Pumping Fists and Broken Hearts - My Take on the Zimmerman Verdict.

Ever since the day that Trayvon Martin was killed there has been tension surrounding the case.  That tension is even more pronounced since George Zimmerman was found "not guilty" on Saturday night.  I have seen comments from musicians saying that justice was not done and someone on the other side of the coin who said that justice was done when Zimmerman pulled the trigger.

Well, I have an opinion too...  I believe that "neighborhood watch volunteer" George Zimmerman created his own exigency which led to Martin losing his life.  In layman's terms, "exigency" means an emergency.  Creating a situation where force, especially lethal force, must be used is forbidden within law enforcement.  There is much "case law" that prohibits exigency creation.

Here's the thing; it doesn't matter what you or I think of the verdict.  It doesn't matter that people around the nation are protesting the verdict.  What's done is done.  We have a system in place that is built on the premise that defendants are "innocent until PROVEN guilty."  Sure we know that Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin, but the exact details aren't so clear because only those two were present (and dead-men tell no tales).  The prosecution must prove "beyond a reasonable doubt" that a defendant committed X crime.  That didn't happen in State of Florida Vs. Zimmerman, and Zimmerman is a free man - just like our system is designed.  The reason we have our "flawed" judicial system, aside from The Constitution, is so that innocent persons go free even at the risk that guilty persons go free.  It would be a much more miserable place to live if you could be locked away for years or life merely on the accusation of committing a crime (no, I'm not going to tackle the whole Guantanamo Bay thing here).

Protest if you must, march if you must but ultimately George Zimmerman has to live his life knowing those things that he only knows; he can't be tried again.  We also have protection against "double jeopardy".  What would make a greater impact is asking that Florida or your own state create or modify laws for greater clarity when it comes to self-defense; that private citizens are also held accountable for their actions in cases where they created their own exigency.

As we see time and time again however is that laws don't change peoples' hearts.  Sitting idly by, or sitting around bitching that our community sucks changes nothing.  As Gandhi said, we must be the change we wish to see.  We must view others, ALL OTHERS, as having as much value as ourselves.  When you see someone eye to eye, and see they are of great worth this changes everything; from the way you treat your significant other to a stranger panhandling.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.

Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

- MLK Jr.

How are you going to shine and love today? 

We're debt freeeee!!!

2 years and $120,000+ later my wife and I are debt free (aside from our home)!!!  Just a couple of days ago I was looking over our budget, something I do all the time and it looked like we could be debt free sooner than expected.  I crunched all the numbers just to make sure, lo and behold I was right!  So as a symbolic gesture we wrote out a check for the remaining $628, then walked hand-in-hand to the mailbox.  A day later I still feel in shock over what we have accomplished.  For years I'd believed the lies, the primary one: "You'll always have debt."  And for years I've always felt frustrated by finances.  Not that there can't be money worries in the future - the likelihood is much less likely.

Without a plan I had attempted to attack debt, throwing overtime money and tax returns at debt; this merely felt like I was swimming in quicksand.  A couple years ago I heard Dave Ramsey on the radio, I thought he was a jerk.  He was super direct with people and it rubbed me the wrong way.  But I understand now that Dave has the best intentions, and tough love is what's needed to tear down the misconceptions that people have about debt/money/wealth.

Trying to do anything without a plan is a bad idea.  So going through life without taking control of one of the things that can truly impact most areas of your life is just crazy, yet most people do this.  You have to make your money work for you.  If you are cool frittering your money away let me know and I'll send you my address.

Throughout this process of becoming debt free my wife and I have grown closer, have learned the value of sacrifice, and communicate better.  We sat down each month to review what we had going on that month (birthdays, trips, etc) and talked through our budget.  We wrung everything that we could out of our paychecks and put every last dime toward our debt.  Yes "our" debt, being married means that we're in it together.  There's no pointing fingers.  Sometimes it felt silly when I would put $5 toward our debt after selling something on eBay, but that money would have disappeared someplace else if we weren't focused.

Our adventure began before we were married.  I had started listening to Dave Ramsey on the radio (also available now on iHeartRadio), then after we were engaged we attended a live Total Money Makeover event, I read The Total Money Makeover, and lastly we attended the 9 week Financial Peace University class.  Throughout this we learned the value of "being on the same page".  Would we be where we are today if I decided to do one thing, and Andrea decided to do something different?  Absolutely not!  Plus our home would not have been a happy place.

Dave Ramsey has an easy to follow "7 Baby Steps" process:

1. $1,000 Emergency Fund. (No, Christmas isn't an emergency!)
2. Debt Snowball.  Pay off the smallest debt and then roll what you were paying into that onto the next debt.
3. 3-6 month Emergency Fund.  This is 3-6 months of your typical expenses (fewer months if you have a stable job or more if you have uncertainty).
4. Invest 15% of your income into Roth IRAs and then pre-tax investments.  
5. College funding for children. 
6. Pay off your home early.  Yes, really.
7. Build wealth and give.

Sure you can cut corners or rearrange the steps, but Dave Ramsey has a reason for each step.  One of the main reasons is to cause focused intensity.  This will pull you out of the quicksand and set you on a path to be successful, whether that takes you 2 years or 7 years.

I'm getting long winded so let me leave you with a few thoughts...

• Don't assume that you know where all your money is going.  Make it behave. 
• Utilize resources such as Dave Ramsey's to give you a course of action.
• If you're married you must, MUST be on the same page.
• I have found that listening to the Dave Ramsey show has provided me encouragement to push through those times where I didn't know if it was worth the sacrifice.
• Live your own life - think for yourself.  There are so many lies surrounding finances - learn what those are so you can stop living in them.
• If you're married build into your budget "date money" and also "spending money".  These things give you the freedom to enjoy those things you love while still having boundaries.
• You really "need" a lot less than you think you do.
• And quite possibly the most important thing: Hold onto "why" you want to be debt free.  This will overshadow the finer points of "how".       

Our future is incredibly bright!