February 2014

Happy February! 

For Valentine's Day we used the Edwin McCain tickets that Chris had got me for Christmas. 
He and the band were playing at the Bijou and like always it was a great show.   Of course he is known for the 90's ballad "I'll Be" but he really is much more than that song.  I always recommend anyone go see him because the band as a whole is fantastic and very talented. 

His opener was a gal I had never heard of Mallary Hope and she was quite the performer.  A country artist and super talented.  She even follows me on Twitter now!  :)

This year also starts our trek again on Financial Peace with Dave Ramsey.
Chris likes to call us "Dave's misfit children" because we have started and stopped so many times.  In December Chris made the choice to sell his car and in doing so we were able to pay off my car and a couple of odd debts.  We are both on the fast track to getting out of debt and hopefully we will be able to do our "debt free scream" in August for our anniversary.  At least that is our goal and realistically we should meet it. 

Dave Ramsey is a no-nonsense kind of guy and I always try to catch his radio show while running lunch errands.  It's a great way to stay motivated and every time I hear a person do the debt free scream it gives me chills.  

I would encourage everyone to get on a plan.  Doesn't have to be Dave's plan but something that sets you up for a better future.  My whole adult life I have been strapped with looming credit card debt and the thought of not having those monthly payments is getting so surreal. 
I couldn't even tell you what was on the credit cards... probably some stupid clothes that I don't wear anymore, makeup from some dumb cosmetic counter and a whole stock pile of bath salts and lotions that I never used. 

Just today we made a large credit card payment and can see the meter heading towards zero.  Sure it would have been nice to take that vacation with friends or buy new things for the home but we are committed this time around to staying on course. 

So once we hit August we will only owe for our home and all before we are out of our 30's.  We both wish we would have done this years ago but we can only look forward.  
We have started a "wish list" of sorts of things we want to purchase - with cash - the first month out of debt.  I for one want to set aside some money to finish fully decorating our home.  We only have a few pictures up.. kind of sad. 
Chris would tell you he wants to jump back into auto-x and that is fine because now we won't have to stress about how much he spends going out to dinner with the boys after an event. 

Good things are happening in the Harp household.  I'm blessed to be here :)