Gazelles, Baby Steps...

I'm usually not into books like this. . . I still don't think I am, but I found this one at a book event I was volunteering at, and it happened to fall into my lap when I was thinking about debt and finances, so I decided to give it a whorl.

I don't really know who Dave Ramsey is. I won't Google him because I really don't want to read a dozen books about saving money. We all know how to save money. And I've already read about the envelope budget system, so I don't feel like I really have to study that. I don't think it's for me. Dave Ramsey is some kind of financial/debt guru. I've never been a huge fan of gurus. But I like some of his philosophies.

Jon Acuff is a Christian blogger. Had I known that before I read this book, I wouldn't have read it. But you know what? I liked this little book. It made me laugh... about debt. If you can make a reader laugh about crippling student loan debt, you're doing something right. It was a quick read that made finances and attacking debt almost fun. So, I'd recommend it.

While reading this, it reminded me of two other books:


Don't Sweat the Small Stuff. This is a self-improvement book that I thought was lame while I was reading it but ended up thinking about for years. I still find myself going back to it in my mind when I'm faced with challenging situations. I especially like the Time Warp Game essay.





Life After God. I went through a Douglas Coupland phase a long time ago. I think about his books a lot still. I hadn't thought of this one in a while. Something about the language and style of Jon Acuff's ode to Dave Ramsey brought back the magic of Life After God. Douglas Coupland will always have a place in my heart because of this book. I think it's an unsung masterpiece.



Anyway, I'm thinking about debt again. I'm thinking about how I've lived as an artist and allowed women and wives and friends and bosses take advantage of my capricious approach to my own financial health. I'm thinking about how when I put student loan behind me I'll be less worried about the future. I'm thinking about how I've never worried about the future. I didn't think I'd make it to the future. I didn't think I'd have to worry about the things normal people worry about. I certainly didn't think I'd be reading a book about finance by a guy whose claim to fame is a blog called Stuff Christians Like.