Woo hoo! It's a Giveaway!

So this has been a good week. Scratch that. Make it a GREAT week! The hub is officially EMPLOYED!!! As in full-time, 9-5, desk with a chair, four walls, and a W-2 to boot! And big props to my husband for having the courage to make this job happen. He was initially turned down for the spot a month ago, but on a whim decided to take the guy who interviewed him out to lunch and said, "you need to hire me, fool." OK, maybe not in those words. But seriously, I'm amazed by his spirit. I SO could not do that. But wow, what a year it has been. I've stated many times that I didn't think we'd make it out of 2009 alive... the hub's last full-time pay check was deposited into our account on 9/30/2009. And here we are, right at a year later, still kickin'... and praise God, he's been blessed with a new, very exciting opportunity. These last 12 months have been a true exercise in faith, trust, and most of all... patience! God is so faithful and we are just overwhelmed with gratitude. And excitement!

So now the real test begins.... over the past two years we've been "forced" to live on a very tight budget. I mean, if the money's not there, you can't spend it. Eating and paying bills were our priorities. Now with the potential of a lot more income coming in, we will have to really hunker down. Because now doing the *wise* thing will truly be a choice. Eye on the prize!

And I must say, as usual, Dave Ramsey could not be coming to town at a better time. He always does that! He must be checking our schedule or something. We are volunteering at his Live event when he comes to Atlanta on October 2. And yesterday afternoon my mom and I went to his "tweet-up" and walked away with some fabulous freebies! So in honor of a fabulous new job for the hub, and Dave's arrival here in a few weeks, I'm doing a great Dave giveaway!



If you're not familiar with Dave's teachings, this book is the best place to get your feet wet. The Total Money Makeover, if you work it, will change your life. Personally, our perspective on money is completely different today than it was two years ago. We've learned how to handle money the way God intended us to, and it has done wonders for our marriage and faith. The thing about the "makeover" is that it's a lifelong journey. It's not a 6-week program or something that only makes sense for a certain crowd. It's for everybody, no matter your financial situation. Whether you're living paycheck to paycheck or counting your millions in your nest egg, everyone can learn something! And what makes his advice so real and relative is the fact that he's been there. As in, 20 years ago he went bankrupt and lost everything. He then decided to figure out how money *really* works. After meeting with millionaire after millionaire, he learned the real key to building wealth is getting out of debt and staying out of debt. And the real charm of the book is his straight-forward, no-nonsense approach, topped with his uncanny humor. What's not to love?

So, again, in celebration of a fantastic new job for the hub and Dave's upcoming Live event, I am giving away a SIGNED copy of Dave's NY Times best-selling book, The Total Money Makeover, along with a free 3-month subscription to his online Total Money Makeover website where you can access budgeting software, get involved with an online community of people going through the program, and much more.

So I'm asking you to dream a little... To enter, leave a comment on this post with your answer to the following question...

If you were debt-free... if you had no payments to anyone... what's one thing you'd love to do with your money? Your income is your most valuable wealth-building tool. When it doesn't have a bunch of other people's names on it, you can do some amazing things. So, what would you do?

You have until Friday, September 24th at 12 midnight EST to enter! I will announce the lucky winner the following Saturday. Go get 'em!


P.S. God, awesome job on answering big prayer request #1. If you answer #2 (for a baby, duh), that would be friggin' sweet. And September 2010 will officially go down in history as my favorite month EVER!