A snowballining we will GO!

My new hubbie and I setup a debt repayment plan well before we were even engaged let alone married.  We sat down and had a long heart to heart about our financial ups and downs, lessons learned and hoop dreams.  We walked away with a pretty clear picture of where each of us stood individually and where a merging of households would lead us collectively.  Shortly afterwards, we started our "debt-snowball" and plowed head first into reaching our ultimate goal:

Pay Everything Off.

Having a laser focus on paying off debt can distract you from establishing a sound savings strategy.  In theory, it's really easy to apply every extra penny straight to your debt.  Doing so gets you that much closer to dropping a creditor from your master list.  But that can also leave you in quite a pickle.  Because what happens when the unexpected bill pops up?  How are you supposed to pay for that new expense when you just sent your latest windfall to Visa & MC?  You are exposed.  Adding the new bill to the coals and charging it only kicks it down the road; it's gathering dust (interest  & possibly penalties) along the way.  Let me tell you, nothing can ruin a "Yay! We paid off So-n-so" party quicker than a surprise guest via the mailbox.

Yes, I know Dave Ramsey says "save up $1000 before you start attacking your debt."  But doesn't it seem like there's a $1000 emergency (and I mean a true emergency not a "forgotten" bill) springing up each time you're about to pass GO? 

AHA moment: maybe Dave's $1000 target needs boosting in this new millenia?  Maybe he's right but just lowballing us or perhaps we just need to take some creative license and set our own target....(it never ceases to amaze me when I answer my own question while sharing my thoughts with someone.  Duh!)

So how do you handle shifting focus?  What if one or heck, even both spouses, are less disciplined one month?  There's a fine line between chastising and correcting.  You don't want to come down too hard but you also can't standy by and the let the whole ship go down.  And who likes being the bad guy all of the time?  Worse than that, it's rather uncomfortable when your shipmate points out your own guilt.  Oh, what a tangled web we weave when at first we attempt to build net worth! LOL!

Wish us luck.  We're only 'o-ffficially' 6 months in and the both of us are notoriously impatient when it comes to making progess.  We want to make headway yesterday!  And one mis-step can readily have us calling "Slacker" if we let it. 

Appreciate any wise words you can share.

Lady Hawk