Of Course! Dave always has SOMETHING to say! I can't add anything more, but I thought it was worth passing along...
What To Do If You've Lost Your Job
We ourselves are trying to hedge a bit, though our debt is gone but the house. We do have an baby HSA (Health Savings Account - Thank you President Bush!!) started, but that was a net change, really, due to our huge premium being reduced. Our hope is that we will be able to build both the HSA and the emergency fund, but making the dollars stretch to both is a challenge.
So, one option might be to hold the money (except for immediate medical expenses) until we get through the tough going at least and build the emergency fund. We could make only one or two deposits per year on the HSA - unlike the old $9,960 annual premium that we had before. I don't however want to underfund the HSA...
For those of us who are learning the whole HSA thing, the idea is to build that thing up to something obscene saved in the HSA account (Maybe $20-$30K over the next two-three years), and have a high-deductible, low premium catastrophic plan. The money that you put in the HSA is not taxed and you get to use it on everything from Dr.'s visits to Prescriptions to Aspirin.
(You just about have to put the whole family on it to keep things straight, so I had to file some stuff to exempt me out of my work policy.)
So, we have some options I think... Before we had very few options and that became very apparent when the Health Insurance premium alone exceeded the mortgage payment! I kept thinking, "We could go buy another house with this money!"
Those of you who get health insurance as a work benefit had better enjoy it while it lasts. I have heard some things coming to an employer near you via the Stimulus Plan that are really drastic to maybe all businesses. I haven't been able to confirm this, so I am refraining to detail about it yet; but isn't it deplorable to anyone else that we "just don't know" what our legislators even voted on?!!
Those of you who want to mess with our HSA and impose some Federal Health Care Plan are risking my wrath! :) The Gov't cannot produce it - they can only take it away from my neighbors (not me yet - I don't make enough $) and hand it to someone else - after some legal mumbo-jumbo and a red tape marathon. As my wife says, "...they did such a good job with Medicare and Medicaid, why would we think we should give them the whole system?"
I love my wife... Now she's even beating me to the good lines...
I didn't mean to get into this here, but it was something that I intended to mention sometime anyway... My trust is not in legal extortion (insurance), nor is it in miracles of science (Health Care), nor is it in scared politicians; it is instead fully and completely invested in the Creator who loves and provides for me.
I don't have to think for a second that He will forget us. I don't have to be upset if the Gov't forgets the Constitution and "In God we Trust" because God is my hope and my salvation for this life and the one yet to come. NO MATTER WHAT!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Thy Word...
Psalm 119:9-16 (New International Version)
b Beth
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
12 Praise be to you, O LORD;
teach me your decrees.
13 With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.
14 I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.
15 I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.
16 I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word.
We did the first lesson (tour) of The Truth Project the other night. Professor, Dr. Del Tackett has a captivating and thrilling way with words. I encourage you to take the opportunity if you get the chance to participate in a group that is taking this tour.
3 weeks ago Pastor McLoed was finalizing a study of Jesus Christ. In the series of sermons, he presented that Jesus Christ is the single most important person to have set foot on this planet. Lest you subconsciously roll your eyes, consider that our calendar is presently centered (more or less) on His life here on earth. Consider that no other man claimed to be God incarnate not once but many times. Consider the many miracles - ultimately even raising some from the dead as a sign that He had power over death itself. He calmed the storms, He had power over the weather. He had power over demons, casting them out. Most of all, He had the power to have thwarted men's efforts to crucify Him; not only thwarted, but also to crush them.
The reason that I mention these powerful sermons, is that I wanted to point out two concepts in this post that are so important. One, is that the Word of God (the Bible) is not some text book that has some nice ideas, but a truth book that helps us to see the God who made us, loves us and wants us to know Him. Concept Two is that Christ's coming brought a revelation of truth. If you think that either of these concepts is nice, but a little too much for you, then consider the way my pastor put it: If your version of God does not perform the miraculous then He does not have the power to save, and you are destined to suffer for sins that have no payment.
If Christ is who He claimed to be (read the Gospel of John), then He is the only hope we have to be saved from eternal damnation. If Christ is not who He claimed to be, then we believers are following a lunatic, not a teacher or a prophet.
My final point is that Scripture reveals to us the heart of God to restore a relationship with men to what He intended it to be. We read in Genesis that Adam and Eve walked and talked with God personally - the way that you and I might visit on Sunday afternoons over dinner. Adam and Eve sinned, and the relationship was damaged, Creation was damaged. In the Bible we read of God's continuing plan to restore that relationship. Front to back, beginning to end, it is the unfolding of that plan of how to begin that restoration.
I pray that the Spirit of Truth will help you to see the layers of lies that many people try to impose about Christ, about the Scriptures. I hope that in reading the Bible you will start in John and see what and why Jesus had to come and do what He did. I hope that if you already believe, you will consider what it means to you.
Thy Word, Lord, is a light to my path. I would not understand Truth without it. I pray that You will continue to reveal Yourself to us as we read...
b Beth
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
12 Praise be to you, O LORD;
teach me your decrees.
13 With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.
14 I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.
15 I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.
16 I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word.
We did the first lesson (tour) of The Truth Project the other night. Professor, Dr. Del Tackett has a captivating and thrilling way with words. I encourage you to take the opportunity if you get the chance to participate in a group that is taking this tour.
3 weeks ago Pastor McLoed was finalizing a study of Jesus Christ. In the series of sermons, he presented that Jesus Christ is the single most important person to have set foot on this planet. Lest you subconsciously roll your eyes, consider that our calendar is presently centered (more or less) on His life here on earth. Consider that no other man claimed to be God incarnate not once but many times. Consider the many miracles - ultimately even raising some from the dead as a sign that He had power over death itself. He calmed the storms, He had power over the weather. He had power over demons, casting them out. Most of all, He had the power to have thwarted men's efforts to crucify Him; not only thwarted, but also to crush them.
