Financial Peace - Graduates

Jason and I completed our Financial Peace University classes on Tuesday night this week! We had a pot luck party in conjunction with the class so we braved it and took Amelia with us. It was interesting...but we made it through the class and I don't think anyone was overly annoyed with us :)

We talked a lot about giving and tithing. We learned that a tithe is literally ten percent of your income. Tithe means "tenth". So, until you are giving a tenth, you are not tithing but rather offering, which is just as good as tithing! It was interesting to learn a little about the meaning of the word and how our understanding of it has shifted in modern times.

At the end of the lesson, Dave just went through a list of things that were basically common wisdom. Things like, be the worker no one else is. Stay late and finish things. Help out when you can, even if no one else will. It was funn because Jason nudged me at that point because he and I had just talked about that that evening before class! I get frustrated because at his work he does so much more, which takes time away from his family and no else ever seems to be willing to do the same. I guess he won that one...

We were also encouraged to read, which is another thing Jason and I talk about often! I want him to read. Not only is it something to do but it sharpens your mind! I think Jason will make an effort to read. He tries. We just need to find him some reading material that he can really get in to I think.

We all filled out an evaluation Tuesday night and one of the things we answered was how much debt we paid off during the class and what we managed to save. Our class coordinator totaled it all up and our class was able to pay off $42,900 in debts and save $27,350 in just 13 short weeks. That is awesome! There were only about a dozen of us in the class so those numbers really are huge!

Financial Peace University has put Jason and I on the same page, financially. We now think more alike in terms of how we should use our money and how we can make the most of it. We also are much more motivated to eliminate our debts as quickly as we can. Before, we would pay off a chunk of a card and then just fill it right back up! Since starting the class we have only used one credit card a few times and it was when I was between checking accounts and did not have a check card yet, so it was almost justifiable. We have paid off one card so far and are on track to have another paid off next month!

While we didn't like having our Tuesdays tied up for 13 weeks, I think it will be worth it! We have learned a TON! Yes, some of it was common sense but sometimes you just need to be pushed to follow through on things and that is what this class did for us. Pushed us to use the things we already knew and taught us new, valuable skills!

Financial Peace University Update

We are still in our Financial Peace class and are nearing the end! The past few weeks have been about some things that are a little beyond us, right now, but still very informative!

We missed the lesson on mutual funds and Jason is looking forward to the night we sit down and listen to that one. He was pretty bummed when he realized that was the class that we missed! Last week he learned all about saving for retirement and college. We have a lot of work to do but we are hoping that we can fund Amelia's college for her by making some key decisions/choices now.

Tonight was a very good lesson for me to be attending. It was about jobs and working your strengths. It was a really big encouragment to me, especially since I just discussed with my friends jobs vs careers! Perfect timing! I am still dreading the move home and searching for a new job but after tonight I think I will have a better plan of attack.

Jason and I have fully funded our emergency fund, which is baby step one in the program and are working on baby step two...eliminating debt. We have paid off one of our credit cards as of last week and it is such a great feeling! I plan on cancelling it this week and shredding it. That will be a great feeling! I think we can also get one of Jason's cards paid of and cancelled this month which will feel even better!

I am so excited that this class is almost over! Don't get me wrong, we are learning a lot but the weather is just getting so nice and I would rather be grilling and taking walks by the water instead of sitting in the church cafe!

Financial Peace Uiversity - Week 8

Last week Jason attended and learned all about different types of insurance. I have to listen to that lesson still but he said he learned a lot! Learning about, and understanding, insurance is something that I really need to work on...

This week we talked about bargains and deals, right up my alley! I love looking for bargains and I love getting a deal. We went over "rules" for bargaining which include everything from staying silent to saying "that's not good enough".

The power of cash was also something we spent a lot of time on. Dave is all about cash because you avoid interest payments and you can get what you want for what you want, usually. If you tell a salesperson, and show them, that you have $800 dollars - cash - that you want to spend on their $900 dollar item, you will probably get it for your $800 dollars - cash. You just have to have the confidence to ask. Not enough people want to ask for deals because they want to avoid the possible "conflict".

We also learned about places to find deals. Everywhere from estate sales to pawn shops. Individual owners are also a great place to look because if they are trying to get rid of something it is probably because they don't need it and it is taking up space so they will probably take what you offer to get it out of their hair! Again, just ask/make an offer!

