Primary Debt

Last night at FPU Dave Ramsey was talking about how millionaires don't know the latest TV show plots, but they know what the balance in their checkbook is.

Not surprisingly, I'm not a millionaire. But talk to me if you want to know the latest on "Grey's". Or after Thursday, "Lost".

I totally feel for Chandra. Last night at FPU we had to write down our total debt not including the house. I don't know why this got to me much more than it did when we did this last year. We don't have any more debt (other than the house) than we did last year. Actually less. I think it's just because we've had so much sneak up on us since this time last year. And because it's just depressing. It's sick, really, to owe that much money.

But, it's also exciting to be taking control of it. To know that just by addressing the debt we're so much farther along than other people. We've never paid a bill late, we've never defaulted, and we generally have made good decisions with our money and where we put our debt. Now our goal is to not be in debt. I think we can do it....
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In other news, I have been watching the primaries with mild interest for the past few weeks. It brings me back to my college days when I was heavily involved and interested in the political world. I read books about it, joined discussion groups, researched. I even minored in it.

Can I say that I was always interested? Not that I can recall. But there is something about a college campus and passionate professors and classmates that can light a fire. Make you believe that your vote can change things. Make you want to stand for something.

But my political interest didn't develop until early one morning in September of my sophomore year when I watched an airplane fly into the World Trade Center. And suddenly, like everyone else, my world changed. And I began to care about who was making what decisions for me, my family, my friends, my classmates.

Somehow public relations seemed more doable as a career than political science. I figured if I was going to be overworked and underpaid I could at least have benefits and a steady income. And once work happened, life happened I now find myself spending more time browsing through a photo spread of Britney Spears' wacky weekend than paying attention to which Republican candidate I will vote for in the upcoming Oklahoma primary.

That bothers me. A lot.

I have a little time before the vote, and I vow to understand who I am voting for before that time. Because if I don't vote intelligently, then I have no right to complain about how the country is functioning. And while I don't wish another attack, I do wish we could garner up that kind of passionate response as a country. I wish we could, once again, feel like our vote and our patriotism mattered.