The reason that I mention these powerful sermons, is that I wanted to point out two concepts in this post that are so important. One, is that the Word of God (the Bible) is not some text book that has some nice ideas, but a truth book that helps us to see the God who made us, loves us and wants us to know Him. Concept Two is that Christ's coming brought a revelation of truth. If you think that either of these concepts is nice, but a little too much for you, then consider the way my pastor put it: If your version of God does not perform the miraculous then He does not have the power to save, and you are destined to suffer for sins that have no payment.
If Christ is who He claimed to be (read the Gospel of John), then He is the only hope we have to be saved from eternal damnation. If Christ is not who He claimed to be, then we believers are following a lunatic, not a teacher or a prophet.
My final point is that Scripture reveals to us the heart of God to restore a relationship with men to what He intended it to be. We read in Genesis that Adam and Eve walked and talked with God personally - the way that you and I might visit on Sunday afternoons over dinner. Adam and Eve sinned, and the relationship was damaged, Creation was damaged. In the Bible we read of God's continuing plan to restore that relationship. Front to back, beginning to end, it is the unfolding of that plan of how to begin that restoration.
I pray that the Spirit of Truth will help you to see the layers of lies that many people try to impose about Christ, about the Scriptures. I hope that in reading the Bible you will start in John and see what and why Jesus had to come and do what He did. I hope that if you already believe, you will consider what it means to you.
Thy Word, Lord, is a light to my path. I would not understand Truth without it. I pray that You will continue to reveal Yourself to us as we read...
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Thou Shalt Nots of Scripture...
Check out this link - I nearly skipped it, having experienced the hardships of situations and not looking for any more difficult water to wade through... However, this is a great truth: God does not prohibit us from any good thing.
We do need to understand what a good thing is. We need to understand that in the manner that we tell our children not to eat too much sugar and to eat more fruit and vegies, God also tells us to mind a few things - for our own benefit.
I am torn in a few different things right now, but I am certain that God has His reasons and that I must honor Him regardless of how I feel. I was so grateful to have the article in the link in my email this morning, reminding me of His faithfulness and care for us!
http://www.icr.org/article/4264/
We do need to understand what a good thing is. We need to understand that in the manner that we tell our children not to eat too much sugar and to eat more fruit and vegies, God also tells us to mind a few things - for our own benefit.
I am torn in a few different things right now, but I am certain that God has His reasons and that I must honor Him regardless of how I feel. I was so grateful to have the article in the link in my email this morning, reminding me of His faithfulness and care for us!
http://www.icr.org/article/4264/
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Finances for the Kiddos
For those of us who have kids, and who have had a hard time with our own finances, there is likely a need for better teaching to our kiddos as well. If we lack financial sense ourselves, then we are not going to be able to teach good financial sense to our kiddos. That said, if you are like my wife and me, then you have figured out that you messed it all up at some point and now you are digging your way out, so the kiddos actually have a pretty good example to follow.
But you know by now that finances don't get learned through osmosis and you have a suspicion that there might need to be some purposeful teaching? And you would be right.
In our house, we do a mini-version of the envelope system. When our oldest turned 6, we had her color three envelopes. I outlined the words, "Giving, Saving, Spending" on each one and she colored them in with her vast array of markers and crayons. The basics of the idea worked really, really well, except that she kept losing them and was playing with them all the time.
So, Crystal sacrificed some of her jelly jars, and stamped the labels neatly. This was great too. Whenever the money came in for her, she would parse it out into the jars and use it where it goes. (She sees Mommy doing this all the time, so she really took to it.)
There were some problems, however. The little guys are pretty generous it turns out, and will gladly give all of their money to their friends or to Sunday School; and don't get me wrong, we love that, but it wasn't really helping us to get the idea across for a while. So, we moved the money to the kitchen so that she didn't just dig it out to show her friends, or leave it out where the babies could swallow the coins.
Now, she is getting older and the jars don't really go to the store very well, so having retired one of our Dave Ramsey Envelope Systems, we gave her one of those to carry around. So far, so good.
Besides the giving and spending that she seems to be learning well, we hit the saving/earning thing hard at the beginning. She wanted a bigger bicycle, having grown out of the one she had been given when she was four. Mommy and Daddy were still mired in Baby Step 2 (Pay off all your debt, except the house) and though we were willing to do the garage sale thing to get her a bigger bike, we sort of leveraged this back to her to earn money to buy her own bike. She could do a few chores to earn some money from us, but quite honestly, we couldn't afford more than a dollar here and there at the time, and she wasn't quite big enough to chop firewood.
She thought and thought. Somehow Grandpa got into the picture and hired her to pick pine cones out of his lawn. One Saturday I dropped her off and went back home to do my own chores, and then went back after getting a disappointing call from Grandma. I guess she worked pretty hard for about twenty minutes, then got pretty bored. I think Grandpa tactfully let her know that he wasn't really happy about this and restrained from paying her fully, for which I was grateful. I gently scolded her on the way home, knowing the story, but reasoning it out verbally with her so that she understood why 2 1/2 hours of that poor of work didn't make her much money.
Clearly, she was disappointed, and the next week she offered to try again; and of course Grandpa helped out again. She did much, much better. When I went to pick her up, I could see the difference in her face and though Grandpa probably over paid her, I was very glad to see that she got the lesson.
Picking pine cones is not exactly a fun job, she decided, and this prompted her and Mommy to come up with other ways to earn money. So, they baked cookies. I don't know, but I suspect that they probably called around and asked at church if anyone would like to buy any. Once people knew what she was doing, they jumped in from all over! In about two Sundays she had more than enough money to go right in to Walmart and get that bike she had picked out! (I think we even charged her for the materials, so she got a good dose of profit/loss! I might be mixing that up with the lemonade stand that came another time though...)
I was so proud of her! She was so excited! I advise you parents to push your kids a little bit here. If you can afford to pay them for extra chores, then fine, but maybe let them think of creative ways to do their own earning. It is a valuable time, and this is one important thing that you can teach them early.