It was a great lesson and I learned a lot. I was glad to hear him supporting pawn shops because I think a lot of people have a negative misconception about them being full of stolen goods and that just isn't true! My sister works for a pawn chain and they check everything with police reports and turn over what is stolen. She gets some great deals from her work, which I occasionally benefit from!

Financial Peace University - Week 6

Week 6 was focused on us as buyers. The message was simple, "buyer beware!" We need to pay attention to where and how we are spending our money. We went over simple things that we can do, especially on larger purchases, to make sure we are spending wisely.

The first thing talked about was sleeping a night on some things. I think that this is something that Jason and I need to get better at! We haven't been out buying a ton of stuff but I know that we have both done it in the past!

Other things that were suggested were talking it over with someone who will give you an honest opinion and not be afraid to hurt your feelings and remembering that no amount of stuff will bring happiness!

One story was shared about a man who had "made it" financially and decided that he wanted to purchase his dream Mercedes. He took the money out of the bank, to pay for it in full with cash, and went to the dealer. He got in his dream car, handed over his money and drove home. That night, he took out his calculator and did some math. He looked at what his $40,000 dollars would do in his high interest account over the course of 10 years and then looked at how much value the Mercedes would lose over the same 10 years. The next morning he returned the car. In ten short years that $40,000 would turn into over $300,000! Can you imagine?


I did not write about week 5 because I was not at class because I was in MN! Jason went and I listened to the CD. It was a lot of technical stuff about creditors and collectors. Not too much to share. It is nice to know some of the things taught though, just in case!

I also finally wrote about week 4, which was a great lesson, and backdated it so it is with my March archives! It is HERE.

Financial Peace University - Week 4

Week four was an empowering lesson. It was the debt lesson. Jason and I feel so ready to take on our debts and we now have a plan. The "Debt Snowball". We will send only the minimum on all of our debts except for the smallest one. As we knock out the smaller debts, more money will be free to take on the next lowest debt. Eventually, we will only be paying on our largest debt and we will have more to send them.

I wasn't too sure when I first heard about the debt snowball last year. I thought, shouldn't we focus on the large bill? No! As you knock out smaller debts, your "snowball" grows and gains momentum. By paying off smaller debts first, you are freeing up more money to tackle that large debt and you are also eliminating debt. Eliminating debt is such a motivator. To pay off a debt, no matter how small, is a huge feat! We have one card that will be paid off next month and we are thrilled! The month after that another card should be paid off. See the momentum building?

We were told to attack our debt with "gazelle intesity". What does that mean? It means, go at it with all you have, like a gazelle running from a cheetah:


(image credit)

The metaphor is collectors as the cheetah and us (people with debt) as the gazelle. We need to attack our debt with all that we have before it becomes the end of us. Before we let it get the best of us. We need to fight for freedom from debt!

It was such a great lesson this week and I am so glad to see Jason just as pumped as I am to send all we can spare to pay off our debts!

Financial Peace University - Week 3

This week I went to class alone. We didn't have a sitter for Amelia :( That's ok though, we have all the lessons on CD as part of our membership kit and Jason did today's lesson on his own. (yay!)

Tonight we went into depth about budgets and cash flow planning. Wow. Once we get this down our lives will be so different. Dave says that we need to give each dollar a name, a purpose, before the start of each month. By doing so we will be able to have a zero-based plan, meaning, our income - our outflow = zero. Every dollar is accounted for. Money will go into savings, into paying bills, food etc. It is all accounted for and all "spent".

Working out our budget and cash flow plan will take us a few months to get right but I think we can do it! I have tried budgeting in the past but it just never worked. Since our income is based on our hourly wages and fluctuating hours it was hard for me. After tonight I feel like I can tackle it from a whole different angle and make it work.

So that is our homework this week. Budgeting and cash flow plans!

Financial Peace University - Week 2

Tonight was the second class for us in Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. Jason was able to come with this week because my friend, Brittany, had the night off of work, saw my Facebook plea for a sitter and gave me a call! How awesome of her! Here is Amelia with her sitter for the night:


Now, on to what we learned this week! This week we spent a lot of time talking about the different roles that both men and women have in family finances. There was a lot of talk about how men and women approach finances and money differently, but also about how individuals - male or female - have their own strong qualities when it comes to finances.

