Josh Young

I just mapped out my entire 40 Days of Focus, and the first day after my 40 days is my birthday (August 6).

Just thought that was interesting.

I know, I know.  I’ve been gone for a while on here.  What can I say…life happens.

Okay, I’m going to rip something off of a good buddy.  I read a post on my friend, Aron’s, blog this morning about something he is calling 40 Days of Focus, and I made a decision.  I’m going to join him during this 40 days.

By doing this, I am committing to:

• Uninterrupted 10 minute prayer time daily
• Fasting every Wednesday
• Asking God to help me become more loving towards my wife
• Eating healthy
• Exercising 3 times a week for 30 minutes

And I’m adding two more of my own:

• Saying “no” to good things to make way for the great things that I should be doing
• Uninterrupted 10 minutes of Bible study daily (I really struggle with this - so I’m starting small)

I’m going to try blogging about this (like Aron) to keep me accountable as well.  I’ve never done anything like this before, so I’m not sure exactly how it will go, but we’ll see.

As Aron mentioned on his blog, you’re welcome to join us.

I’m excited to see how this changes things in my life for the better.

That’s right! After just over a year of busting it, we’re debt free except for the house!

We paid off about $30,000 in just over a year working Dave Ramsey’s baby steps.

Guys, this just plain works if you do it. It’s not easy, but it’s not that hard either once you get started.

On a similar note, we just started going through Financial Peace University this past Tuesday. Marie and I are really excited to go through the course with a couple of our friends. Even though we’ve been on Dave’s plan for a year, we are still learning a LOT by going through FPU. Can’t wait until next Tuesday!

Now it’s on to baby step number 3 - a fully funded emergency fund of 3 to 6 months expenses.

I have some big news here shortly (as in later this morning).

Stay tuned.

…is my beautiful wife, Marie.

(humor me for a minute - it’s Valentine’s Day)

She had a momentary lapse of judgment when she married me. Either that, or she needs glasses worse than I thought.

But, lucky for me, we’ve been married for over two years, and she compliments me like no one else can. If it weren’t for her, I’d probably be lying on the floor in a stressed out stupor pulling my hair out. You see, I have a tendency to over-commit to things and neglect myself. Somehow, Marie keeps me under control (for the most part…hey, I’m not perfect).

The bottom line is that I am married to an amazing woman who I love more than anyone or anything on earth. And I thank God every day for bringing us together. One of the biggest blessings in my life is knowing that I get to spend every day with my best friend.

Happy Valentine’s Day, babe. I love you.

I pounded through our taxes the last two nights and got them finished. Yes, I realize that it’s early, but I hate walking near my desk and seeing all of those forms laying there and knowing that at some point I have to crunch the numbers. So this year I just decided to do it as soon as I got all of my forms.

I started to use TurboTax Online (which is what I used last year), but when I finished going through all of the steps, I realized that it was incorrectly taxing me on some HSA contributions, and there was no way to fix it as far as I could see. So I threw in the towel with TurboTax and did it ALL by hand.

Yes, I’m a huge nerd. But you know what? I not only saved the TurboTax fees (which were going to end up costing us over $100), but I got about $800 more back on my refund by doing it correctly.

Of course, as soon as I finished them last night, a friend happened to tell me that they’re revising about half a dozen tax forms that won’t be out until February.

CRAP!

But I checked, and none of them apply to us, so we’re good.

Had I had to wait or redo anything, I think I would have puked.

I’m trying to make more time for quick posts in 2008, so this will be my first.

As one of my Christmas gifts, Marie got me just what any true nerd would want: the highest-quality acid-free paper you can find marked off in square grids, bound by fine leather with a braided place holder, inner pocket and an elastic strap to keep it closed, and of course, small enough to carry with you at all times.

I’m speaking of course of the legendary Pocket Squared Moleskine notebook (pronounced mol-a-skeen’-a).

I’ve shown my new tool to a few close friends, and they all kind of look at my blankly like I’m some sort of weirdo (although I’m not disputing that). I guess Moleskines just aren’t as prevalent as they should be.

So anyway, I take my new friend everywhere with me now. He’s teamed up with the Fisher Brushed Chrome Bullet Space Pen that Marie got me last year for Christmas to make the ultimate note-taking duo. I’m a huge fan of checklists and notes, and now I don’t have to carry index cards around with me anymore. I’m loving it!

Since you may or may not be interested in my geeky little “toy,” I’ll save the rest. However, you can read more about these awesome little books at the link below. But beware. You’ll become obsessed. I can already think of two other ones that I’d love to have.

Moleskine History

The best deal I could find on my notebook (currently out of stock)

The second-best deal I could find on my notebook

Yesterday was a day of mixed emotions.

I sold my Tahoe.

Two and a half years ago, it was the first brand new vehicle I’d ever purchased, and I babied it. It was awesome. And best of all, it had a BOSE stereo system in it (which was one of my favorite parts). Did I mention that it was awesome?

In spite of the awesomeness of the Tahoe, it was the only remaining debt we had, and we were sick of that. As I’ve mentioned on here before, we’re Dave Ramsey advocates, and we’re finishing up Baby Step 2. We’re trying to get to the next step as fast as possible, and the Tahoe was just slowing us down. So we decided to kick it to the curb (pardon the pun).

So now I’m proud to introduce you to my new pal: a 2001 Chevy Silverado. Sure, he’s got some miles on him, but he drives great and is in excellent condition.

Worst part: No more BOSE system. :(

Best part: Our remaining debt is $10,000 lighter after only 24 hours. We cut Baby Step 2 in MORE THAN HALF just by making this move.

Can’t wait until it’s paid off, and we can move on to the next step.

It’s all about sacrifices, people.

P.S. Some sacrifices aren’t as hard as you think they’ll be once they’re over.

A friend of mine just pointed me to this video, and it is one of the most moving things I’ve watched in a long time.

Nothing I can say will sum it up better than the video itself.

Our youth group is getting ready to head to CIY in Illinois this upcoming week, and they happened to be two sponsors short at the last minute due to some unforeseen schedule changes, so Marie and I decided to jump on board!

We had originally considered going months ago when the suggestion was brought up, but we didn’t think we were going to be able to at the time. We were still unsure of whether stuff was going to work out with it or not, but we decided to go ahead with it anyway and let God figure out the rest.

It’s been years since I’ve been to a CIY conference, and Marie has never been, so we’re both looking forward to it. It will be great to spend some more time with the awesome teens at our church, and it will be a great time to recharge ourselves as well. I think we both need it right now.

It’s funny how God gives you the right thing at just the right time. Sometimes it comes out of nowhere. And sometimes when you plan on something (or don’t plan on something), God gives you His plan instead.

Can’t wait for next week! Maybe I’ll post a video or something from the week when we get back.