There are so many things we should say no to. We often forget to say no. Albert and I have decided it is time to say no to stupid tax! If you listen to Dave, you know all about stupid tax. Stupid tax is the extra money you dish out after making a bad financial decision. Stupid tax comes from consigning a loan. Stupid tax comes from lending someone money and expecting to get it back. Stupid tax comes from signing unnecessary financial contracts.
When we were pregnant with Harli, her bedroom window was on the side of the house. It was in front of the gate to the back yard. It was the most accessible window that was the furthest from the front doors. It was also out of sight from the neighbors. To me it seemed the most likely place for someone to break in. So when the salesman came to our door to offer us an awesome security system we jumped on board. We let our emotions drive our decision. We did not even think about it over night. The system was wonderful. We loved it! It gave peace of mind. The video camera even allowed Albert to check on us while he was at work. The app let us lock and unlock the front door from our phones!!
The system was everything we hoped it would be. But then we moved. Our renter was not interested in it. We could not really use it where we moved. We no longer needed that type of security. We tried for months to sell our contract to anyone interested. No one wanted it. So we paid 2.5 years worth of stupid tax. The company was unwilling to work with us on forgiving the contract. Why should they? We signed the contract. We agreed to the payment. So we bit the bullet.
We closed the account this week. It is such a great feeling to not be paying any more stupid tax! We agreed that we will never sign a payment contract again. If we need a security system in the future we will use a company that doesn't require a contract. Next time we need new phones we will not be renewing the two year contract just to get a discount. We are saying NO! No to stupid tax. No to unnecessary contracts!
One more payment off of our budget! One step closer to Bringin' Mama Home.
We also listen to Dave Ramsey! My husband has him on I Heart Radio all the time. Love his advice! I agree, its such a good feeling to be done with "stupid tax". Ours was our cable. We recently got rid of it because we hardly watch TV. Such a feeling of freedom when you dont have those monthly bills!
ReplyDeleteIt is a wonderful feeling Marie!! What other steps have you taken to give you and your family financial freedom?
DeleteHey Sheena, I'm in the Blogelina class with you. My name is Jennifer O.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this post although when I began reading it, I was sure you were going to talk about saying no to a child. I totally agree with you. No is a complete sentence but so many times I find myself telling my 10-year-old no to something and then following up with an explanation--which just gives him fuel to argue his case!
Good luck with your blog.
Jennifer, I could have written an entire months worth of posts about saying no to a child!! I also like to explain why I say no, but my oldest is 22 months and she doesn't yet dig deeper!
DeleteYay! for your contract finally being over. I've paid a few (a lot) of stupid taxes myself. The good thing about bad money decisions is that they teach us to avoid them in the future.
ReplyDeleteDiana, it would be wonderful if more people would learn from their stupid tax. Far too many people continue to make the same bad financial decisions over and over and they never learn financial peace. Thanks for the comment!
ReplyDeleteHi! I'm stopping in from the Blogelina class. I'm glad to say that we are finally getting rid of one of our stupid taxes this week. We are disconnecting our land line. I know we are one of the few that still have one. It's a small amount each month but it puts us that much closer to our goals.
ReplyDeleteI am so happy for you Sandy!! Every small step helps :) Thank you for stopping in and reading my blog!
DeleteI didn't even realize that Dave Ramsey's daughter had her own website! I've been trying to get going on his plan, but with the birth of our daughter everything got sidetracked. Now that I've settled into things I'm ready to get back on track. Way to go for closing the account and recognizing what you want to avoid in the future. Another step towards financial freedom!
ReplyDeleteHi Jessica. We know the effect that new babies have on the plan! I will be writing a post on babies and budgets soon :) I am so happy you are ready to get back on track. Let me know if you have any questions as you get going - I'm sure I could write a blog post about it ;)
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