“One critical day is all you need to turn any “what if” in your life to “what is”.” – Jim Rohn

Have you ever had a day in your life when everything changed?  A day when you realized that life could no longer continue on the same path? 

My husband and I had a day such as that one.  It was a day that resulted in turning our financial future from one of burden to one of relief.  We didn’t realize at the time how life changing that day was.  Let me tell you about it.

Our Story…

For seven years, my husband and I slowly walked down a road destined for continuous struggle.  We married with high hopes and big dreams.  Dreams of financial security which included great careers and a stable family unit.

We didn’t realize it, but from day one, we were in debt.  Small debt, but debt nonetheless.  It included one auto loan and a small amount on a credit card.  We didn’t think much about it because everyone we knew had these same “normal” debt payments.

Slowly over the next few years, after two children and purchasing a home, we started to feel as though we were running in place.  Both of us were working the normal 40 hours per week and paying the bills, but not being able to really see the fruits of our labor.

Sure, we learned to save for a rainy day.  The problem was…it always seemed to rain.  Every time the savings would build, something would happen and we would have to use some of it.  It didn’t seem that we could ever continually build our savings and live comfortably.

Needless to say, this was very frustrating.  We kept asking ourselves the same question, “What – are – we – doing – wrong?  Life is not supposed to be lived this way!”

In principle, I believed in my Christian roots which were based on the promises of God (peace, prosperity and freedom).  But our reality was much different.

We were by no means poor and destitute.  We were both blessed to be college educated and earned great middle class salaries.  But we were missing a piece of the financial puzzle. 

The Wake-Up Call…

In late 2004, my husband and I reached a point where we felt like robots.  We were working just to have more of our money going to bills than savings.  That just didn’t feel right to me.

My mom was our saving grace.  In late 2004, she purchase the book, Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey and a cd accompaniment.  I listened to the cd’s first and was totally blown away by what this man was saying.  He made it sound so simple.  I finally had a clear vision of how to control our family’s finances.  But, I knew that in order for us to become debt free I was going to have to get my husband on board.  I gave the cd’s to him and to my surprise, he had the same reaction.  It took us a couple of weeks to read the book and create our plan, but…

We finally got it! 

We immediately…

• cashed in our savings bonds that were worth about $7,000 to start paying off the debt.
• created a budget and the debt snowball to determine how we were going to spend our money monthly and pay extra towards the debt.
• stopped using all forms of credit and used cash only.
• became more focused and invested time into learning about different ways to spend less money on daily expenditures.
• made time to do daily/weekly check-ups on spending.
• found numerous ways to stop wasting money.

That day began the process for us to tell our money what to do instead of wondering where it went.  The impact of this entire process has been life changing.  Not only financially, but mentally and physically as well.  And we have not looked back.  We always thought that if we could make more money, we’d be able to live life as we dreamed.   The truth was…

We didn’t need more income – we needed a plan.

Have you had “A Day That Turned Your Financial Life Around.”  What was that day like for you?  Tell us your story.  We’d love to read about it.  If you’re reading this article by Email or RSS, click here to come on over and share with us in the comments.

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