You're a mean one, Mrs. Grinch

Yes, I have become the Grinch Who Stole Fun, at least according to my husband.

In our family, I pay all of the bills and take care of all things money-related. I'm pretty sure he doesn't even know the password to our online bank, that's how far removed he is from things financial. Generally, if he needs to spend larger amounts of money, he asks me if we have enough and I give him the go-ahead or the no-go.

Recently, I have been reading A LOT about personal finance. I started following a few blogs (the Simple Dollar and Frugal Dad, to name a few), purchased a few books and have begun listening to Dave Ramsey when I can on Tuesdays and Fridays. The word that comes up so often is the freedom they experience from being debt-free. I honestly can't begin to consider what that might feel like because our entire life as a couple has been buried under credit card and student loan debt, then later car and home debt. We've paid off most of our credit card debt a few times, but it has always been racked back up when Adrian's company wasn't making enough to cut paychecks.

The idea of being free from debt and using Dave Ramsey's debt snowball sounds AMAZING and I know that we have the capacity to take on a program like that because the fact is, we make pretty good money! I don't say that to brag, but really to bring home the idea that with only a few baby steps, we could get to the point where we aren't living like we are below the poverty line at the end of every other paycheck (okay, that's probably a little extreme, but you get the picture).

Here's where our dilemma comes into play -- Adrian doesn't like talking about money. He understands the idea of trimming our budget fat but when it comes down to really pulling out the knife, he doesn't want or like to. He's impulsive and likes to socialize in a money-spending fashion and frankly, who doesn't?! Not that I don't feel the same, but my overall attitude towards money has changed pretty dramatically over the last few months and I'd like to feel some of that freedom these financial gurus keep talking about. I know there must be a better way to convey this sentiment to Adrian, but I'm sort of at a loss; he generally thinks I'm guilting him when he wants to go out and have some fun, and to be honest, I am! I don't want to contribute to our ever-growing pile of debt because what fun is that in the long run?

I've started looking for ways to save money monthly by switching our car insurance, coupon-clipping, and just making overall better decisions. Several times this week I found myself parked in front of a store thinking about an item I wanted, but then remembering that spending money on that thing wasn't my overall goal. I didn't need it, I just wanted it. I started using Mint.com again for our budget and it told me that on average, across our interest fees, ATM fees, and other miscellaneous shit fees, we are charged an average of $90.00/month. Do you realize that over the span of year, we are paying out a little over $1,000.00 on fees alone! That is just sickening to me.

So yes, maybe I have become the Grinch who doesn't like to have as much fun anymore, but I guarantee it'll pay off in the end!