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How to Combat Frugal Fatigue when Being Gazelle Intense

October 26, 2020 By MelissaB 11 Comments

My husband and I recently added up our student loan and credit card debt.  Imagine our shock when we discovered we have $58,000 in debt!  What was this debt comprised of?  It is made up of nearly $38,000 in student loans, $6,500 on a business credit card for a business that failed and $13,500 of personal credit card debt spread over two cards (the smallest balance at $1,000).  The latter debt is largely due to our current low income and some not so wise purchases.  We’ve recently become gazelle intense.  However, we’re being careful to combat frugal fatigue since we know we’ll need to live this lifestyle for quite some time.

Gazelle Intense

What a Gazelle Intense Day Looks Like for Us

At the urging of everyone around us, we began to follow Dave Ramsey.  Because we do not yet own a house but would like to in the next three to five years, we decided to become gazelle intense, as Dave Ramsey says.

What does gazelle intense look like for us?  My husband works away from the house for 10 hours a day.  After spending an hour with the kids when he comes home, he works on his dissertation and articles for publication for a few hours a night.

I stay home with the kids all day and blog, do virtual assistant work and freelance writing when the kids are napping and after they go to bed.  On the weekend, I typically leave the house for about four hours on both Saturday and Sunday to get more freelance work done.  I estimate that I am working 25 hours a week from home.  My husband is putting in another 20 hours a week at home doing work that will further his career and hopefully lead to a high paying, tenure track job in a few years.

Being Gazelle Intense Works!

Our hard work is paying off.  In just two weeks, we “found” an additional $701 to apply to our debt beyond our regular debt repayment schedule.  We found this money several ways.  First, we returned a few items we bought but hadn’t used before becoming gazelle intense.  Then, we also got an unexpected check that we put toward the debt.  We just paid off our first credit card with the lowest balance.  Next on our plan is to pay off the credit card with $6,500 within the next four weeks.

Getting Used to a New Lifestyle Takes Time

Gazelle Intense
Photo by Louis Hansel @shotsoflouis on Unsplash

As anyone who has become gazelle intense knows, there is a period of adjustment when you have to get used to the austere lifestyle that is required.  Let’s be honest—most people who have credit card debt have at least some of it because of a lack of impulse control and planning.

Was all of our credit card debt due to that?  No, we had a very low income for awhile when my husband’s graduate student teaching stipend was our only income, and we relied on credit to make ends meet.  However, we also ate out more than we needed to.  (Do you ever need to eat out?)  Our debt likely would be lower if we practiced more self-control with ourselves and our finances.  Since we weren’t stringent with ourselves then, we’re having to be now.

How to Maintain Gazelle Intensity for Months (and Years)

Gazelle intensity works with no break if you have a relatively short amount of time you must be laser focused.  If you can get your debt paid off in 12 to 18 months, you shouldn’t need a break.  However, if you’re looking at several years to pay down your debt, you will likely need to give yourself an occassional break to avoid frugal fatigue.

Take a Break After Each Debt

Because there is such an adjustment, to maintain your gazelle intensity and avoid frugal fatigue, consider rewarding yourself for each debt that you pay off or at a milestone you set.  If you have one large debt to pay off, maybe you will reward yourself for every $5,000 you pay off.

For us, since we love to eat out and now no longer eat out at all, we have decided that we will have one meal out every time we pay off a debt.  To maintain your drive, pick one thing you used to enjoy spending money on in your old, less frugal lifestyle, and commit to enjoying that activity once when you achieve your assigned goal in your debt snowball.  Keep it reasonable, less than $50, so you don’t derail your snowball, but give yourself that leeway to maintain your intensity.

Gazelle Intensity Interval Training

Another option is to do gazelle intensity interval training.  If you have a lot to pay off like we do, you may need a different strategy to keep up your motivation.  For instance, maybe you can commit to three months of intensely working and paying down your debt.  Then, you will take a break for one month.  Or, maybe you decide on an amount that you’ll pay down, and then you’ll take a break.  Maybe you decide to pay down $15,000 and then slow down in intensity for a bit. As you become invigorated again, set another goal that you’ll pay down before you rest.

Final Thoughts

Being gazelle intense definitely has rewards.  You put yourself in a painful place for an intense while until the debt is paid off.  Then, you begin to reap the rewards of all your hard work.  You can live like no one else, as Dave Ramsey says.

Yet, be careful not to become so strict with yourself that you give in to frugal fatigue and derail your debt snowball.  A small, planned out treat is often all it takes to keep you motivated and ultimately debt free.  If you’re confronting a large amount of debt, consider instead to be gazelle intense for a few months and then take a break.

Read More

A Review of Dave Ramsey’s Revised Financial Peace University & New Speakers

How to Save More Money Every Month

How to Get Out and Stay Out of Debt

MelissaB
MelissaB

Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in New York, where she loves the natural beauty of the area.

www.momsplans.com/

Filed Under: Debt Reduction, Frugality, Married Money, Saving, ShareMe Tagged With: dave ramsey, Debt Reduction, frugal, gazelle intensity, Saving

A Review of Dave Ramsey’s Revised Financial Peace University & New Speakers

December 3, 2012 By MelissaB 3 Comments

Dave Ramsey has changed thousands, if not millions, of lives with his Financial Peace University.  Now, he is looking to improve on that formula with the newly revised Financial Peace University.  While this latest version of Financial Peace University has all of the benefits of the old version, some of the material has been changed, and there are new speakers added to the mix.