Don't give in at the store when they are two dollars short at the store, either. You don't do them any favors by covering the sales tax. Teach them what it means to truly buy something. Maybe even let them waste their money on something too. Then, when they find something that they REALLY want, but can't afford, use the moment to teach them that they decided to spend that money already. (OK, don't surprise them. I don't have the heart to lead them blindly into that one either. But give them a warning and if they still buy the piddly thing, then watch for that moment...)
Teach them by example, and teach them by instruction what it means to afford something and how to get a deal. Teach them to give - don't just hand them a couple quarters on the way in to church, let them give their own coins. Teach them to save for something "big" like a bike.
There are a lot of cool little books and teaching things on the Dave Ramsey site for this, ranging from pre-schoolers to teens. I haven't seen much of them, being a little too cheap to buy them, but the principles are the there.
God Bless!
But you know by now that finances don't get learned through osmosis and you have a suspicion that there might need to be some purposeful teaching? And you would be right.
In our house, we do a mini-version of the envelope system. When our oldest turned 6, we had her color three envelopes. I outlined the words, "Giving, Saving, Spending" on each one and she colored them in with her vast array of markers and crayons. The basics of the idea worked really, really well, except that she kept losing them and was playing with them all the time.
So, Crystal sacrificed some of her jelly jars, and stamped the labels neatly. This was great too. Whenever the money came in for her, she would parse it out into the jars and use it where it goes. (She sees Mommy doing this all the time, so she really took to it.)
There were some problems, however. The little guys are pretty generous it turns out, and will gladly give all of their money to their friends or to Sunday School; and don't get me wrong, we love that, but it wasn't really helping us to get the idea across for a while. So, we moved the money to the kitchen so that she didn't just dig it out to show her friends, or leave it out where the babies could swallow the coins.
Now, she is getting older and the jars don't really go to the store very well, so having retired one of our Dave Ramsey Envelope Systems, we gave her one of those to carry around. So far, so good.
Besides the giving and spending that she seems to be learning well, we hit the saving/earning thing hard at the beginning. She wanted a bigger bicycle, having grown out of the one she had been given when she was four. Mommy and Daddy were still mired in Baby Step 2 (Pay off all your debt, except the house) and though we were willing to do the garage sale thing to get her a bigger bike, we sort of leveraged this back to her to earn money to buy her own bike. She could do a few chores to earn some money from us, but quite honestly, we couldn't afford more than a dollar here and there at the time, and she wasn't quite big enough to chop firewood.
She thought and thought. Somehow Grandpa got into the picture and hired her to pick pine cones out of his lawn. One Saturday I dropped her off and went back home to do my own chores, and then went back after getting a disappointing call from Grandma. I guess she worked pretty hard for about twenty minutes, then got pretty bored. I think Grandpa tactfully let her know that he wasn't really happy about this and restrained from paying her fully, for which I was grateful. I gently scolded her on the way home, knowing the story, but reasoning it out verbally with her so that she understood why 2 1/2 hours of that poor of work didn't make her much money.
Clearly, she was disappointed, and the next week she offered to try again; and of course Grandpa helped out again. She did much, much better. When I went to pick her up, I could see the difference in her face and though Grandpa probably over paid her, I was very glad to see that she got the lesson.
Picking pine cones is not exactly a fun job, she decided, and this prompted her and Mommy to come up with other ways to earn money. So, they baked cookies. I don't know, but I suspect that they probably called around and asked at church if anyone would like to buy any. Once people knew what she was doing, they jumped in from all over! In about two Sundays she had more than enough money to go right in to Walmart and get that bike she had picked out! (I think we even charged her for the materials, so she got a good dose of profit/loss! I might be mixing that up with the lemonade stand that came another time though...)
I was so proud of her! She was so excited! I advise you parents to push your kids a little bit here. If you can afford to pay them for extra chores, then fine, but maybe let them think of creative ways to do their own earning. It is a valuable time, and this is one important thing that you can teach them early.
Don't give in at the store when they are two dollars short at the store, either. You don't do them any favors by covering the sales tax. Teach them what it means to truly buy something. Maybe even let them waste their money on something too. Then, when they find something that they REALLY want, but can't afford, use the moment to teach them that they decided to spend that money already. (OK, don't surprise them. I don't have the heart to lead them blindly into that one either. But give them a warning and if they still buy the piddly thing, then watch for that moment...)
Teach them by example, and teach them by instruction what it means to afford something and how to get a deal. Teach them to give - don't just hand them a couple quarters on the way in to church, let them give their own coins. Teach them to save for something "big" like a bike.
There are a lot of cool little books and teaching things on the Dave Ramsey site for this, ranging from pre-schoolers to teens. I haven't seen much of them, being a little too cheap to buy them, but the principles are the there.
God Bless!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Needing some motivation?
This is what I listen to more often than not on Fridays...
Listen to the voices... Listen to the exuberance. Can you hear the emotion?!! I get teared up every time I listen to this stuff... ...because debt suffocates the joy from living, from loving, from giving and freedom to be generous - like our Father - is something that no one but the free understand.
Sin does the same thing, only the debt is eternal until it's paid in full. God has a get-out-of-debt-plan that is unbeatable. His Son paid for our sins. It was so costly that there is only one way to pay that debt - only One person in the entire universe had the "funds" for that bailout! If you think that financial debt is looming large in your life, then consider the weight of your sin debt... Pray to God, repent from "your way"? His kind of change is even deeper than the kinds of changes you hear in this clip...
If you do have financial debt, or you are in trouble, then first take that to God. The numbers may not add up right now, but He has a way of providing when we honor Him with our lives. His favorite pastime is redeeming the hopeless... I hope that you will seek the help of your pastor, or attend a Financial Peace University class, tune in to the daily Dave Ramsey shows and commit to align your life spiritually and financially with the Word of God...