In our household, I am the planner. I am the one who [usually] thinks about everything we spend money on etc. Jason is an impulse buyer. He likes to spend money freely, which sometimes gets us into trouble. That is not to say that I have never been known to make impulse buys. Believe me, I have done my fair share of that but it is usually triggered by stress. That is not an excuse and it brings me to the next thing that we talked about as a group.

People, male and female, react to stress in ways that affect their finances. For me, when I am upset, I like to go shopping and I usually end up buying Amelia an outfit or a toy. Something that she doesn't need but the act of buying it for her makes me feel better, temporarily. We brainstormed ideas, as a group, on how to beat those impulses. What works best for me is just doing my best not to leave the house when I am upset. If I leave, it is all over. I will find my way to Target and I will buy thing(s) that I/we don't need.

One thing that will definately help me, and Jason, in controlling impluse buys is our homework from last week's class. We had to make a "quickie" budget. Wow. We weren't too sure what we spend on things like gas and food, so we chose an amount and will adjust it from there but let's just say there isn't much room for impulse buying! The "quickie" budget didn't include our credit card debt either, yikes! I am hopeful that as we work at creating a budget for our family that we can fine tune it and put money where it is needed most and cut back on some other things, like eating out, so we can get things on track!

At the end of class, our leader took a credit card and shredded it and told everyone that they could feel free to do the same over the next few months. Guess who got right up and did it? Jason. he was the only one who participated in that this week even! He put two credit cards through the shredder and didn't even hesitate. It felt good to know that those balances will only go down from here on out!

Another thing that we will do at the end of each class is to share milestones/exciting news. Guess who raised their hand first? Jason. While he and I were going over our "quickie" budget this evening we talked about how we hadn't used my Chase card in almost two pay periods - 4 weeks - which is amazing, for us! That card has been our crutch, our way of survival and this is the first time in years, literally, that when we get the next statement it will be lower than the month before because we haven't made any purchases on it!

One great thing, for us, is that we are quickly becoming aware of where and how we are spending our money by doing something as simple as a "quickie" budget. Now that we are aware, we can make some positive changes! I am looking forward to delving deeper and creating a more complex and complete budget because I already know that it will bring great things!

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Matthew 6:19-21

Financial Peace University - Week One

Tonight Jason and I had our first class in Financial Peace University at Epikos. Over the next thirteen weeks we will be learning how to effectively budget, invest, give etc, and most importantly how to save, save, save.

Our membership kit included:


a hardcover "textbook", hardcover workbook, all 13 lessons on DVD in a nice holder, a folder to help us with the "envelope system" (which we will learn about later, though, I already know how it works and think it is a great idea), and a CD-ROM to "enhance" our experience in the program.

Basically, this week we talked about establishing an emergency fund and doing it NOW. Having that emergency buffer will help us stay cooler in the midst of a "crisis". For example, the car breaks, the money is there to fix it and then we just need to build up that fund again vs. having more debt sitting on a card account building interest. Way less stress! After that is done, saving up a few months living expenses is the next step.

Some may ask why I signed up for this. The reason is because we are in debt, like nearly every single other person we know, and I wanted us to get a handle on things, NOW. My student loan deferrment ends in June and I want us to have a better handle on our finances by then so that we will be better equipped to get the payments made. This program was being offered at church right after I had heard about it and it's creator, Dave Ramsey, and it just seemed like perfect timing. The program ends just a few weeks before the loan payments will start!

Our homework this week is to work on making a "quickie budget", read a few chapters and if we want to, bring any credit cards we want with us next session and shred them as a group! Jason wants us to do that, so we will be bringing a few in, for sure. We fall back on credit cards, they are a crutch to us and that needs to stop, NOW. This last pay period we didn't charge a thing and that was a huge feat for us when it should be something that happens all the time!

When I first suggested this program to Jason, he was skeptical and not totally on board. He told me that I could do it if I wanted, so I signed up. Well, I was delayed in my travels this evening so I sent him there for the start of the class and I showed up about 25 minutes late. God must have known he needed to be there because he would like to join me for the rest of the classes and he also told me that it was a really good move of me to get us involved with this. Now all we have to do is come up with a plan for someone to watch Amelia a few hours Tuesday nights for the next three months!

I am looking forward to seeing how we grow throughout this class and to seeing how it will improve our lives!