For Better or Worse: Know Your Relationship Status with Money

By Christ Church Communications Team
A Conversation with Sandra Gardner (Contributor)

Do you need to change the way you relate to money, and you’re wondering what the best way is to improve that relationship? The answer to that may be the same as making changes to physical relationships. The fact is that you can’t enjoy a good relationship with money unless there is trust, honesty, and a commitment to make the necessary adjustments.

Sandra admitted that her relationship with money had been more about receiving than giving. About 20 years ago, when she was in college, she amassed $23,000 in credit card debt. Her habit was to consistently draw on her bank’s $800 line of credit as if it was an extra paycheck, and paying back the exorbitant overdraft fees became normal.

She attended Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University (FPU) at Christ Church during that time and looking back, she is so grateful for the financial techniques that she was able to learn—particularly the debt snowball method. The debt snowball method is a debt reduction strategy where you pay off the debt in order of the smallest to the largest, gaining momentum as you knock out each balance. When the smallest debt is paid in full, you will roll the money you were paying on that debt into the next smallest balance.

Sandra was able to fully pay off $23,000 of her credit card debt in just a few years. It wasn’t easy, but getting the initial wins of first paying off the small balances really motivated her to move forward with the plan. She can recall Dave Ramsey’s simple advice of shopping in stores with concrete floors instead of carpeting (e.g., Costco, Sam’s Club, and Walmart). In most cases, you will find the same item at a much-reduced price.

After losing her $70,000 job and being unemployed for four years, Sandra realized that it was time to change how she related to money. But she was grateful for the financial techniques that she had learned almost 15 years before. While unemployed, she had blown through her savings and her emergency fund, but she had no credit card debt thanks to the debt snowball method.

Armed with her mother as her financial accountability partner, she remembers evaluating every purchase as either a need or a want. Sandra admitted that it wasn’t until she changed her financial habits that she started to experience the tangible blessings of God upon her life. God opened the door for her to get a free college education to become a teacher; she received a full-time job and paid off all of her personal debts.

Date night for couples is every bit as important as setting a date to make time for your finances. If you want your relationship to last, you need to be committed to spending time with your partner. As with any relationship, you always need to look out for areas where you are willing to make the necessary adjustments. More than anything, Sandra wants to make this relationship last so that she can leave a lasting legacy.