Gas Prices Are Killing Us! Time to Reevaluate!

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. You can also subscribe to Time To Budget by Email.Thanks for visiting!

The raising gas prices is really making my husband and I think and reevaluate. Since my husband commutes more than an hour to work five days a week, the gas prices have really been effecting us. My husband drives to work in a economical commuter car but it’s still really tough. Within a few months our monthly gas costs increased about $200.
We are trying very hard to find ways to save in other areas of our finances. It’s not an easy task but it seems we have no choice.

Here are some solutions we have come up with to help reduce the spending on gas.

  1. My husband can stay the night at a relatives house a few days a week.
  2. I can make sure I go into “town” with him to get all my shopping done.
  3. We have looked into bus routes. This is not our favorite option because it takes so much longer having to transfer and wait for buses.
  4. Commute with a co-worker. This doesn’t always work and I would explain but it’s too much to get into right now.

Other people taking about the gas prices.

Aaron - Looking Forward!!! Dave Ramsey “Gazelle” Intensity Is Back & High Gas Prices Are Choking It!!!
Forum Discussion - Dave Ramsey on gas prices.

Dave Ramsey on gas prices.

July 2, 2008 | Filed Under Budgeting, Dave Ramsey Financial Freedom, Financial Planning | Leave a Comment 

Financial Peace University - Coordinator News - Class 1 -Super Savers

Creative Commons License photo credit: PPDIGITAL

We had our first Financial Peace University class this past Sunday. It was a small group but I think it will be a great class. So far I am very please with the new FPU material. The videos are all updated from the last series of classes we coordinated. The Super Savers lesson was absolutely hilarious. I think everyone in the class was pleasantly surprised that the video sessions were entertaining as well as informative.

Discussion after the video went very well. We had one family drive 45 minutes to be apart of this class. The FPU class is already very different than the last one my we coordinated. Last time we asked the leadership of our church to join the class so that we would all be on the same page. This time people joined the class out of need.
The Super Savers lesson was very motivating. It’s been a rough couple of months for our family and we have not had our emergency fund because we had to … spend it on an emergency. Actually we have had to do this a few times. The fact is we are still spending more than we make. We are going to have to really make some tough decisions the next few weeks. We need to lower our expenses which seems to rise very quickly every time the gasoline prices go up (currently over $3.67/gal). Because my husband commutes the rise in gas prices increase our monthly bill by about $100 - $200.
This FPU class couldn’t have come at a better time for our family. My husband and I had lost our motivation and began to have feeling of hopelessness again. Though our overall situation has improved over the last 2 years, it had become very difficult to continue when you have lost your motivation.
The knowledge gained from FPU is truly life changing but all the knowledge in the world won’t make change. It’s the decision to change and motivation to continue on this journey that really makes a difference.

The main lesson I took away from our first class was that we need to remember as small as our baby steps may be they are still steps forward. As long as we keep going in this direction we will complete the journey.

April 8, 2008 | Filed Under Dave Ramsey Financial Freedom, Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University (FPU), Financial Freedom Journey Pep Talk, Financial Planning | 2 Comments 

A Picture of Wealth - How Do You Define Wealth? How Does It Define You?

How do you define wealth?

Do you define wealth by the amount of money you have?

26011383_1775530cbe.jpg

Do you define wealth by the amount of toys you have?

 

Do you define wealth by your status or power?

power1.jpg

 

Or?

Do you define wealth by the love of your family?

By the safety and security of your family?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By a life fulfilled and loved?

 

 

 

 

The wealth you seek now defines how you will be remembered and whether your life was picture of true wealth.

 

True wealth has nothing to do with money, status or power.

