90%

“A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.” ― Dave Ramsey

There is a major season of change occurring in the Gallaher House… I officially decided to go part-time at work. Grady will only be a baby once and I don’t want to miss it. I found that when I was working all day I missed him and when I was home I was distracted, answering emails and thinking about what I needed to get done at work the next day. Occasionally, my work would include trips to Tucson and I would be gone from Grady for 12+ hours… it was no longer what I wanted for my family. I was struggling to be a good wife, a good mom, and a good employee. Trying to be good in all of these areas made me feel like I was failing at all these areas. I knew I needed to be home with Grady more, but I also knew I needed to continue working to continue a sense of self.

An incredible blessing came when I found my new job. I work part-time and am encouraged to focus on my family when I leave for the day. They operate on what they call “predictable flexibility” which means I have a schedule to depend on, but it can be flexible as needed. Not only is the schedule amazing, but so are the owners and the work they do. I am excited to be a part of the team.

With this new season came a MAJOR change… how we spend our money. When we decided I should be spending more time with Grady we knew this would mean a stricter budget… then ANOTHER change… we felt called to start tithing. BAM!

As we looked at our budget we identified multiple areas where we were spending money that we didn’t need to be. I started, and Jacob continued, watching videos of Dave Ramsey and couldn’t agree with him more: “Debt free is the way to be!” We used our tax return to pay off my truck and developed a plan to pay off Jacob’s new truck before the end of the year (4.5 years early!). We are on a stricter budget than ever before, yet we are experiencing more financial freedom.

I have heard my friends say things like, “The twenties are to be foolish, the thirties are for saving.” YIKES! 10 years of money gone under…

I have also heard friends misinterpreting what it means to tithe. All I’m going to say is that we are learning it is true, 90% with Him is greater that 100% without Him.

Has anyone else followed Dave Ramsey’s steps? If not, here they are:

1. Baby Step 1: $1,000 cash in a beginner emergency fund

2. Baby Step 2: Use the debt snowball to pay off all your debt but the house

3. Baby Step 3: A fully funded emergency fund of 3 to 6 months of expenses

4. Baby Step 4: Invest 15% of your household income into retirement

5. Baby Step 5: Start saving for college

6. Baby Step 6: Pay off your home early

7. Baby Step 7: Build wealth and give generously

As mothers we feel this incredible pressure to be everything to everyone. How can we give 100% to all areas? We can’t. But we can learn to feel empowered by making the best decisions for our individual families. Sometimes that means a change in careers. Sometimes that means a stricter budget.

#laura #gallaher #daveramsey #dave #ramsey #debt #free #gilbert #parttime #work #tithe