The revised Financial Peace University kit includes a workbook; Ramsey’s book, The Complete Guide to Money; a welcome guide that includes a pencil, sharpener, and eraser;  an envelope system; a laminated Financial Peace University Progress Chart; a folder for Financial Peace forms; and most importantly, 10 audio CDs containing Ramsey’s lessons.

The 10 audio CDs cover the following topics:

CD #1:  Super Saving:  Common Sense for Your Dollars and Cents

CD #2:  Relating with Money:  Nerds and Free Spirits Unite!

CD #3:  Cash Flow Planning:  the Nuts and Bolts of Budgeting

CD #4:  Dumping Debt:  Breaking the Chains of Debt

CD #5:  Buyer Beware:  The Power of Marketing on Your Buying Decisions

CD #6:  The Role of Insurance:  Protecting Your Health, Family and Finances

CD #7:  Retirement and College Planning:  Mastering the Alphabet Soup of Investing

CD #8:  Real Estate and Mortgages:  Keeping the American Dream from Becoming a Nightmare

CD #9:  The Great Misunderstanding:  Unleashing the Power of Generous Giving

CD #10:  Dave’s Story:  Learn How Dave Found the Peace He Was Missing

 

There are three major changes I noticed in the newly revised Financial Peace University.

1.  The course has been shortened from 13 weeks to 9 weeks.  Some may say that this time frame is too short, but I think it is great.  Ramsey is such a motivational speaker, that after hearing him speak for one class people are fired up and ready to get their finances in order.  Shortening the course to 9 weeks allows them to make quicker progress and begin working on their financial situation sooner.

2.  Content that wasn’t relevant to everyone has been moved to the website.  Some content, while useful to those in a particular situation, isn’t applicable to the majority of people.  For instance, Ramsey skillfully explained exactly how to deal with harassing bill collectors in the original Financial Peace University, and that information is essential to those in that situation.  However, since the majority of FPU participants are not in that desperate situation, that content has been moved to the website.

3.  Ramsey has brought in three new speakers–Rachael Cruze (Ramsey’s daughter), Jon Acuff and Chris Hogan.  Fans of Ramsey will probably have mixed feelings about these new additions.

Rachael Cruze has the hardest job.  Ramsey is a dynamic motivational speaker who makes his job seem effortless.  People will naturally expect the same of his child.  In reality, Cruze is young and new at this business.  She is definitely not as polished as her famous father, though truthfully very few people are.  However, she offers the voice of a person who has been raised following Dave Ramsey’s principles and hearing her success is encouraging.

Jon Acuff shares Ramsey’s sense of humor, but his jokes don’t go over quite as well.  However, his tips on negotiation are good, and readers can definitely learn from him.  A few more years of working with Ramsey, and he will have the natural, relaxed attitude as Ramsey does.

Chris Hogan is the most charismatic new addition.  While he is not Dave Ramsey, he is a natural public speaker.  He gives important information about buying a home, but his lessons are peppered with humor that naturally engage the listener.

My husband and I both listened to the CDs, and I didn’t mind the addition of the new speakers and know that Ramsey is probably adding them to prepare to eventually hand over his dynasty.  However, my husband did not like the new additions and felt that most of the speakers were simply reiterating what Ramsey always says.

Overall, Dave Ramsey’s newly revised Financial Peace University is an improvement on the first version and can inspire participants to pay off debt and improve their financial situation once and for all.

 

MelissaB
MelissaB

Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in New York, where she loves the natural beauty of the area.

www.momsplans.com/

Filed Under: budget, Debt Reduction, Education, Personal Finance Education Tagged With: dave ramsey, financial peace university, ramsey, total money makeover

The Great Recovery

July 22, 2011 By Shane Ede 13 Comments

TheGreatRecovery.comIt doesn’t take a genius to figure out that we (Americans in particular) are in a boatload of hurt, financially.  Take the outliers away, and we’re a nation (and world) floating up to our eyeballs in debt.  Here’s a test for those of you who commute to work.  On your way to work, or your way home, count how many payday loan shops, pawn shops, and quick cash shops you pass.

I have never hid the fact that I credit Dave Ramsey and his book, Total Money Makeover, with being one of the big catalysts in our financial turn around.  The guy is inspirational when it comes to money.  Not everyone thinks he’s all that, but the fact of the matter is that he’s helped thousands of people get control of their finances and turn their lives around.  Now, he’s setting his sights a bit higher.  On the nation.

He’s come up with this idea of a “Great Recovery“, where we take it upon ourselves to educate each other on the proper way to manage our money, and lead each other in the a more biblical usage of money.  He explains it a heck of a lot better than I ever will.  Go and watch the kickoff event he held for it last night.

I don’t know if we can pull it off, but shouldn’t we try?  I know that’s one of my purposes here, at Beating Broke.  I want to help you become better with your money.  Along the way, I know I’ve learned a few things myself.

 

Shane Ede

I started this blog to share what I know and what I was learning about personal finance. Along the way I’ve met and found many blogging friends. Please feel free to connect with me on the Beating Broke accounts: Twitter and Facebook.

You can also connect with me personally at Novelnaut, Thatedeguy, Shane Ede, and my personal Twitter.

www.beatingbroke.com

Filed Under: economy, Helpful Websites Tagged With: dave ramsey, economy, great recovery

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