My Take on Dave Ramsey's Financial Freedom Program

I tend to get fixated on extremes.  I guess that's why Dave Ramsey's snow-balling gazelle-intense program to reach financial freedom appealed to me.  And while we have come a long way over the past few years, I recently found myself frustrated yet again.  As I considered the extremes we could take right now in order to finish paying off my student loans (which in itself is another post), I realized that it would involve about three years of enduring a lifestyle that would be a huge burden. Alex and I would go back to spending less time together, not to mention his time with Natalia... and once he goes back to school, we'd hardly ever see each other.  There'd be tons of added stress.... In the meantime, Natalia would go from toddler to preschooler and I'd miss it all!

So I finally came to accept that I cannot take Dave Ramsey's advice at face value.  He assumes that there is only past and future - the past that we have to fix, dig our way out of, and the future towards which we are working so hard.  But what about the here and now?  What about doing everything you can for the sake of a future goal only to find that in the middle of it all something happens that cannot be undone?  I can't help but think of how hard my parents were working, both of them, at their "day" jobs and bringing work home, all for the sake of a better tomorrow, when suddenly my dad was in an accident that put a permanent stop to all of their plans.  I can't help but wonder if my parents might have been able to enjoy each others' company more during those years had they not set the bar so high for themselves.  I can't help but wonder if I would've felt a ton of regret had I been in my mom's shoes.

All we have guaranteed, without a doubt, is today.  Of course, we should strive for improvement. Of course, we should be disciplined enough to apply delayed gratification as needed.  Of course, we should think of the future when making big decisions.  But before any of that, we must live in the here and now.  We must be aware, grateful for what we have now, for what we can do now, for who we are now.  Not so that we stay stagnant, but so that we live.  We only live when we are in the now.  When we are in the past, we are reminiscing or regretting, not living.  When we are in the future, we are planning or hoping, not living.  Nothing is more important in life than, well, living!