Listen to the voices... Listen to the exuberance. Can you hear the emotion?!! I get teared up every time I listen to this stuff... ...because debt suffocates the joy from living, from loving, from giving and freedom to be generous - like our Father - is something that no one but the free understand.
Sin does the same thing, only the debt is eternal until it's paid in full. God has a get-out-of-debt-plan that is unbeatable. His Son paid for our sins. It was so costly that there is only one way to pay that debt - only One person in the entire universe had the "funds" for that bailout! If you think that financial debt is looming large in your life, then consider the weight of your sin debt... Pray to God, repent from "your way"? His kind of change is even deeper than the kinds of changes you hear in this clip...
If you do have financial debt, or you are in trouble, then first take that to God. The numbers may not add up right now, but He has a way of providing when we honor Him with our lives. His favorite pastime is redeeming the hopeless... I hope that you will seek the help of your pastor, or attend a Financial Peace University class, tune in to the daily Dave Ramsey shows and commit to align your life spiritually and financially with the Word of God...
Monday, February 9, 2009
Stewardship
I debated posting this as "Talent" due to the text in which I base this one.
We use the word "talent" today as abilities which have been granted to us, likely because of the interpretations taken from this passage in fact. This is a subject for study in itself (another post?). For the purposes of this post, a talent was a measure of money. Christ was using this story to illustrate a concept of the Kingdom of Heaven, that as the master returns at some point and judges his servants, so will He return to judge men. The primary focus here is salvation - what have we done with what we were shown?
That is, you have been told about the work of Christ, the Gospel, so what have you done with that? Have you taken it to heart and invested in the Kingdom by spreading it to your neighbors? Or have you at least taken it to heart and led your own family in the ways of Christ?
Or, possibly, have you ignored it and hidden it to yourself - which amounts to not having salvation in the first place... There has been no change. There is no activity. The wicked servant hid his portion because he said that he feared the master. The master shrewdly points out that had he known the master and truly feared him, then the wicked servant would have at least put the money in the bank to draw interest! The wicked servant clearly had no interest in the master.
While the spiritual side of this parable is paramount, the reason that Jesus uses it here is that He is trying to convey Kingdom thinking through common financial sense. Everyone in earshot or who reads it today can grasp the concept.
We are given a certain amount of blessings, according to our ability, to make a profit for the Master. This extends to every part of your life.
Let's consider the basic, common sense, financial side...
1) We are the servants.
2) God is the Master.
3) The money is not ours, but the master's.
4) The more they were given the more they made.
These are directly applicable to our personal finances. We do not "own" anything, but we receive things to take care of until we meet the Master.
We will not all receive equal amounts. Some of us will have more than others. Jesus said that the poor would always be with us, and by that and some other passages, we can presume that the rich will too. Since this passages implies that the servants were each given according to his ability, and since we see that the master in the parable represents God, then we also know that God made the abilities too. So, since God made us with our abilities and He gave us the blessings that we enjoy, then we accept that He has the plans and that we are simply left to maximize the investments.
So, whatever your place in life, whatever your status, you are responsible to do your best with it. "...but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away." If you have nothing to show for even the small amount you have been given, then you are at risk of losing even that.
This is a hard one to swallow, but think of it this way... First, it isn't your money. Second, if you lose it, the Master has plenty more where that came from. There is no excuse for doing nothing with it, however.
So, in faith, I am able to invest in the Kingdom (offerings), invest in the future (prudently and reasonably, with an IRA, etc.), prepare an inheritance for my kids (nobility), and take care of the present needs as well, all Lord willing.
It's His money, so don't get extreme in either burying it too safely, or investing it too riskily, but acknowledge Him and take some steps in the direction of investing. Learn about how to invest, how to handle money and how to build a legacy for your children.
God Bless!
Matthew 25:14-29 (New International Version)
The Parable of the Talents
14"Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15To one he gave five talents[a] of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. (More)We use the word "talent" today as abilities which have been granted to us, likely because of the interpretations taken from this passage in fact. This is a subject for study in itself (another post?). For the purposes of this post, a talent was a measure of money. Christ was using this story to illustrate a concept of the Kingdom of Heaven, that as the master returns at some point and judges his servants, so will He return to judge men. The primary focus here is salvation - what have we done with what we were shown?
That is, you have been told about the work of Christ, the Gospel, so what have you done with that? Have you taken it to heart and invested in the Kingdom by spreading it to your neighbors? Or have you at least taken it to heart and led your own family in the ways of Christ?
Or, possibly, have you ignored it and hidden it to yourself - which amounts to not having salvation in the first place... There has been no change. There is no activity. The wicked servant hid his portion because he said that he feared the master. The master shrewdly points out that had he known the master and truly feared him, then the wicked servant would have at least put the money in the bank to draw interest! The wicked servant clearly had no interest in the master.
While the spiritual side of this parable is paramount, the reason that Jesus uses it here is that He is trying to convey Kingdom thinking through common financial sense. Everyone in earshot or who reads it today can grasp the concept.
We are given a certain amount of blessings, according to our ability, to make a profit for the Master. This extends to every part of your life.
Let's consider the basic, common sense, financial side...
1) We are the servants.
2) God is the Master.
3) The money is not ours, but the master's.
4) The more they were given the more they made.
These are directly applicable to our personal finances. We do not "own" anything, but we receive things to take care of until we meet the Master.
We will not all receive equal amounts. Some of us will have more than others. Jesus said that the poor would always be with us, and by that and some other passages, we can presume that the rich will too. Since this passages implies that the servants were each given according to his ability, and since we see that the master in the parable represents God, then we also know that God made the abilities too. So, since God made us with our abilities and He gave us the blessings that we enjoy, then we accept that He has the plans and that we are simply left to maximize the investments.
So, whatever your place in life, whatever your status, you are responsible to do your best with it. "...but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away." If you have nothing to show for even the small amount you have been given, then you are at risk of losing even that.
