Financial Peace University Coordinator Update

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We just completed the Dumping Debt lesson in our Financial Peace Universityкомпютри втора употреба class. Things are going very well. I am excited that everyone is excited about these lessons. I absolutely love the new material that the new kits include. Same great information but just better.

Every time I watch the Dumping Debt lesson I get motivated and inspired. This being the second time taking the FPU coarse I wish I could say we are farther along than we truly are. But I have to keep reminding myself that we are still taking steps forward. They may be very small steps but a least they are steps forward. If we keep moving forward we are bound to reach our destination.

This doesn’t mean I want it to take 100 years to reach our destination. I don’t expect it to take more than a couple of years but I wish we could have been able to shout, “We’re Debt FREE!”, at the start of the FPU classes we are coordinating now. But oh well! Sometimes the perseverance lesson is the best one of all.

What I love about Dave Ramsey and his team is that they keep up with technology. This time around we are able to use some great tools they have available in their online Members Resource Center. This resource center is available to all current FPU members including Online FPU members.

There is a Gazelle Budget online software that you can use now. With the Gazelle Budget you can enter all of your income and outgo information and print out your budget. It’s easy and very useful. They also have a Debt Snowball online that allows you to enter your debt information and determine how long it will take you to complete the debt snowball. There are also some other cool tools available like the millionaire calculator, buy vs. rent calculator and the investment calculator.

If you are struggling financial, think you have it all figured out or have no clue as to how to handle your money, Financial Peace University can and will help you if you are willing to really take action and change your future.

May 5, 2008 | Filed Under Financial Freedom Journey Pep Talk, Financial Peace Baby Steps, Financial Peace University | 2 Comments 

Financial Peace University - Coordinator News

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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 

The Cash Envelope System - The Benefits of Using Cash

Using cash rather than your debt card or checkbook can save you money if you do it correctly. It can also keep you from acquiring overdraft fees. Recently my husband and I made a banking mistake because we didn’t use the cash system. If we had been using the cash envelope system like we had been doing in previous months this mistake could have been prevented.

The banking mistake we made cost us $136 ($34 was removed after I called a begged for a break) in overdraft fees. The six transactions made were all things that could have been allocated to the cash envelope. I vowed for this type of mistake never to happen again the last time it happen so I really upset about it. The last thing we needed was to fork over $106 to overdraft fees. So once again we need to refocus and reevaluate our priorities.

Keeping track of our finances properly needs to be a priority. The cash envelope system works very well when we actually use it. The cash envelope system is easy and but it does require self discipline. Dave Ramsey offers a very cool cash flow wallet with some of the package deals but if you don’t want or can’t afford to buy a wallet then you can make your own system.

How to Use the Cash Envelope System

Supplies Needed

  1. Large Envelopes (No. 10 or larger), One for each category. You also might want to get one large manila envelope to keep all your cash envelopes in.
  2. Pencil and Pen
  3. Cash

The first thing you are going to need to do is decide what you are going to pay cash for. Dave Ramsey recommends using cash for the following categories;

  • Food (all food purchases, including fast food)
  • gasoline and oil
  • car repairs
  • clothing
  • cleaning/laundry
  • baby-sitter
  • toiletries
  • cosmetics
  • hair care
  • entertainment
  • blow money (money you know you are going to spend that doesn’t have a designated category).

Some of these items can be combined with other categories. For example, cosmetics and hair care can be combined. You can probably get away with using 6 envelopes but if you need more that’s fine too.

The basic idea of the envelope system is very simple. You deposit and withdraw money into your envelope just as you would into your bank account. You must keep track of the cash flow otherwise the envelope system will not work properly. The ledger can look something like what I have below. The cash envelope system offered by Dave Ramsey uses the same format.

Date            Where                                 $<>                                 Balance

1/20              Paycheck                          $100                                $100

1/21                Grocery                           <25 >                              $75

1/22                Fast Food                         <10>                              $65
In order for the envelope system to work you need to be using a budget that determines how much money goes into each category. The allocated spending sheet offered by Dave Ramsey is a very good way to keep track of weekly spending. Not everyone gets paid the same way so the allocated spending sheet allows you to customize your budgeting. For example, if you got paid once a month you could allocate monies to different categories at the start of the pay period. If your paychecks come in weekly or bi-weekly you may need to split your monthly budgeted money for each category differently for each week.

Let say I have budgeted $400 for the month for the “Food” category, but our paychecks come in weekly. I would use the allocated spending sheet to determine how much of our weekly paycheck will go to the food category. I might choose to allocate $100 each week or maybe $100 in week one, $125 in week two, $75 in week 3, and $100 in week four. The reason I might choose to do the latter is because one week a large bill (like the rent or mortgage payment) might be due the week that I have opted to spend $75 on food. Each category will need this kind of attention for the envelope system to work best.

What happens to many people who try a budget and fail is the failure to properly manage the budget. It does take some work but once you have the first three months budgeted it does get a lot easier. I highly recommend using the allocated spending sheet, especially if you are just getting started with a budget. The spending sheet helps you to break down your spending into manageable portions.

If you are like I was when I first started using a budget, the thought of using more than one form is overwhelming but what I found is that the second form really helped me keep on track.

January 25, 2008 | Filed Under Budgeting, Financial Peace Baby Steps, Financial Planning | 2 Comments 

Time To Budget has joined Wesabe - Social Network for Personal Finance Issues

I have been wanting to create a community for Time To Budget but I think I am still very far off of from that goal. Today I read an email that was sent to me by the CEO of Wesabe and thought that this site would be a good way for Time To Budget to acquire a following and for existing readers to have a place to discuss money issues.

Since Wesabe is already an established social network there is a lot of discussion already going on. I did however create a group for Time To Budget readers on Wesabe. My goal is that this group will be a place to discuss issues related to gaining financial freedom.

Wesabe is a free social network that allows you to join groups, follow and contribute tips, make goals and upload accounts for better management (you do not have to upload accounts). I just joined yesterday so I am still testing the system but I do this it’s a useful network and worth joining.

The new group I created for Time To Budget is called It’s Time To Budget. I hope you will join the network and our new group.

Check out my other blog iwebis and follow

the changing web.

October 30, 2007 | Filed Under Financial Freedom Journey Pep Talk, Financial Peace Baby Steps, The Community | Leave a Comment 

Financial Peace Baby Step # 4 - Invest 15% for Retirement

I supposed it’s hardest to talk about the baby steps I am far from achieving but it is necessary.Though we may be far from this baby step we need to be reminded this is a goal. Some people may be ready to start investing so I am going to give an overview of what Dave Ramsey’s financial peace baby step number 4 is about.

Many people feel they can skip to this step without having achieved debt freedom (besides the house) and saved 3-6 months expenses. Many feel it’s important to start the retirement before getting out of debt or saving. From what I understand of Dave Ramsey’s teaching, this is not a good idea. You will not truly be financially secure if you have debt hanging over your head or no emergency fund savings. Read more

May 16, 2007 | Filed Under Dave Ramsey Financial Freedom, Financial Peace Baby Steps | 3 Comments 

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