*! Wow

So Karissa and I stuck to it tonight, got past being a bit too analytical, and finished our budget for October. Yes! - A few days ahead! I'm pretty psyched about it, because I'm pretty psyched about stickin' to it, and I guess it's a pretty psychy thing. I've heard Dave Ramsey talk on the radio about when people feel a swell of belief, of motivation - hope. So, in my excitement, I tucked Karissa into bed and I sat down at the computer. I enjoy using computers, particularly when it comes to numbers. It follows that I converted our pencil-written chicken scratches into beautiful configurations of LCD pixels and yes, it probably only impresses me. But here's where the *! came in.

Dave Ramsey has this personal finance software that cooks you waffles in the morning, if you can just unlock its potential. Seriously, belgian or eggo. And if you plug in your debts (my student loans) it can help you figure out how quickly you'll be debt-free, like, give you a month and a year in one of several chart formats. Simple enough you say - anyone can do that with some serious focus time and a calculator. Sure. And anyone with that kind of focus would probably not be in debt, at least not to a student-loan institution.

My favorite part about waffles, however, is the syrup or fruit that you put on top. That's the part of the Dave's software that *!-ed me tonight. On top of your interest rates and monthly payments, this program includes a box called "additional" - and forces you to think of how much more than your minimum monthly payment you want to apply towards your debt. Who even asks that question? In today's financial system it takes some audacity (or kool-aid) to think that you'd pay more than the bank asks each month. But there it is - the box for "additional."

I played with it. I viewed the charts with a zero in the box - 92 months to being debt free. That's in 2017, after Jesus returns. I tried $100.00 and shaved off a couple years. How about $400 above my monthly payments? Thirty-seven months. What if Karissa got a part-time job and we lobbed an extra $1300 per month at that debt? December 2010 baby. Next year*!*! DEBT-FREE NEXT YEAR*!*! That's motivation! Holy-mackeral that's motivation! Maybe we can find some extra income, tighten the belt a little somewhere else, and actually do this! Thanks for the strawberries and whipped cream, Dave - you made my day!

How aggressive is too aggressive? Forget about clothing and apply more towards debt? Cut the cell phone? What do you think? Lemme know in the comments!

NOTE: It has occurred to me that *! is often used to replace curse words. On this blog, *! is implemented to refer to an intense moment of "wow" as in, "Do my eyes deceive me?" or "No way - not even!" or, more pertinently, "I think I trust Dave, but can this software be telling me the truth?" Please don't curse, especially in your thoughts.