Dave Ramsey and The New Financial Peace Look

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!

Since my husband and I were FPU coordinators a few years ago we get set the lasted promotion material. We will actually be coordinating another group some time this year. As with most learning material there is always an upgrade so I was not surprise when we receive the new version.

I have to say I like the new look a lot better than the last version. It looks clean and more up-to-date as far as the look and feel of the promo video and the cd-rom info. They also sent us a new T-shirt that is way cooler than last years shirt. My husband actually wears the new one.

I suppose we will have to have our church purchase new material since they have also changed the books. I am not exactly sure if the content is any different but I know the videos have changed. I am excited about these changes though. In my experience change represents movement which is usually a good thing.

The new promotional material is awesome. Check it out > Coordinator Resource Center

January 5, 2008 | Filed Under Dave Ramsey Financial Freedom, Financial Advice, Financial Freedom Journey Pep Talk | Leave a Comment 

What Dave Ramsey Thinks About Variable Universal Life Insurance

I recently needed to find an answer to a question I had about Variable Universal Life Insurance so I check Dave Ramsey’s site for the answer and found this.

A listener asks if he should he do a variable universal life policy if he has no debt except the mortgage and has maxed out all retirement savings.
ANSWER:
No.  You should pay off your house before you do any additional investing and make sure you’re only investing 15% in the retirement savings plans.

The variable universal life policy (VUL) is the latest version of a cash-value life insurance plan.  It’s a mutual fund snuggled next to an annual renewable term life policy (ART).  ARTs go up every year based on your age, which means it is one of the most expensive ways to buy term insurance.

When you’re paying for both a mutual fund and the ART at the same time your insurance is too expensive and the money that’s supposed to go to your investment goes through the insurance company first.  This means you’re paying tons of unnecessary fees.

It’s an expensive, high-fee way to invest.  Just buy the mutual fund instead.

November 25, 2007 | Filed Under Financial Advice, Life Insurance | 3 Comments 

Should You Keep Credit Cards Open To Keep Good Credit?

If you have read this blog at all you know that I hate credit cards. I really, really hate credit cards. If my husband and I would have learned about how much credit cards can ruin your life way back when we were newly weds things would be so much different for us now. Since we have decided not to borrow money anymore why should we keep credit cards open?

What I am about to say is not something I think Dave Ramsey would not agree with but I find it the only way I can keep from letting my existing credit card debt take over my life. Despite Dave Ramsey’s suggestion of canceling all credit cards we had decided to leave some open.

The reason we have decided to do this is because banks are cleaver and will find any way they can to get as much money from you as they can. Most credit cards now offer some great interest rates that are worth taking advantage of if the purpose is to transfer an existing balance. However if you happen to be late just one time that great interest rate will no longer exist. Not only will it not exist you will have to live with the high interests rates that are in the 20 percent range.

So what happens when your interest rate is now in the 20 percent range? Your payments jump to 2 to 3 times (maybe more) larger than they were before. Guess what happens when you go from a $200 a month payment to a $400 a month payment? If you are like us there is no way you can make the payment which means the cycle of becoming delinquent starts. The high payments making it impossible for you to pay the entire amount as well as the late fees and overdraft fees you can’t afford to pay either. If you become delinquent on the credit card then you risk getting bad credit scores as well.

At this point any hopes of snowballing your debt becomes almost an impossibility. You are struggling just to make the minimum payment that will never pay your debt down with the high interest rate. So what if you had kept a few credit cards open so that if this scenario where to happen you would be able to transfer your debt to lower interest rate card? If you keep your credit good then you are likely to get a good rate on another card or cards.

We are all human and from it’s possible that one month we forgot to make a payment on time. It’s unfortunate that credit card companies penalize you so heavily for just having one late payment but they do. They do this because they want to get as much money out of you as they can. We can keep from becoming delinquent or paying high interests rates just by playing them at there own game. If you can avoid it don’t let your credit scores get bad so that you can opt to transfer balances when needed.

Now, I am not a personal finance counselor or professional so take my advice with that understanding. I have just found this works for my family. I am not interested in paying the highest interests rates possible on my credit card debt so by keep a few cards open and maintaining good credit I am eliminating that potential.

Remember this is not a “keep credit cards in case of an emergency” situation. We have not used credit cards for purchases in two years and don’t plan on ever doing so. If you are using your credit cards for purchases then STOP. You don’t need credit cards anymore. You need to change the way you are handling your money. But if you keep a few cards open don’t hesitate to get the best interest rate possible so that you can pay that debt off.

October 25, 2007 | Filed Under Credit Card Use, Financial Advice, Financial Freedom Journey Pep Talk | 1 Comment 

A New Addition to Time To Budget - TheNewsRoom Video Content

I decided to include The NewsRooms videos on this site for two reasons. One, I found some very helpful videos that I thought my readers could benefit from and two because I make money off of these video advertisements. I have hand picked the videos that will be included and find each video I have selected useful.

At this point I think I can only display one video at a time so I will probably update them weekly and then sometimes add my thoughts on the videos in a post.  Feel free to click on the embed button and use these videos on your site as well.

October 11, 2007 | Filed Under Financial Advice | Leave a Comment 

Money Doesn’t Grow On Trees. Does it?

moneytree.jpg

My teenage daughter predicted I was going to blog about a conversation I had with my neighbor today about money. She was right but it was my daughters suggestion that prompted me to write about it ;) .

My neighbor was talking about some improvements she wanted to make to her house and said “The money tree stopped growing money”. I thought this was very funny and proceeded to tell her we never had a money tree and that we are still trying to grow ours.

I think we all wish there was a money tree. We may not have the ability to plant a physical seed and grow a physical tree but we can grow money. Proper handling of money and smart investing is a way of growing money. My response to my neighbor may have been good for a laugh but it really did have truth to it once I thought about it. I am still growing my money tree. At this point my tree is still a seed under ground but eventually it will take root, sprout and grow into a tree as long as my husband and I stay focussed on nurturing our seed.

We must not forget to water it (pay down debt), keep the soil fertile (spend wisely), offer it sunlight (save for the future) and prune it when necessary (have self-control and say no to impulse buys). As we watch our money tree grow we need to be sure we are not neglecting any of it’s needs because it only takes a short time for a tree to die, especially a money tree ;) .

Follow the changing web and make money online with iwebis.

September 10, 2007 | Filed Under Financial Advice, Life Goals | 3 Comments 

Next Page »