Pursuit of Excellence

This month was truly a special month. My sister-in-law Jennifer got married to Jake. Jill, my-in-laws, my Mom, Evie and I traveled up to Indiana for their wedding. Jennifer allowed both my Mom and Evie to participate in the wedding by having my Mom walk Evie down the aisle while Evie wore a sign that said, “Here Comes My Auntie.” Evie was so well behaved and calm despite this being her 1^st wedding and her first time being around so many people. I must remind myself that she was born at the same time as when the COVID-19 pandemic happened. I was not used to being around so many people, but in that moment, it felt good having some form of normal again. Dancing with Jill, I remember our wedding four years ago. Evie was so adorable at the reception as she did her first little dance and her dancing with me makes me hope for the day that she gets married, and I have the honor to give her away. I hope to be able to live long enough to have this moment with her.

As I look back on my relationship with my sweet wife, a lot of the fights and trouble were my fault. To be fair, there are parts that were her fault, but looking at it as a whole, I’ve had a lot of growth and change that I needed to do. It is reflected in my finances as well. Your money and spending habits can reflect something happening inside of you. It’s why you do need a budget not to constrain you, but to guide you and help you see areas of your life where there may be too much indulgence in. When you see excessive spending, ask yourself or have someone help excavate out why you are behaving in a certain way. It’s this process of inner and honest examination that can help you reveal more of your self and help you face life in a better way.

I can’t believe that the student loan is paid off. I had come out with a proposal to pay off the student loan in an aggressive way, and Jill could see how badly I wanted this particular debt out of my life. As I said in a previous post, I’ve been married to this student loan longer than I have been married to my wife. To my proposal, and enthusiastic argument as to why we should do it, she replied with her own proposal. We draw the balance out of savings and pay it off all at once! I was so shocked that I really couldn’t feel anything. To be free of something I’d been carrying for so long, I still can’t believe it. The condition of paying the student loan off with the savings was that I’d pay the amount drawn from savings before going after the car loan. Is that following the Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps? No. Is it Dave Ramseyish? Yes. Is it 100% James Hawk? You better believe it!!! Once you find your financial path, I encourage you to take full ownership of it. If you fail and lose everything then it’s no one’s fault but your own. With my 40+ years on this life, I can say that I’ve learned many different approaches to personal finance, and I feel for me that there are three paths that a person can take. When it comes to your finances, find the path that works for you, have a complete understanding of those paths & the consequences. I am a financial guide on your journey. At the end of this month, I’M FINALLY FREE OF MY STUDENT LOAN!!!!!!. What does debt free feel like to you?

If you want to learn more about the self-lending principle or if you need a financial check-up, then contact me.

This month’s video is Why Every Business Needs a Budget with Dave Ramsey from the EntreLeadership YouTube channel.

“The LORD will send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens and will bless all the work you do. You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them.”
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Deuteronomy‬
‭28:12‬
‭NLT‬‬
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http://bible.com/116/deu.28.12.nlt‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

I believe in your journey to….

A Debt Free Me