This is a hard one to swallow, but think of it this way... First, it isn't your money. Second, if you lose it, the Master has plenty more where that came from. There is no excuse for doing nothing with it, however.
So, in faith, I am able to invest in the Kingdom (offerings), invest in the future (prudently and reasonably, with an IRA, etc.), prepare an inheritance for my kids (nobility), and take care of the present needs as well, all Lord willing.
It's His money, so don't get extreme in either burying it too safely, or investing it too riskily, but acknowledge Him and take some steps in the direction of investing. Learn about how to invest, how to handle money and how to build a legacy for your children.
God Bless!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Plastectomy... (plagerism?)
I think Dave Ramsey invented the term... He uses it as a one-word description of cutting up one's credit cards forever. Dave uses scissors. His audiences get a little more creative... ...chainsaws, guns, shredders... ...you get the idea that people are a little fed up with the little plastic cards that we have been indoctrinated into believing are a way of life in our culture. It is a passionate, emotional, even merciless occasion.
So, why the extreme behavior? In short, many thousands of people have had an eye opening experience by going through Dave's classes or listening to his show. They have begun to understand that the bank (creditor) is selling a product, and are making a profit on the customer (the lender).
We watched as Dave on stage animated the average customer walking into the bank on his knees begging, "Please, please, please, Mr. banker let me have some...." (If only we had a product like that, huh?)
And all that time we thought we were being smart. We thought that it was intelligent to use "Other Peoples' Money (OPM)" but later we find that we had become addicted and enslaved to it. What we once thought was OK had become the the Master of our money, instead of us mastering our own money.
And I had good reason. In fact, Larry Burkett said that if you had or used a credit card, fine, but the first month that you fail to pay it in full, then you should cut it up. Given that somewhere between %80 and %90 of us who use a credit card do not actually pay it in full, I have changed my mind.
The banks know that most of us will not do it - and they make a LOT of money on credit. I am told that Sears, Penny's, GM, Ford and Chrysler have all become creditors more than retailers - they make more oney on credit than in sales of all of their other products.
It doesn't matter to me any more that you can pay it off every month. There are two reasons. The first is that the Bible says that debt is a bad idea - even for a day.
So, why the extreme behavior? In short, many thousands of people have had an eye opening experience by going through Dave's classes or listening to his show. They have begun to understand that the bank (creditor) is selling a product, and are making a profit on the customer (the lender).
We watched as Dave on stage animated the average customer walking into the bank on his knees begging, "Please, please, please, Mr. banker let me have some...." (If only we had a product like that, huh?)
And all that time we thought we were being smart. We thought that it was intelligent to use "Other Peoples' Money (OPM)" but later we find that we had become addicted and enslaved to it. What we once thought was OK had become the the Master of our money, instead of us mastering our own money.
Proverbs 22:7 (New International Version)
7 The rich rule over the poor,
and the borrower is servant to the lender.
And I had good reason. In fact, Larry Burkett said that if you had or used a credit card, fine, but the first month that you fail to pay it in full, then you should cut it up. Given that somewhere between %80 and %90 of us who use a credit card do not actually pay it in full, I have changed my mind.
The banks know that most of us will not do it - and they make a LOT of money on credit. I am told that Sears, Penny's, GM, Ford and Chrysler have all become creditors more than retailers - they make more oney on credit than in sales of all of their other products.
It doesn't matter to me any more that you can pay it off every month. There are two reasons. The first is that the Bible says that debt is a bad idea - even for a day.
Proverbs 6:4-5 (New International Version)
4 Allow no sleep to your eyes,
no slumber to your eyelids.
5 Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,
like a bird from the snare of the fowler.
The second reason is that there is a risk that you take when you use the credit card. The biggest part of that risk is that you are gambling that your next paycheck will be full and on time. The rest is that you are dealing with a company that employs a lot of lawyers to write a lot of fine print that I doubt you or anybody else can readily explain.
They can and do "lose" payments in the system, which means that it arrives late and then they proceed to raise your rates to %24 or more and dock you for a $29 late fee! They guess rightly that most people won't go to the mat over a $29 fee.
(Guess who's had this happen to him before - I was mad. It was the first time that lost my temper with a stranger on the phone. I did get the charge removed and got the interest down again after I threatened to "surf" the balance to another card... This was before I knew anything about Dave Ramsey, though and I didn't learn my lesson then.)
There is congressional testimony regarding this fraud, yet we hear little about it, and we continue to "do business" with companies that are dishonest. This is not intelligent. It is not even convenient when you consider the possible problems. Fire them. Cut the cards. End the risk and be a steward of your money.
Debit cards are somewhat different. They draw directly from your checking account, but that brings risks of its own. At least you aren't in debt to anyone though.
We take the additional precaution of keeping seperate checking accounts. We only use the debit card for one of the accounts, so that in the event of a problem (in which the bank will often "freeze" the money) we still have money to draw for gas and groceries. We also use it for Internet purchases, transferring the budgeted money for such transactions.
Many debit cards (such as those that have the little "Visa" symbol in the corner) have the same protection as credit cards and they are useful for car and room reservations too.
BUT, whatever the version of plastic you take to the register, there are recognized studies showing that we spend %12-%18 more with plastic than with cash. That means that when we go to Home Cheapo for a $50 widget, we also add a $6.00-$9.00 widget accessory.
On the other hand, if you walk in to the appliance store with $450.00 cash, you have a tool with which to get a bargain! You might get a $500.00 Wash-O-Matic for the cash you have to wave at the sales person and get a deal. This is the complete opposite of what you get when you have a plastic budget. GO GREEN!
(Be willing to walk away - you might have to go to 3 different appliance stores or get to a manager to get a deal, but then isn't that worth $50?!!)
I will start working on describing the cash envelope system that Dave Ramsey, Larry Burkett and Larry's grandmother recommend on the next post or two. I hope that you are starting to see the "personal" part of personal finance in the meantime. It is emmotional, spritual and even physical. It is important.
