Jude 2

FYI: A few weeks back some one mentioned Dave Ramsey's Financial peace class. I mentioned that Wendy and I took and and are in the middle of the plan. We are loving it. It is very empowering. I have listened to Ramsey for many years but never practiced what he taught (not that he is perfect but it does work). I am proud to announce that we have been on budget for over 3 months now, have our $1000.00 emergency fund tucked away in the bank, and have started our debt snowball. In fact we are about to have loads of fun with that.

I remember the first month of being debt free. It wasn't so great as ol Dave makes it out to be.

But the subsequent year was fantastic.

It wasn't easy...it was a long and difficult road to get to the point of being debt free. Then it was even tougher to stay there.

Stuff keeps popping up that you percieve that you need when the truth is that you just want them.

Like the generator situation I am currently facing. A couple of extension cords to the neighbors should suffice. (We'll give him some $$ for the juice bill that we run up)

Either way...it isn't easy any way that you slice it...it is a lot of hard work to get to a point of being debt free and tough to stay there...even with the extra cash not going out to monthly debts.

But the nighmares of financial worries you might currently have do keep a person from running up any more debts.

and the freedom is fantastic.

That is awesome! I am so proud of you guys. I know how hard it is to stay on budget...But in the end, what a great feeling to be debt free! May God's blessing be upon you and your family.

Congrats.

Dave is just speaking common sense. We as a country have lost that somewhere in just a generation.

That is amazing! Way to go

What is a debt snowball? Sounds interesting!

Jennifer Smith wrote:What is a debt snowball? Sounds interesting!

Pay your smallest bill off first - then your next smallest,
etc. Every time you pay another bill off - you add
the money you were paying on the earlier bill to your
payment for the next largest bill.

It takes discipline - but it works. Coming from someone
who's been in that boat - every time you pay another
bill off - seems like your load gets a bit lighter & when
you're already used to paying "X" dollars a month on
your bills - you seem to adjust yourself to keep paying out
that same dollar amount - but your payments to each
creditor keep getting larger - which helps pay them
off faster. He gives the average amount most folks
owe on credit cards & if you didn't charge anything new &
kept paying the minimum you'd be in retirement age
and beyond before you'd ever have the things paid
off if you didn't pay extra.

It's surprising any of those banking folks should be in trouble
with the amount of interest some of those credit card folks
are charging!

It's surprising any of those banking folks should be in trouble
with the amount of interest some of those credit card folks
are charging!

AMEN

FQ I am SOOOOOO happy for you! In the midst of a recession you have done well. Could you send me some info on this guy and what he does, I am not familiar with him.

one love wrote:FQ I am SOOOOOO happy for you! In the midst of a recession you have done well. Could you send me some info on this guy and what he does, I am not familiar with him.

Not FQ - but a Dave Ramsey fan - here's his webpage:
https://www.daveramsey.com/

Be warned - he is brutally honest - but gives good advice!

He's got a link on his webpage to find one of his classes
in your area - or you can order the material for yourself.

He does not believe in using credit cards - period! He has a
television program as well. If you get a chance to catch it -
you can see how brutally honest he really is. People call in
with their financial woes - and he flat tells them like it is.
He is big on getting rid of expensive cars & homes (or the
expensive loan payments) and saving the money to pay
for them (ideally in cash). In my opinion - basically what
my grandparents used to do!

Here's a link to his 7 baby steps in beginning your journey
to financial peace: https://www.daveramsey.com/etc/cms/baby_steps_2867.htmlc?ictid=Useful_Tools

Here's news about church-based debt reduction programs from the CNN Evil Empire.