 

 

Creative Commons Licensephoto credit: Tracy O

 

photo credit: frawis

 

photo credit: homernarvaez

 

photo credit: Christian et Cie

 

photo credit:mobile_reflections photo credit: S A M I K Productions - © KimL.Francesco B

 

asilerofanatordws1117pcoprosWonderlaneYTK23

 

photo credit: photo credit:

 

photo credit:

March 28, 2008 | Filed Under Dave Ramsey Financial Freedom, Financial Freedom Journey Pep Talk, Making More Money, True Wealth | 1 Comment 

Smart Money Management Will Always Be a Win Win Situation

I think there are many people in this world that view personal finances as a separate force that can not be controlled. I talk to many people about finances and it seems that people talk about their finances like they wish they could poker tour pcomaha poker in lineapoker games gratispoker itgambling pokerpoker machine gratisgiochi di poker da scaricarescarica giochi pokerpoker holdem gratisregole gioco pokerstri pokergioco poker freewaretexas holdem no limitgioca poker on linevideo poker per pc gratisparty poker downloadgioco texas holdemgiocare poker gratisstrip poker game online,strip poker online gratis,strip poker onlinestreep poker on linegiochi 7 card stud gratistexas holdem romagiochi online poker gratispoker tournament softwarepoker virtualehollywood pokertornei di pokerpoker no onlinepoker tour italiapoker slot gratispoker texanogiochi roulette gratiscasino italiani con bonusaprire un casino onlineblack jack in lineai migliori casino onlineall slots casinodomande casino on net,casino on net,casino on net 2000download video poker gratis,giochi gratis video poker,video poker gratisgiocare baccaratslots machinescasino online in italiaroulette americanacasino con bonuscasino gratis senza depositogiochi keno gratis in lineacasino gioca gratis,giochi casino da scaricare gratis,casino gratiscasino italiani on linegiochi black jackcasino 10 euro gratis have control over it. Sometimes I hear people talk about their finances like they are gambling. “You win some, you loose some”.

In many cultures today we are being taught to not be wise with our finances all the while thinking we are being wise. The first thing we are told after we graduate from high school is that we need to ‘build our credit’. So we get that first credit card and then it’s all down hill from there. We are teaching our kids that the way to be smart financially is to go into debt as a right of passage into adulthood. If you think about it, telling a teenager that going into debt is a smart financial decision is the most absurd advice ever given. By sending young adults into the world with a credit card user mind, we are apart of a cycle of poor money management.

Debt is not something that should be sought after, it should be something we run from. Doing everything humanly possibly to stay out of debt while seeking the true keeper of our funds and supplier of our needs (God), at all steps of our financial journey is the best way to view debt.

A win win financial situation is a life of budgeting, spending less than we earn, saving, investing, giving and staying out of debt. We are not gamblers of our personal finances, we are handlers our personal finances. Be smart and learn smart money management.

Dave Ramsey offers the best financial advice. Check out Dave Ramsey website.

March 13, 2008 | Filed Under Dave Ramsey Financial Freedom, Financial Freedom Journey Pep Talk | 4 Comments 

Financial Peace University - Coordinator News

ppt_slide.jpg

As I have mentioned before, my husband and I are coordinating an FPU class at our church. The promotional material offered by FPU is great this time around. The last time we coordinated the FPU classes there was not that much to choose from in way of promotion. We are following the promotion suggestions offered on one of the CD we received.Their suggestions were very helpful in coordinating the classes.

They suggest that most churches should give a month for promotion before the preview. Here are the promotion time lime they recommend.

Week One

  • Get promo posters up
  • Printed promotional material added to church bulletins

Week Two

  • Keep filling church bulletins with printed promotional material.
  • Show a preview video during service.

Week Three

  • Show a longer Preview video with announcement

Week Four

  • Live testimony of someone who has gone through the course.

Week of Preview

  • Have the pastor or church leader announce his/her support of the class.

Don’t forget to promote class outside of church.

We showed the preview last Sunday and it went ok. We thought there would be more sign ups but we still have time to promote the class. FPU was a life changing course for us and we hope that others will be willing to be apart of it and learn how to manage their money better.

More information on Financial Peace University. Take the course. You won’t regret it.

March 12, 2008 | Filed Under Dave Ramsey Financial Freedom, Financial Peace Baby Steps, Financial Peace University, Financial Planning | Leave a Comment 

Next Page »