The proof is in the burger
If anyone is tired of me talking about the worth of Dave Ramsey's financial strategies you should stop reading RIGHT NOW!...
...Okay, you have been warned.
One of Dave's cornerstones is the cash envelope system. He even has even manufactured his own wallet you can purchase on his website that features the amenities of a normal wallet blended with the power of the cash envelope system. I must admit out of all the life altering things Dave Ramsey asked me to do when I "saw the light", paying cash for most regular purchases and keeping a lot of cash on hand in little envelopes was the least likely to get my endorsement. For my entire adult life I despised having cash because I use to tell myself that it went to fast and did not know where it all went to when it was gone. However, the truth is that I did not want to admit the power using cash to purchase things truly has. A dollar is a lot more personal and real when handing over to buy something than a debit card. The enemy for years lead me to believe that I had the right mindset with regards to cash. Boy was I wrong as the following story will illustrate. To set the stage Kelli and I have been using the cash envelope system since July of 2006 and we are still discovering the strengths and merit to this age old practice.
It was the Saturday night before Mother's Day and Momma (Kelli) was craving a burger and onion rings. We had exactly $23 left in our dining and entertainment envelope that was supposed to last us until the coming Friday. Kelli was thinking where she wanted to go and could only come up with Red Robin. The old David and Kelli would have sighed and said, "let's go." However, the new and improved David and Kelli said, "I am not sure we have enough for it." Therefore we went to Red Robin's website and investigated their online menu for our location (we would have never done this prior to using cash and knowing where we stood midway through the month). We calculated up what we would like would cost and it was around $30 before gratuity and taxes. We only had $23! Therefore, we started to make concessions such as splitting onion rings, drinking only water, and even splitting a burger! Then we remembered thought of alternatives. Several people had suggested a local burger joint named Patrick's to us and I even know the guy whose in-laws own it. We have lived here almost 4 years and never tried it. Thus, we decided to stay within budget and go to Patrick's. We each got a burger, a basket of onion rings, and another of fries, and 2 sodas. We even got drew a hot dog which came with another basket of fries and drink. Guess how much we paid? $13!!!!!!! We did not even finish all of the food. Granted they do not serve on plates or have fancy televisions in the floor, but who gives a flip? If we had placed the same order at Red Robin the bill would have exceeded $40 with gratuity and tax. I'm not kidding, I did the math.
There you have it. My Dave Ramsey cash envelope budget system testimonial. This is the first one I have blogged about but we literally have stories such as this every month. It has changed our marriage and our life for the better. Please share our burger story with others that they might see the value in knowing where their money goes and how to better control it. I forgot to even mention that the burgers were really good. Not too greasy but not too dry and the onion rings were great too. Kelli's belly was satisfied and our envelope was relieved to have money still in it for another outing later this month.
...Okay, you have been warned.
One of Dave's cornerstones is the cash envelope system. He even has even manufactured his own wallet you can purchase on his website that features the amenities of a normal wallet blended with the power of the cash envelope system. I must admit out of all the life altering things Dave Ramsey asked me to do when I "saw the light", paying cash for most regular purchases and keeping a lot of cash on hand in little envelopes was the least likely to get my endorsement. For my entire adult life I despised having cash because I use to tell myself that it went to fast and did not know where it all went to when it was gone. However, the truth is that I did not want to admit the power using cash to purchase things truly has. A dollar is a lot more personal and real when handing over to buy something than a debit card. The enemy for years lead me to believe that I had the right mindset with regards to cash. Boy was I wrong as the following story will illustrate. To set the stage Kelli and I have been using the cash envelope system since July of 2006 and we are still discovering the strengths and merit to this age old practice.
It was the Saturday night before Mother's Day and Momma (Kelli) was craving a burger and onion rings. We had exactly $23 left in our dining and entertainment envelope that was supposed to last us until the coming Friday. Kelli was thinking where she wanted to go and could only come up with Red Robin. The old David and Kelli would have sighed and said, "let's go." However, the new and improved David and Kelli said, "I am not sure we have enough for it." Therefore we went to Red Robin's website and investigated their online menu for our location (we would have never done this prior to using cash and knowing where we stood midway through the month). We calculated up what we would like would cost and it was around $30 before gratuity and taxes. We only had $23! Therefore, we started to make concessions such as splitting onion rings, drinking only water, and even splitting a burger! Then we remembered thought of alternatives. Several people had suggested a local burger joint named Patrick's to us and I even know the guy whose in-laws own it. We have lived here almost 4 years and never tried it. Thus, we decided to stay within budget and go to Patrick's. We each got a burger, a basket of onion rings, and another of fries, and 2 sodas. We even got drew a hot dog which came with another basket of fries and drink. Guess how much we paid? $13!!!!!!! We did not even finish all of the food. Granted they do not serve on plates or have fancy televisions in the floor, but who gives a flip? If we had placed the same order at Red Robin the bill would have exceeded $40 with gratuity and tax. I'm not kidding, I did the math.
There you have it. My Dave Ramsey cash envelope budget system testimonial. This is the first one I have blogged about but we literally have stories such as this every month. It has changed our marriage and our life for the better. Please share our burger story with others that they might see the value in knowing where their money goes and how to better control it. I forgot to even mention that the burgers were really good. Not too greasy but not too dry and the onion rings were great too. Kelli's belly was satisfied and our envelope was relieved to have money still in it for another outing later this month.
posted by David W. Davis at
8:31 PM
1 Comments
