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by Erin Odom, Contributing Writer
With a new year always comes new talk goals, whether it be for your spiritual life, your health, or, for many people, your finances. Thankfully, besides our house, our family doesn’t have debt.
But while we haven’t used credit cards since we were married nearly 7 years ago, there are still plenty of mistakes we made in our newlywed days. I hope you can learn from our mistakes!
1. We didn’t live on as strict of a budget.
Yes, we actually did live on a budget–even in our newlywed days. However, our budget left LOTS of room for eating out and entertainment (far more than we could ever fathom now!). If we had chosen to simply eat out one less time per month (or week!), we could have tucked that money aside for when we started a family. Now, we rarely eat out–because we don’t have the extra money in our budget to do so.
2. We didn’t save my salary.
What? Am I suggesting we should have saved my entire salary?! Yes, I am! My husband and I have both said many times we wished we had done so. We were young and naive in this matter, and we truly thought our income was modest at the time. Even though we both only worked full-time for one year (he then went on to seminary and worked part-time at our church, while I continued to work full-time), that one year could have put a HUGE, huge dent in our savings account. We were both teachers, and we were bringing in twice the amount of money we have lived on ever since. This is one of our biggest financial regrets.
3. We would have rented an apartment and/or home longer.
We started out renting a home owned by some of our friends. We ended up buying that home when they decided to sell it. It was 2006. No, we had no idea the market would crash just two years later, but we also should have thought through that our down payment was very little and that it would take us a very long time to pay the house off.
In retrospect, we should have rented longer, so we could have saved more of a down payment, which would have us owing less now. We currently owe more than the house is now worth, and it’s a sickening feeling. We had to move for several reasons and have tried selling our home unsuccessfully for almost 4 years. We’ve been through 3 renters and are currently seeking a new renter or buyer. No matter what happens, we will lose money on this one.
The house is a two bedroom with no garage–not the best investment. Three (or more) bedroom houses sell much better. If we are ever able to buy another home, we will stick to one with three bedrooms.
4. We would have taken Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University Class and read Barry Myers’s From Debtor to Better eBook.
Ramsey’s class goes far beyond setting up a budget. It talks about insurance, investing, paying of debt, and much more. Barry, hubby to the famous Stacy of Stacy Makes Cents, just came out with his eBook. I’ve been able to preview it, and let me tell you: He’s the next Dave Ramsey! If you can’t afford to shell out the cash for the Dave Ramsey class (it’s a little pricey), do your family a favor and buy Barry’s book. You won’t be sorry!
*I have included an affiliate link in this post.
What are some financial mistakes you made in your newlywed days? What did you learn from your mistakes?
im totally taking the ramsey class now…i had to kinda drag my fiancee to come with me, but we’re going.
These are almost exactly the same things we are beating ourselves up about. Except with the house – I wish if we did buy (wish we hadn’t though) that we had bought a SMALLER house. Ours is a 4 bedroom and the 2-3 bedroom houses in the area rent for almost as much and sell for almost as much as the bigger homes. When the bottom fell out of the market, the smaller homes didn’t drop nearly as much as the larger homes. In addition to these things, our next biggest regret is not putting some money into investments/retirement when we were younger…
Our financial mistakes started before we ever met…when my dh and I were in college we not only took out loans but both leased/bought new cars that although reliable, we could have used that money to pay for college instead of taking out loans. When we got married we paid about $1200 a month just in school loans and car payments. We both had a small amount of cc debt as well. This really set us back and 10 years and 3 kids later we are still playing catch up but are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I have taken odd jobs here and there for extra money but have not set any of this aside since there always seems to be something that needs to be paid for. It can be discouraging at times especially b/c my dh needs to work way more because of the hole we dug but within the next year we will have everything except one loan and our car payment paid off. Althought its not everything…to us its a big accomplishment. I finally feel like we can start saving some money instead of spending all we make just to stay afloat.
We just finished it in December! So glad you’re taking it! It’s excellent!
I meant to reply these to other comments. It sounds like you all have made huge strides, Sherri! Be encouraged–your hard work will pay off!
We just finished our class in December–it’s so good!
My husband and I are currently leading a small group for FPU. Although it can be pricey, there are scholarship options available through most churches or organizations that offer it. I would highly recommend that those interested check into that. Even with the initial investment you will reap far greater financial benefits in the long run. It is definitely worth the price!! This will be our third time to go through it (first time leading a group) and we continue to learn new things about how to further “tweak” our spending/saving habits. It’s a blessing and encouragement to hear other people’s stories and testimonies. Not only that we have the privilege of cheering others on to financial freedom too!! By the time this class is over we will be completely debt free including our home. Thanks for sharing Erin. You have some great insights and tips for those on their own financial journey.
I should have mentioned that my family actually got a scholarship to take it! It is SO worth it!! Thanks for the encouragement, Lisa!
Thanks for the plug sista.
Any time!
Ahhh, the mistakes we made! I could also say, “all of the above,” but would add that we had no idea how or why to budget when we got married, and that we got a credit card or two that we were going to pay off right away (with no budget mind you). Needless to say we are still in debt but at least have the tools we need to be heading in the right direction!
We sure could have been tighter when first married, however, I think you can also be too frugal, to the point of not enjoying life, which is exactly what I am capable of. I took some of my mother’s advice and chose to enjoy a bit of the extra money we had (pre-kids). We were still frugal (no credit cards), but didn’t feel we had to stash everything away. I look back on those years when we both had incomes and no kids, I cherish them. We were able to go out on a lot of dates together. Once kids come along, lots of money or not, dates with your spouse aren’t as realistic. Be frugal but also take advantage of the different seasons of life.
I think this is a good comment… it’s easy to go overboard and become burdened by the desire to store up money. My husband and I do our best to balance wise frugality with honest enjoyment of God’s gifts. We have plenty of things we could “save” on (a Netflix account, new clothes, the occasional bottle of wine) but we don’t feel that we must pinch every single penny.
I think that most people in our society tend towards overspending, though, so this article is very timely! I appreciated the reminder to be cautious about spending money and do your research before making an investment
We didn’t have a chance to make many financial mistakes because my husband was out of work shortly after we got married, we didn’t have enough money to make mistakes.
This is a great post, Erin. By God’s grace alone, we have no regrets. We learned of Dave Ramsey early on, and had wonderful counsel from our local church. We were fully prepared before marriage. Not to mention, my husband is incredibly money-minded. I wish more couples were given the realities of finances before marriage, or better yet, taught growing up. :-/ At any rate, this is great counsel, and I hope it blesses many young couples. Thanks for your humility in sharing!
Erin,
Love you honesty!
We did most of the same mistakes, but God intervened in some neat ways. I especially believe that saving that extra second income can turn the tide early in a family. Wish we’d have learned earlier