Oh, My Brain

Our first meeting with the Moneywise mentor was Thursday night.

Dwayne was here for almost an hour and a half, which was enough time to fill my brain to capacity, and then some, with information I never wanted to hear in my lifetime; but then, I have never been in such financial straits in my lifetime.

Dave Ramsey certified or not, some of what he had to say went against everything I have ever stood for, but it all boils down to this: desperate times call for desperate measures.

You mean, I will purposely NOT pay some of my bills?, I asked, as I felt my stomach lurch.

Dwayne drew a box on his legal pad. These are the 4 walls--the house (to include utilities), food, clothing, and transportation. These are the necessities that are paid first. The rest fall outside the walls and are paid only if there is cash left over.

If we don't have the cash left over, we don't pay the credit cards. And yes, they will be ill about it. We have to call them every month that we don't have cash left over, and tell them we're not paying.

I slumped in my chair and looked at Dwayne like he had just handed me a death sentence.

Yeah, that's the look I get, he said.

I have NEVER not paid my bills, I protested. I sold my car, canceled the car insurance, quit taking my prescriptions, canceled my health insurance, haven't bought clothes/shoes in I don't know how long....

It just seemed wrong, you know? I'm no deadbeat. But if there isn't any cash to pay everything that falls outside the necessities, we have to do this. The vicious cycle of robbing Peter to pay Paul has to stop if we're ever going to be able to, as Dwayne says, spend at the speed of cash.

*sigh* Someone hand me a very large alcoholic beverage.