Like an alcoholic

Sometimes I think we are nuts. I guess the beauty in this is that we are crazy together but man, I think we invite temptation. 6 months ago, we (DH&I) made the pact to cut up and FOREVER forgo credit cards, store accounts and even car payments for that matter; we have quit debt in general. We still have quite a bit of debt but we are diligently (some months more than others) working to pay that off. This came as we started in a debt reduction/financial peace program given by Dave Ramsey. This is the perfect program for us. Many years ago we were in big debt and we worked our way out if it with the help of a credit consolidation program. After we completed that we slowly began to acquire debt again. This time we have promised ourselves, our families, God, friends, everybody that we ARE DONE WITH DEBT!! If we don't have cash, we don't get it!!!!!
OK, so our living room couch (which is probably 20 years old and reupholstered 10 different times) is falling apart in a big way. The cushions are ripped, the zippers are broke and now the front part, that holds up the cushions that you sit on, is broken. Suffice it to say we have come to the conclusion something needed done. As we were discussing this with our family, they said if we could find a replacement couch for $100-$200 they would help us out. Excited at the prospect to be shopping we head out (sans kids:-) on a couch hunting excursion. After stopping at a few thrift stores we think, let's just stop at a we-want-you-in-debt furniture store. Maybe, yeah right, they will have something on clearance. With the knowledge, stern warning and agreement that we are NOT going to buy anything if it doesn't fall into our price range we head in. Store #1 we walk in and DH says "Do you smell that?" "The new furniture smell" I ask? To which he responds "No, the smell of debt"!! SO TRUE!! We wander around store #1 and don't find anything even worth thinking about! YIPPEEEEEE!! Go us. Feeling pretty brave and untouchable off to store #2 we go. We wander around store #2 and are close to leaving when we both spot it at the same time. There it is. The answer to our couching prayers. The holy grails of sofa's. It is love at first sight from across the store. It seems like a marriage made in heaven when we see the price. IT IS IN OUR PRICE RANGE!!! This can't be happening. A brand new couch; beautiful, soft, comfy couch in our price range! Surely this is meant to be. But, as we stand there and debate the matching chair (it too on clearance and just as wonderful as the couch) and call our family to see if they would also help pay for the matching chair (we just have to have it-they match), someone else swoops in. Now, they didn't snatch it up immediately, they talked of going up a little more to something not right off the showroom floor. As they talk, we call. When we get no answer, we talk. After much debate, we promise that if we decide to touch our emergency fund money for the chair WE WILL PAY IT BACK IMMEDIATELY. We shake on this and say let's do it. Then the salesman tells us, the other couple is taking that couch, if we want another it will be from the back not the floor model and it will be $200 more!!! We immediately walk out. As we are getting in the care, we decide that we are like alcoholics walking into a bar. We would not have passed up that drink, we would have promised to only have 1, but we would not have said NO! That is where, God, fate, the spirit of DAVE RAMSEY came in and took the temptation away from us. THANK YOU!!!! Not all was lost, we went down the road to another consignment and found a great couch for $70! So with our resolve back in place, our near fall off the wagon only known to us and our checkbook still in the black, we pay for our new couch and thank God that he saved us from that drink!!!