Have you ever found yourself in financial trouble? Wondering how the heck am I going to pay this bill or that bill? Or when am I ever going to get rid of this credit card debt? And what about those darn student loans?! Have you ever thought about how awesome life would be with no car payments, no credit card payments or no mortgage? What would that freedom mean for you and your family?
Those are all things that I started asking myself soon after I became a Coach and saw the potential of what this opportunity can do for me and my family. For the first time in a long time it gave me hope of one day being debt free after seeing so many others, just like me, achieve this by working hard and hustling. One of the first things I knew we had to do was take control of our spending. For years I have heard people reference Dave Ramsey’s programs and at one point I even read his best-selling book ‘The Complete Money Makeover’ after it was given to me as a gift upon graduation. But I never really applied anything or genuinely took it to heart. I just assumed that the massive pile of student loan debt would take years and years to pay off and for awhile that’s just how things would be.
So when my hours got cut back at work I knew it really was time to take control and I started looking into different options and really felt like Financial Peace University (FPU) was the best fit for our family. The program is designed to teach you how to live and give the way God designed you to and teaches you how to be the best steward of what God has entrusted to you. It also focuses on strengthening your marriage and teaching your kids about the way God wants us to handle money (NOTE: You do not need to be religious to participate in this program but it IS based on Biblical principles).
I love this summary of FPU from the class member workbook: “FPU gives you the one thing the average American family is missing in their money: a plan. We can provide the “what” and the “how,” but there’s something you’ve got to bring to the table if you want this work. You’ve got to bring the “why.””
If you are considering FPU or any other financial program out there, I agree that the FIRST thing you need to establish is your “why.” Why is it important to you to take control of your money? What is the driving force? What does financial freedom mean to you? If you are married, is your spouse on board? I can tell you right now that if you are married this has to be a joint effort; it will not work if only one of you is committed. Also, you need to ask yourself if you are willing to make sacrifices. Trust me, you WILL need to make some. Some are easy and some are hard but it needs to be done. One of Dave’s famous quotes throughout the program is this: “If you will live like no one else, later you can live- and give- like no one else.” I absolutely love that! A few years of hard work, discipline and sacrifice are worth it to be able to live a life of freedom.
In closing here are a few of my thoughts on the program as a whole:
- Definitely take the class IN PERSON. There is an option to do the entire thing online, however, the group discussions and the accountability to others are important to keep you committed and on track. Plus, it’s cheaper! Score! You can check out www.daveramsey.com/fpu/home/?snid=classes.fpu-a to find a class near you.
- Realize that it will take you years to actually complete the program. There are 7 Baby Steps to complete and most will take a substantial amount of time to complete. They are called Baby Steps for a reason. The best part about paying for the program is that you get access to it for life so as you complete the baby steps and move on to the next one, you can always go back and review the material to refresh your memory or you can take the class again.
- Know that it will take some time to conquer the art of monthly budgeting. We have been making our monthly budgets now for 4 months and we still hit bumps every month. But it is 100% worth it and boy is it EYE OPENING!! We could not believe how much money we were literally throwing away on things like groceries, eating out, cable/phone bills and other mindless spending until we had to keep track of every single dollar.
- I love that this program teaches principles that you can apply for the rest of your life; not just the time you are in the class. I also particularly like (and one thing that I didn’t like about other programs) is that YOU CHOOSE how and where to spend your money. As long as your monthly budget has a zero balance, meaning what you bring in is the same as what is going out, you decide where it goes. Of course, Dave provides suggestions in regards to approximately what percentage should be spent in each cateogry but it’s up to you to choose.
- I am a GIVER at heart. I love to give to others and I always have. I love that FPU focuses on giving and encourages you to do that before you do anything else. I think most of us, and my husband was like this when we started, think that when we are on a budget the first thing to be cut should be our giving. Dave points out in Lesson 9 of FPU that “giving moves you to become less selfish and less-selfish people have more of a tendency to prosper in relationships and wealth.”
I hope this post has been helpful for you and that you will make the decision to search out your own financial peace. This course has changed not only our minds but our hearts as well. Taking control of our finances so we can leave a legacy for our children and future grandchildren is extremely important to us. I will continue to post updates periodically and I invite you to follow along on our journey as we strive to live like no one else so that one day we are able to live- and give- like no one else!
Xoxo,
Linnea
