I first learned of who he was while I was reading Nancy Ray's blog post here on
becoming debt free. I've never personally been in extreme debt, but do know of
individuals who have been, and it's just something I never want to
face myself. After reading Nancy's blog post, I got to thinking that you can
never be too prepared when it comes to the future and how you handle your money. My family
was always fine financially, and had just enough to make ends meet. But
when it came to having extra money to give back to the church or enough
money to make those home repairs that were needed or to go on that vacation that was very much
deserved, the money just wasn't always right there when they would need it.
Now that I'm older and look back over all the years that I lived at home, I see all the sacrifices my
parents made for our family and for us to be financially stable, and I
just want a future in which I can give back, not only to them, but in
more ways then I can think of at this very moment.
Okay, so now that you have some
background information, let me tell you about FPU! Financial Peace
University is a plan for our money. "It's teaches God's way of handling
money. Through video teaching, class discussions and interactive small
group activities, FPU presents biblical, practical steps to get from where you
are to where you've dreamed you could be. This plan will show you how
to get rid of debt, manage your money, spend and save wisely, and much
more". (I gathered all this information from Dave Ramsey's website.)
Right around the same time that I found out about Dave Ramsey, the
church that I was attending had posted on their website
about offering the FPU class. Was that a sign that I should sign up? I
had no idea. I talked to Will about taking the class and he was in
agreement that it would be worth my time and money. So I signed
up for the nine week class that met on Tuesdays for about an hour each
week and was ready to see all that I was going learn and be challenged
by.
Now if I went into detail on everything I learned from the class, this
post would turn into a short story, so I am not going to do that to you!
:) I will share The Baby Steps and information on the chapters though
and leave the rest up to you to discover!
Dave Ramsey has created a list of seven baby steps that he feels
will help guide you towards getting out of debt and reaching financial
peace one step at a time. There is no time frame for how quickly you
must complete the baby steps, but he does recommend very strongly that
you complete the baby steps IN ORDER. Below is the list of baby steps.
At the time that I completed the class, I was at baby step number four
but when I made the move to Charlotte, I was back down at number
three but am strongly moving forward! And keep in mind, you don't have to
be married, have kids or experiencing debt to do the baby steps! ANYONE and
EVERYONE benefit at working through these steps and I personally feel
it's never to early to prepare for your future. You can read more about
each baby step here in more detail.
Seven Baby Steps
1.Take $1,000 and start an Emergency Fund
2. Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball
3. Put 3-6 months of expenses into savings
4. Invest 15% of your household income into Roth IRAs and pretax retirement
5. College funding for children/future children
6. Pay off your home early
7. Build wealth and give!
Every week, our class would meet and go over one chapter from the video
and book and then do a discussion towards the end. Some of the chapters were really easy
to understand, while others seemed more difficult for me to grasp. I
think the breakdown of each chapter was done really well and I have
already revisited some of the topics from the book with Will since we've been in Charlotte.
Chapters and Topics
1. Super Saving- Common Sense for Your Dollars and Cents
2. Relating with Money- Nerds and Free Spirits Unite!
3. Cash Flow Planning- The Nuts and Bolts of Budgeting
4. Dumping Debt- Breaking the Chains of Debt
5. Buyer Beware- The Power of Marketing on your Buying Decisions
(This chapter was extremely helpful when preparing my move from Raleigh
to Charlotte with Will and looking for a place for us to rent!)
6. The Role of Insurance- Protecting your Health, Family and Finances
7.Retirement and College Planning- Mastering the Alphabet Soup of Investing
8. Real Estate and Mortgages- Keeping the American Dream From Becoming a Nightmare
9. The Great Misunderstanding- Unleashing the Power of Generous Giving
I hope that this post wasn't a bore to you all! Preparing for the future
is so important to me as I am a big planner and really think that Dave
Ramsey is a wise man with a whole bunch of knowledge that he is willing to share. Visit his
website to learn more and see if a church or organization near you is
offering the FPU class. I couldn't give it more of a positive review then I already have!
