We are the poster children of what not to do with money! If Dave Ramsey says not to do it—we already did it! Now we see it as our learning experience. Praise God for Dave and his financial plan.
In 2009 when we completed the program we became gazelle intense, (the program can explain what that means) and started working the plan in our finances.
First and foremost we have always known the importance of tithing to the church. Malachi 3:10 says: Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. To Martin and I this isn’t just another scripture in the Bible. God has made it truth in our lives.
We had a garage sale with some other couples in the class that year, and made almost $400. We quickly came up with our $1000 baby emergency fund, and began putting all of our extra money on debt.
Praise God for that emergency fund and our church family because in August we had a house fire. Martin had to miss a week of work without pay, and we still hadn’t purchased renters insurance (Don’t tell Mr. Ramsey about that). However, we didn’t get discouraged we just picked up where we left off and started saving again.
Martin had faced three pay cuts in 2009, but we praise God yet again that he still has his job. We also had the birth of our first baby and the hospital doesn’t hesitate in sending the bills.
As we filed our taxes this year we realized we had made $30,000 less than the previous year. (Where was Ramsey in 2008?) Not to mention our house fire and the birth of Tristan; however, with faith and discipline, we still paid over $9,000 off of debt, and should be debt free this year. GOD IS SO GOOD!!
If you take the course you will see that there are seven steps to Dave Ramsey’s plan. We are on step two. We cannot wait to get to a place where we can share not only our testimony with others, but also the surplus God has given us.
One of my (Mary Ann) favorite lessons in the class is “Unleashing the Power of Generous Giving.” I cannot wait to bless others with what God has done for us!
Nick & Karlene King, FPU LeadersEmail: nick&karlene@gmail.comPhone: 269-651-2471