God Bless!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Envelope System
So, you know by now that I am not a credit card fan, but how do you actually use cash?
OK - so, written out from my side of the issue, this is a funny question, but I wouldn't have been laughing a few years ago and I hear some people who really do wonder...
We have been propagandized to death with the penguin march of the plastics and it has become a huge method of transaction today. So much so that many of you might be balking at the idea of walking around "with all that cash!" I mean, what about muggers!
Believe me, we've been through this discussion a few times. In fact, I didn't bounce right back to cash myself without a little cajoling from Dave. Some of the arguments can be found in another post about Plastectomies (which should post 2/8/09).
Basically, you will spend more with plastic, whether credit or debit - to the tune of 12%-18%. Averages being what they are, I suspect that you might do well one time and much more poorly the next; or, like me, go ahead and buy that ginormous wall tent at Econo-Mart because its good to go camping with the family. (Even Gary Smalley says so.)
Just the same, Doritto breath, plastic is a budget buster. And a mugger can get a lot more than cash from the average credit card information these days.
So let's assume that you see the value of cash over cards, but what about the details?
These days, as long as you have the little Visa (or other) sign down in the corner of your debit card, it should carry a lot of the same benefits as your credit card, but without the debt. You should ask your bank if you aren't sure - just don't let them talk you into a credit card anyway. Most car rentals and hotels will take a debit card. And most of them also take cash.
So, assuming that you have now set up your budget, the envelope system is simply the real part of your paper plan. So, as if you had drawn up the plans for the house on paper, then built it, so now you have drawn up the plans of the budget on paper and built it in your envelopes.
And we do mean envelopes. You can go buy them on the Dave Ramsey site too - and I do recommend the Deluxe Envelope system in particular. But you can just use any envelopes to label and insert cash. If you are going to the grocery store, then take the FOOD envelope. If you forget the FOOD envelope, then you should go back home and get the FOOD envelope.
I recommend that you get the system because of this, because then you have it all with you and it is well organized too. Crystal actually started carrying around Dave Ramsey cards to give to people because so many people asked about it and thought it was so neat.
If the money runs out in that envelope, for that category, then you stop buying. If it is something that you NEED, then go home to your Honey and re-arrange the budget and then the cash in the envelopes. You both have to be in agreement. There at least needs to be a phone call to get the approval on a revision.
We do not include utilities, phone, mortgage or other mailed bill items in the envelopes. For those we still write checks, which cost money, GGRRRR. Online is a good way to get around this, and Dave recommends the Auto Billpay stuff. But I am not quite there yet. I like to be able to watch all that and send them when we know we are ready.
We have a seperate account for gas and Internet purchases. Crystal, with three kids in the van does have a certain point there...
Also, as you work the budgeting out, expect it to take about 90 days before you actually get it to work. We had ours pretty well going in 60 days, but we already had over a year's expenses recorded, so we knew the trends already.
I hope this is helpful. Feel free to call or email any questions...
OK - so, written out from my side of the issue, this is a funny question, but I wouldn't have been laughing a few years ago and I hear some people who really do wonder...
We have been propagandized to death with the penguin march of the plastics and it has become a huge method of transaction today. So much so that many of you might be balking at the idea of walking around "with all that cash!" I mean, what about muggers!
Believe me, we've been through this discussion a few times. In fact, I didn't bounce right back to cash myself without a little cajoling from Dave. Some of the arguments can be found in another post about Plastectomies (which should post 2/8/09).
Basically, you will spend more with plastic, whether credit or debit - to the tune of 12%-18%. Averages being what they are, I suspect that you might do well one time and much more poorly the next; or, like me, go ahead and buy that ginormous wall tent at Econo-Mart because its good to go camping with the family. (Even Gary Smalley says so.)
Just the same, Doritto breath, plastic is a budget buster. And a mugger can get a lot more than cash from the average credit card information these days.
So let's assume that you see the value of cash over cards, but what about the details?
These days, as long as you have the little Visa (or other) sign down in the corner of your debit card, it should carry a lot of the same benefits as your credit card, but without the debt. You should ask your bank if you aren't sure - just don't let them talk you into a credit card anyway. Most car rentals and hotels will take a debit card. And most of them also take cash.
So, assuming that you have now set up your budget, the envelope system is simply the real part of your paper plan. So, as if you had drawn up the plans for the house on paper, then built it, so now you have drawn up the plans of the budget on paper and built it in your envelopes.
And we do mean envelopes. You can go buy them on the Dave Ramsey site too - and I do recommend the Deluxe Envelope system in particular. But you can just use any envelopes to label and insert cash. If you are going to the grocery store, then take the FOOD envelope. If you forget the FOOD envelope, then you should go back home and get the FOOD envelope.
I recommend that you get the system because of this, because then you have it all with you and it is well organized too. Crystal actually started carrying around Dave Ramsey cards to give to people because so many people asked about it and thought it was so neat.
If the money runs out in that envelope, for that category, then you stop buying. If it is something that you NEED, then go home to your Honey and re-arrange the budget and then the cash in the envelopes. You both have to be in agreement. There at least needs to be a phone call to get the approval on a revision.
We do not include utilities, phone, mortgage or other mailed bill items in the envelopes. For those we still write checks, which cost money, GGRRRR. Online is a good way to get around this, and Dave recommends the Auto Billpay stuff. But I am not quite there yet. I like to be able to watch all that and send them when we know we are ready.
We have a seperate account for gas and Internet purchases. Crystal, with three kids in the van does have a certain point there...
Also, as you work the budgeting out, expect it to take about 90 days before you actually get it to work. We had ours pretty well going in 60 days, but we already had over a year's expenses recorded, so we knew the trends already.
I hope this is helpful. Feel free to call or email any questions...
Friday, February 6, 2009
Enough
"I've had ENOUGH!"
"It's enough…"
"It's not enough…"
"It's NEVER enough!"
