Gas Prices Are Killing Us! Time to Reevaluate!

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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 

Free Debt Reduction Snowball Calculator for Excel

I found this Debt Reduction Snowball Calculator while search for a work schedule form. This Excel template is completely free and worth downloading. Here is the description and a screenshot.

Use our free Debt Reduction Calculator to help you eliminate your credit card, auto, student loan, and other debts. Easily create a debt reduction schedule based on the popular debt snowball strategy using this free Excel spreadsheet.

The first worksheet is a simple calculator where you enter your information, choose your total monthly payment, and see a summary of the results based on the strategy you choose.

The second worksheet is a payment schedule designed for you to print so you can keep track of your progress. You can also see how the snowball increases as you pay off your debts.

A big thanks to Donald Wempe for the motivation to create this spreadsheet, and for his great ideas!

You can download this Debt Reduction Calculator by visiting Vertex42.com

April 25, 2008 | Filed Under Financial Goals, Financial Planning, Free Budget Forms | 1 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 

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 

Getting Ready To Coordinate An Financial Peace University Class

We are about 6 weeks away from the start of our church’s first official FPU class. We did have one about a year and a half ago but it was for the leaders and they didn’t request to be in the class but were asked to be in the class. I don’t think some of the class members were in the right mindset to be in the class so there wasn’t very much change. In fact it was even more difficult for my husband and I to remain excited because we were seeing much excitement coming from the class.

This time around I know people will be signing up out of a desire to change how they handle their money. So I am very excited about this next class. I am disappointed that I won’t be able to announce that my husband and I are debt free. My hope and pray is that this time around we can make a significant dent in our debt.

If you are interested in finding out more about Financial Peace University just click on the link.

February 16, 2008 | Filed Under Dave Ramsey Financial Freedom, Financial Planning | 1 Comment 

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