Dear Dave Ramsey, I sold my car, but the golf clubs stay

I wrote a mock letter to Dave Ramsey several months ago lamenting the need to sell my car. Well, the deed is done. My baby is gone. And here’s why I’m better for it.

First, we were able to drastically reduce our monthly car payment.

Our car payment is 40.9% of what it was before. The extra money is going to pay off medical debt and the remaining car debt.

I love sleeping at night again.

Second, our car insurance went down.

But not for the reasons you think. We purchased an older car that is actually more expensive to insure at the same coverage level. However, since I didn’t like the prospect of higher insurance premiums (which reduced our cost savings), I spoke with a lot of insurers.

I had decided on American Family as it had the lowest rate, though still more expensive. Fortunately before signing up though, I remembered that Bear River Mutual (a local insurance company) supposedly had highly competitive rates. Come to find out, by switching my car and home owner’s insurance to Bear River, I saved about $20 a month over what I had before.

So if you haven’t checked in awhile, I recommend running some price comparisons on your auto and home owner’s insurance.

Third, we developed a bit more self-discipline through sacrifice.

I’ll be honest. I miss my SUV. I mean I really miss my SUV.

My lip trembles when other ones drive by.

But we made the responsible decision to forgo a car we really like for a less expensive car that we like, but still meets our needs. Making financially responsible decisions is difficult at times, but the rewards, both financially and emotionally, are tremendous.

Each time you make the “right” decision, the next time is easier. So what’s holding you back?

So Dave, what now?

Dave Ramsey teaches that to get out of debt you should sell so much stuff that the kids and dog think they are next. Here’s the list of items we’ve sold so far:

1. Hyundai Santa Fe
2. 32 inch LCD TV
3. Hard wood TV stand
4. DVD player
5. Printer
6. Palm Pilot

We’ve also donated a fair amount of clothing and other items that we didn’t want to sell but still let us de-clutter. Here’s a few more items on our list of things to sell:

1. Desktop computer (don’t worry, I still have a laptop)
2. Computer desk
3. Mini love sac
4. Possibly the house

To my wife’s chagrin, my golf clubs are not on the “to sell” list.

So what have you sold to get of debt or are not willing to sell? Let me know in the comments.