Lessons Learned After College - #3

Lesson #3: Financial Peace = Peace
I am a big fan of Crown Financial Ministries and Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. However, Luke and I have both come to the conclusion that the principles they teach are pretty simple; they are just counterculture. We both grew up with parents who taught us to save and to be content with the things we have, but many people around us are tied to things they "have to have right now," but can only buy on credit. It can be a viscous cycle.

When I first started college, I started keeping track of everything I spent. If you know me well, you know that I am a little OCD. I like things neat and orderly, and I am a nerd when it comes to Microsoft Excel. I create spreadsheets for everything. After listening to some Crown Financial radio broadcasts, I decided then to start keeping track of every penny I spent just to see if I could get in the habit of it. After all, if you know where your money's going, you're less likely to spend as much. Well, that habit has turned into a 7-year routine that I don't think I'll ever be able to stop. Now, I don't even think about it. I just keep all my receipts and enter every penny spent into different categories. Then, at the end of every month I know how much money I've saved and where I could do better next month. I'll admit, I was a little nervous before Luke and I got married to know what he would think about this idea, and if it would continue to work throughout our marriage. However, as Luke and I started talking about money, I quickly realized that we were on the same page! Luke agreed to try it out and see if he could get used to it as well. All he had to do was remember to keep receipts.

This is just one of the ways that we've decided to be transparent with finances in our marriage as we work together toward goals that we've set. Fortunately, money is an area of commonality for us. Larry Burkett, a noted Christian financial author, says, "Money is either the best or the worst area of communication in our marriages." For us, it is the best. I honestly get excited, almost giddy, when Luke and I talk about money together. It energizes me to save more, spend wisely, and look forward to the future. We've found that if we agree on money, we don't disagree on much else. It's been a true blessing and has brought peace and excitement to our marriage as we work towards our goals.

Tomorrow's Lesson: Give More.