“Why do you want to do this? What’s your vision?” Something I’ve noticed as I’ve started immersing myself in the Dave Ramsey world is that the people who seem to have the most success with the plan are the ones who have a clear vision for why they’re going through this struggle, and what they want the final outcome to be. Make no mistake – this is a marathon journey, not a sprint. The average time people take to get debt free except for a mortgage seems to be between 1-3 years. Then after that there’s still the process of building up that 3-6 month emergency fund before you can start getting into the “fun” part of being debt free.
Sounds a lot like marathon training to me. Hours and hours of workouts just to get to the “fun” of actually running a race. Then for most of us, a short celebration, followed by beginning the build up process again so that we can run another race just a bit faster!
What’s my vision then? Other than being able to tell Synchrony Bank to piss up a rope, that is. It’s not really about stuff. Don’t get me wrong, stuff is definitely involved, because I’d really like to finish flight school, own an airplane of my own for cross-country travel, have a nice touring motorcycle for Iron Butt adventures, and hey, a ski boat and a truck to pull it would be nice too!
But debt-free is a lot more than that. It’s more than being able to take the family on a nice vacation without feeling either worry at the credit card bills we’re creating, or guilt at the debt we could be paying down instead. It’s more than being able to treat the family to a nice dinner and dropping a big tip for the server at the end. It’s even more than having leverage in a job negotiation where you can be comfortable walking away if things don’t go the way you like. Although that’s getting close.
There’s a reason Dave Ramsey calls his plan “Financial Peace University.” “Peace.” That’s a nice word. Overused and underappreciated a lot of the time, but in a financial context, it’s that backup plan where you know you’ll be okay for a few months if things go sour. It’s being able to help out a friend or family member who suddenly has a need. It’s being able to buy those last-minute plane tickets and be across the country two days later when someone you care about needs you.
There’s nothing in FPU about becoming the next Tai Lopez and driving a Ferrari or Rolls-Royce. If that’s your priority, then you can probably get there through a debt free plan, but it’s more about learning to be content with what you have, and planning purchases responsibly. One plus side of that (which goes hand-in-hand with the KonMari tidying up method) is that the things you do budget for and purchase tend to be things you care about more.
And really, isn’t that what most people really want? To live comfortably, in a home filled and decorated with things we really enjoy, and that we can enjoy with our family and friends?