Sometimes with guys, everything is a competition. I remember competing with my Dad to see who could stuff the most muffin into his mouth. In the parking lot after going out to eat, we’d race to the car, we’d race to the house, we’d do pushups, play racquetball, and generally try to beat each other at whatever activity presented itself. So it was that we found ourselves taking Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University (FPU) class, and another competition was born.
Dave Ramsey is my Dad’s kind of guy. He is disciplined, funny, and passionate. Dave’s advice lines up with the common sense, salt of the earth living that Dad grew up with. Dad was naturally frugal. Mom likes to tell the story about how he’d take her out to the movies on a date and bring $10. That was all he had on him, so that was the allotted spending limit. When they first got married they lived in the apartment over his parents garage to save some money. He worked his way through college and joined the military so he never had student loans. Mom and Dad usually made sound financial decisions, but there were still a few things to learn from Dave.
One of the things they did shortly after taking FPU was to cash out their whole life insurance policy and replace it with a term life insurance policy. They were able to double their life insurance amount, and halve the cost. Many financial advisors don’t agree with Dave Ramsey’s advice on life insurance, but sadly, it worked out well for Mom and Dad.
One of Dave’s catch phrases is to tackle your debt with gazelle intensity. This is a reference to a verse in Proverbs where we are encouraged to get out of debt like a gazelle running for its life from a predator. Dad loved this concept and determined to pay off his mortgage as soon as possible. We were standing in the parking lot of the church after one of the FPU classes and Dad was very animated as we talked about the gazelle, fearing for its life, and how we should have that same determination when dealing with our finances. He told me how he was going to use that mindset to get his mortgage paid off. I agreed with him and told him I was hoping to pay it off in 4 or 5 years. He looked surprised and said, “You may get yours paid off before I do.”
Dad and I had talked in the past about how we tended to make everything a competition. I saw an opportunity here, so I jokingly said, “I bet I can pay off my mortgage before you can pay off yours.”
He laughed, took a brief moment to consider it, and said, “You’re on!”
Of course this is the point where you are obliged to insert some trash talk, so I shook my head and said, “You don’t have a chance old man.”
He laughed again and replied, “Just watch you young whippersnapper. I’ll show you how it’s done.”
We laughed, hugged, and I told him I’d see him at the finish line. We kept tabs on each other’s progress. It was going to be close.
I’m with Mom, sitting across from the financial advisor a few months after Dad passed away. The life insurance payout came through and Mom is determined to pay off the mortgage. Thanks to their conversion to term life, it is an easy decision to make. As we discuss future plans my mind drifts back to the past. I replay that scene in the church parking lot and I realize that Dad just won. I can see him smiling, teasing me, and doing a silly little victory dance in heaven. It’s something he would do, and it makes me smile.