On an on… There are a lot of ways to think of "enough". I am looking at "enough" as it relates to finances… Why? Because I've had ENOUGH! I've had enough of the lies and the chains that I chose to believe… I did the deed. It is nobody else's fault. "I signed up for the ride…" and I intend to do everything I can to convince you that it is not worth it.
Speaking of enough… do you have enough? With regard to wealth I want to share this passage in Ecclesiastes 5
Ecclesiastes 5:10-18 (New International Version)
10 Whoever loves money never has money enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.
This too is meaningless.
So, have you found "enough", or like the verse above, are you on a wild goose chase? I suspect that if you are anything like me, you have never met a paycheck that you just couldn't quite spend… or a great deal that you could walk away from. I suspect that like me, you never quite found that the next new toy was actually "enough?" It got home and we had fun, the toy and I for about five minutes?
Well, that's how I used to be. I found another way to "enough" that is healthy. It started when I realized that the crazy dude on the radio was right and I knew I was not obeying Scripture.
"…The borrower is servant to the lender…" Now, I know that it is a Scripture and I knew it before, but I never really heard it like that – ENOUGH!!! Enough spending, debt, slavery… my desires had turned my finances, our finances, into an unwieldy, unyielding maze of chains and fetters. Enough of this idea that I can justify spending without a plan. Enough of the arguments. Enough of the fights. Yell it at yourself, "ENOUGH!!!!" and you might get how fed up I had gotten.
I convinced my wife to go to a session with the crazy dude in Spokane… with about 3,000 people just like us. She came with no small amount of coaxing from me, but I think that I finally convinced her with a promise to stop with the "Dave says…" and the brow-beating. (Guys, Scriptures, even with the best of intentions, must be presented differently than the way I did it…) For five hours, Dave talked to us about life and money, re-aligning our thinking and giving us a glimmer of hope. We sat in the car for a moment, and looking at each other knew that we could do this. We'd had ENOUGH…
That was May 2003 if I recall. We were both working, and were barely making the bills from month to month. We could not breathe financially and the stress from this was eating our marriage alive. I know that the process that we went through after that night was not only marriage strengthening. Within three years we had survived a number of $1,200 unexpected expenses, had two babies, gone down to one income and paid off well in excess of $18,000 of credit card, auto and student loans.
There is a process that works, and then there is "normal". Normal in our culture is broke. Normal in our culture says, "…but I need…" Normal is as much mortgage payment as you can afford. Normal is two weeks of unemployment from financial disaster.
Proverbs 14:12 (New International Version)
12 There is a way that seems right to a man,
but in the end it leads to death.
So, if normal is broke, what got into me to allow myself to violate God's own word?! I knew that I shouldn't. I knew the Bible said to stay out of debt… What was the deal with that!
The blunt answer is that I had simply ignored the Godly input of teachers, the admonitions of my parents and the very word of God itself… Easier to see it that way now than then, because then it seemed like the only option at the time. The car needed fixed, so I put the charge on my account. I could pay off the newer car in a couple months, what's a few dollars of interest? One transaction at a time, I justified the debt, like the story of boiling the frog slowly; I nearly destroyed our financial and married future by trusting my own senses, all the while slowly adding stress to everything.
You may think that debt is OK. You may not think it has a strangle hold on you, that you are different in this case or that, but my friend, this is exactly how "normal" now has the same meaning as broke. It is not OK. Your good credit score is not God's answer to your prayers. Your credit card is not an emergency fund, it is a temptation waiting to catch you at a weak moment.
I have news for you if you think you are different: Like the first taste of beer, the first hit of weed, nobody really thinks that he or she is going to be an addict – a slave to their own passions. Yet, while the numbers for alcohol alone are staggering, they pale in comparison to the financial disasters that have destroyed homes and lives.
Finances are said to be the number one reason for divorce in first marriages. Larry Burkett wrote in one of his books that he believed that it was because the young married kids want to live at the comfort level that they grew up and left - just like their parents live. The only thing is... ...it took their parents thirty years to get there.
Money, finances are not the trouble - these are tools - it is the mistakes, immaturity and indiscipline that hurts us. We think that getting stuff will bring joy and happiness, so we sacrifice our freedom one transaction at a time. Marriages and families are being ruined on the alter of stuff... ...more bluntly the debt, the sacrifice that we make to get that stuff.
Proverbs 6
Warnings Against Folly
1 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,
if you have struck hands in pledge for another,
2 if you have been trapped by what you said,
ensnared by the words of your mouth,
3 then do this, my son, to free yourself,
since you have fallen into your neighbor's hands:
Go and humble yourself;
press your plea with your neighbor!
4 Allow no sleep to your eyes,
no slumber to your eyelids.
5 Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,
like a bird from the snare of the fowler.
One of Dave's most invigorating rants is based on the passage shown above. RUN… Run like your life depends upon it!!!
The next verse begins to delve into diligence and hard work, saving for the future. Why? Because that rainy day fund will become necessary not "if" but "when" it rains. People that I talk to sometimes mention a credit card that they keep for emergencies like it is some little exotic pet that they keep in a cage just for emergencies… It is a snake that will bite you, get rid of the thing! Get your own emergency fund… Save something from your paycheck while you can. Then when the paycheck doesn't come in you have a mortgage payment or two and some grocery money while you work on the next job.
Proverbs 22:3 (New International Version)
3 A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge,
but the simple keep going and suffer for it.
I shudder to think what God would have to say about someone like me, who having been warned, just hid my eyes from the danger!
Proverbs 21:20 (New International Version)
20 In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil,
but a foolish man devours all he has.
Ohhhh… There I am again. Do you see it? I was the foolish man.
I spent every dime. No savings. I gave my tithe, usually, but the Bible pretty much says I was STUPID because I spent ALL of the rest. I should have been able to live on what God gave me and been able to give too.
This is not where I get to enter some kind of faith excuse. This is not where I get to say that I gave away what I might have otherwise saved. It doesn't work that way. But if I am faithful to take care of the resources that God gives me, guess what?
