Money....

How's that for a creative title? One word that conjures up a lot of feelings from excitement to frustration depending on what context it's used in. An unexpected bill...frustration? A sudden windfall...excitement? There is so much public talk about money right now, and I am no expert but here is a link to some one who is

http://www.daveramsey.com/etc/newsletters/company/092608.cfm?ectid=cnl0809_05


Dave Ramsey. In the link above he helped me, for the time being, put this "financial crisis" in a realistic mode. I do realize all in all, any of those who bring home paychecks, including Paperman, could lose their jobs. But don't panic. Dave Ramsey has also done a lot for a lot of people. Read around his site if you're interested. To be honest, I have not read any of his books, I have never listened to an entire radio show or podcast, but I consider myself a convert, by marriage. :) (Not that Paperman needed a radio talk show host/author to teach him to be frugal....) What has Dave done for us? He has given us the inspiration to be completely debt free (ie: no mortgage) (1) in a (short)time frame that still lets us live our lives (2). I'll explain the numbering system. Dave and Paperman came up with the first half of that sentence, I came up with the second half. It's all about compromise right? Not everything we do is "by the Dave Ramsey book" but our general debt philosophy is. So for now, Paperman still works his Heine off and I try to clothe and feed our family in a fiscally responsible way (Aldis, garage sales, Von Maur sales racks...), the 96 Concord keeps on ticking and I'll keep dreaming of the home addition. My favorite quote from Dave is "live like no one else, so later, you can live like no one else." I guess if everyone had bought into this saying ( bankers AND borrowers), there would be no financial crisis... (check out Iowa Geek and Green 3 to see some other very insightful money articles. You can find their blogs in my profile under blogs I follow.)