thought to myself, 5 years to get rid of $16,000… There has to be a faster way to get rid of this.  That’s when I discovered Dave Ramsey in August of 2010 and really got fired up.  I listened to his radio show via podcast on my way to work.  I’ve also followed JD Roth from GetRichSlowly.org for about three years now and watched his progress of paying off debt and working towards his dream job.  If thousands of people can become debt free and pursue their dreams, I knew I could too.

At first, I wasn’t totally on board with Dave’s plan.  The thought of cutting up credit cards struck a little fear within me.  What if there was an emergency?  What if I needed to rent a car?  What if?  What if?…  That’s when it hit me: fear was paralyzing my decisions.  I had some money in my emergency fund, but I did not want to part with it “just in case”.

By October of 2010, I had one foot on the debt free boat.  I used $2000 from my “extra” mortgage payment to jump start my student loan payoff.  The “extra” mortgage payment is from being paid bi-weekly: 26 pay periods in 52 weeks equals one extra month’s salary.  This got me motivated like you would not believe.

By December of 2010, I cancelled three store credit cards and cut them up to display to my friends on Facebook.

Since December, I have not used any credit cards what-so-ever.  By March, I cancelled and shredded 2 out of my 3 credit cards.  I had this idea to keep one open “just in case” I run into any emergencies with my small emergency fund.  I am looking to cancel this credit card by the end of the summer.

Just this past month I made my final student loan payment to Sallie Mae of $4,283.46.  How did I achieve this?  I took $2000 from my vacation fund, $1200 from my tax return, and roughly another $1000 from scrimping and saving.  I paid off $16,000 in roughly one year from May 2010 to May 2011.  The outcome: DEBT FREE EXCEPT THE HOUSE! I still plan on going on vacation this summer, but I figured I would just work harder and save more to get there.

Right now I am on Baby Step 3 of Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover.  Baby Step 3 is where you save for 3-6 months of expenses in an Emergency Fund.  If I keep up with my current plan, I should have 6 months of expenses saved in about a year.

I can sum up the feeling in two words: worth it.  The feeling is so amazing; it’s like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.  If it feels like you’re not getting anywhere, I know the feeling.  Just keep pushing forward and you’ll succeed.

It all starts with a plan and a budget!  My plan was (and still is) to be debt free and the budget got me there.  Just think of it this way, how would you get to your vacation destination without an itinerary (plan) and a map (budget)?

Last Friday, I attended Dave Ramsey’s EntreLeadership One-Day Event Simulcast out in Collegeville, PA at the Valley Forge Baptist Temple.  EntreLeadership One-Day is an event where Dave teaches the techniques he uses to run his successful small business.  You learn everything from hiring and firing, to being an entrepreneurial  leader.  All the steps are there to help you change the way you run your small business.  Even thought I was watching remotely, he had us to interact with him using twitter and text messaging.

The simulcast was divided into five sections:

1. Entreleadership Defined
   
2. Dreams, Visions, and Goal Setting
3. Financial Peace for the Entreleader
4. Team Math — Adding and Subtracting
5. Making the Call

Entreleadership Defined
Dave had us define the character qualities of a leader and an entrepreneur.  We were able to come up with at least 10 words to describe each one.  We also discussed the basics of leadership and the types of leadership.

Dreams, Visions, and Goal Setting
Dreams, Visions, and Goal Setting discussed how dreams can turn into a reality when they become your vision.  Goals need to be set to reach your vision.  You can reach these goals by establishing priorities by dividing them into quadrants:

1. Urgent/Important
2. Urgent/Not Important
3. Not Urgent/Important
4. Not Urgent/Not Important

Dave also talked about the elements of a business plan.

Financial Peace for the Entreleader
Just like you need financial peace for your own home, a business also needs to be at peace with their finances.  Dave discussed budgeting a small business, busted some common myths about the use of debt, business lifestyle, saving, giving, and applying the financial peace principals within the business.

Team Math — Adding and Subtracting
I feel this is one of the best topics of the event.  Dave discussed working with your team members and how to bring the best people on board.  He uses a unique 12-step hiring process to make sure bad apples do not make it on his team!  He guides you on how to work with them when they fail, the steps to resolve failure, and if they are not the right fit; how to fire them.

Making the Call
An indecisive leader can paralyze any business.  There is one thing that causes indecision: fear.  Here he goes through the steps on how to make the decision and pull the trigger.

I really learned a lot from Dave’s EntreLeadership One-Day Event.  It also helped to reinforce many of the values I learned over the years to make sure that I am on the right track.  More than ever, I feel I can successfully start my own small business.

If you would like to attend one of Dave’s events, please check out his website at DaveRamsey.com.

Heirloom Tomato Plants in Yogurt Cups

For the longest time, I’ve been saving the single serving Stony Field yogurt cups.  Back when I lived with my parents, their township did not recycle #5 plastic containers, so I was looking to send the cups back for recycling.  The Preserve company transforms these yogurt cups into other products such as toothbrushes and plates.  Somewhere along the way two years ago, hundreds of plastic yogurt containers moved with me to my new home.  Once I moved out, I became interested in gardening and decided to start some tomato plants indoors.  Soon it was time to transplant almost 100 seedings to larger containers.

This raised a new dilemma for me.  I was looking for a way to be green and not purchase more plastic to just be tossed away after one use.  Then it just hit me, I should repurpose the yogurt cups for transplanting!  They are the perfect size and I do not need to spend more money on flower pots.  The cups will be getting a second life, and possibly a third (or more) if I get my containers back from family and friends.

Here is how I prepare the yogurt cups for transplanting:

1. Wash out the cups with hot soap and water to remove any excess fruit and yogurt.
2. Dry the cups well and place them into storage until use.
3. Just before transplanting, use a mild bleach solution (approximately 10 parts water to one part bleach) to sanitize the cups.
4. Rinse and dry the cups thoroughly.
5. Drill four holes in the bottom of the cup using a 1/8″ drill bit (or other means).  You can stack about 5-6 cups together to get the job done faster.
6. Start transplanting!

This will be my third season using yogurt cups for all my transplants.