C+ Budgeting (also, things we shouldn't say in church but want to)

This is Dave Ramsey. He wields giant scissors and likes to put his face on various products filled with good thoughts about being financially savvy.

Last year I dragged my friend Esther to a financial class at our church. If you are thinking, That is an incredibly nerdy and boring thing to do, you are somewhat correct. Let me explain. Esther has owned her own business. She is good with numbers, computers, equations- basically all the things that give me pause in my daily life. I was an English major. Dragging Esther to a financial class is actually a genius thing to do.

During the nine-week course, we started getting together to do our monthly budgets. These meetings consist of Esther carefully syncing her accounts with Mint and me blinking at my Excel spreadsheet, asking a lot of annoying questions. Esther, what exactly is an IRA? Esther, what's the deal with growth stock mutual funds? Esther, what kind of wine should I buy at Grocery Outlet? 

Over the last year we've added a few friends to the group, all hauling out our laptops once a month, eating brownies and drinking tea. In the fall, our little ragtag crew of good financial efforts will become an official community group at church, with a spot on the church website and possible onstage plug during a Sunday service. So this last week I hung out at Esther's house again to come up with a written description of our group. 

And then we needed a name.

Esther, I just can't think of anything more interesting than "Monthly Budgeting Meeting."

We started brainstorming. We needed something that encapsulated the group's casual tone and something to do with budgeting that didn't convey feelings of sudden onset narcolepsy. Interesting things happen when you have a 9:30 pm brainstorming session on a Monday evening. For example:

Rejected Budgeting Group Names

• The English Major's Guide to Finances
• Poor, But Not Broke
• Casual Joe's Guide to Financial Responsibility 
• Budgets R Us
• Budgets We Do
• The Poor Person's Guide to Budgeting 
• The Poor in Spirit 
• Inheriting the Earth 
• Let Them Eat Cake (And Do Budgeting)
• Intentional Budgeting (sounds like a disease) 

There were a lot of budgets and guides and poor and financial thrown around. And then, from the recesses of my tired, and slightly absurd mind, out slipped this gem: Broke Ass Budgeting.

Perfection. And, because I am secretly a 12-year-old boy who finds the word "ass" especially hilarious, I laughed until I cried. Then I imagined myself or Esther onstage, inviting people at church to Broke Ass Budgeting. I also imagine that this would become quite a popular community group. 

So that's the story of how Esther and I became the founding members of Broke Ass Budgeting. Unfortunately, for church website-related purposes, we will be calling our group Brownies and Budgeting. This is not nearly as fun as saying "ass" in church, but I suppose it gets the point across.