He has more. I am convinced that He wants to give it to His kids, but if He did that, then most of us would ruin ourselves with it. He tells us repeatedly that He will take care of us - might I add "perfectly?" The question is, "Are the troubles that we suffer of our own making?"
If so, then, "That's not 'good enough!'" It's not good enough that we manage to tithe but not save. Truly, God is faithful and as we show ourselves faithful in little, He will provide as necessary, but don't expect God to bless mismanagement. I have faith - faith that God will turn up the heat just enough to help you recognize the importance of diligence in your finances. There will be both fat and lean times, so prepare for them insofar as He blesses you to do so. He says it over and over and over again… "The prudent man sees danger afar off and prepares for it..."
Are you now struggling to get everything paid? Commit to Him your daily bread, then make a true accounting of your income and your expenses. Take responsibility to be a good steward of what you do have. I trust that as with us, the heart that is committed to Him and His ways will find that He is Enough. This is where enough and contentment live together. This is where financial madness turns to peaceful, resolute, passionate and decisive action.
Dave, the crazy dude on the radio, says all the time, "Personal finances are %80 personal..." That means that if you want a change in your finances, then you will have to change your "personal."
It is enough. Enough debt. Enough heartache. Enough arguing. And though there will be difficulties, there is a God who wants to be your Enough while you take on whatever hurdle is in your path.
Philippians 1:6 is a favorite of mine… "…he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Commit your ways to Him (Proverbs 3:5-6) and He will carry you. Verse after verse, passage after passage the Bible is more real to me all the time. As I honor His word in things that I find in it, He is faithful to provide the means. That is how faith works.
I hope that I haven't hurt any feelings because that isn't my goal here. I made some nearly tragic errors. I hope to convey to anyone reading the importance of sticking to the word of God – however they might feel otherwise.
The way to start digging out of a hole is first to "stop digging deeper." If you are the paramedic type, then you know the importance of "stop the bleeding". Commit yourself to balancing the budget and the checking account. Commit mutually to your spouse to cut the credit cards, to spend only with cash. Pay the priorities first – Food, shelter, gas, and on down until the money is gone. Save a small emergency fund today. Pay only minimums until that is up to something acceptable – Dave recommends $1,000. I think that up to $2,000 might sometimes be useful for some people, but we did the $1,000 and somehow came up with the rest whenever those unexpected things came up.
Start now. Start by writing down your expenses in order of priority. If you need to make a change, then you and your spouse make time to decide how to move the money around to fit again. Then, start over again on the next check. Every single time that you get paid, you do it again. Will it be tough? Yes. Will you fall off the budget wagon? Yes. The question that you can only answer is whether your enough is enough to get you to pick yourself back up and get back on...
I went into more detail on how to set this up earlier and I will share more on how we got this to work, but start with this and you will probably find that there is Enough there – maybe even more than you thought. Please feel free to call us or email if you like. I am not a counselor, but we can have a cup of coffee and I can show you how we do things…
In the meantime, remember the lillies of the field... Your Heavenly Father cares for you, and He has a plan for you and your family. If you are struggling, then keep reading and re-reading Matthew 6 - memorize it and live it. One day at a time, one decision at a time commit things to the Lord in prayer.
God Bless!
Dave - a good summary
This is absolutely imperative to understand... If you get nothing else regarding money, GET THIS!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Bughhhget...
"I know that I need to to do it... ..but ugh!"
I left the morning before with all sorts of intentions, not unlike the valiant knight with brandished sword; but I came home with tarnished armor, my helmet in my hand, my sword dragging behind me on the ground. I was ready for my recliner - not to sit at the desk and do battle with more numbers.
Well, I know that procrastination did get the best of me from time to time, but the end of it came down to my own maturity. I had to step up, or better yet, grow up. I took a lot of inspiration from The Dave Ramsey show, grateful to hear callers who were worse-off than me, others who were better off, and still others in pretty much the same place - and I realized that the difference between the callers who had done things right and those who were like me was entirely audible. Fridays on Dave's show became very good for me. On Fridays, crazy excited people call in to yell, "I am debt freeeeee!!!!"
There is a difference between that crazy, jubilant scream, and my own look what the cat drug in appearance coming up the walk. In order to get through the debt, we had to stop the poor spending habits, and that required a real, written plan that my wife and I could both agree.
It isn't some mystic or scientific ordeal to arrange a good budget. You can do it with any piece of paper and a pencil - maybe a calculator for those of us who need a little mathematical verification. A good budget is one that takes care of the priorities first, then works its way down the list in descending priority. I recommend this form or something like this...
I mimicked the same thing in an Excel document that we still use. It works well for us because we set it up for us, but if you want to take a swing at it let me know and I will send that to you to take a gander...
Dave and Crown both have budgeting software that you can also purchase. I just don't recommend getting bogged down with anything if you are just beginning a budget.
Don't get crazy on the details. Don't over-extend your spouse's attention span when you have it done. Don't get absorbed in some software financial program. Just put it together, then go over it when you're done in about a ten minute meeting with Honey. You make it, your spouse vetoes, you revise, then you present it again - until you have a plan. I know, it sounds simple... but this is where our money fights really ended. We both held each other to the plan that we both agreed to stick to.
Start with the essentials. Every good financial planner that I listen to will advise this.
Give/Save - if you put these at the bottom, they will never get funded. Give your offering as you are led. Save until you have a small emergency fund (we did the $1000 "Baby Emergency Fund") put away in a saving account. (Do this by paying minimums on all debts until you have it funded.)
Start with the Rent or the House payment - on time, or ahead of time.
Food - I was surprised at how much we were spending on food. And I was disappointed to learn that there was rarely a shortcut in this category. On the other hand, my wife is a great bargain hunter and we have found ways to manage this category really well. Our total spending in this now averages around $400/mo. but we went for a while at $300/mo. (Eating out had to end for a while, however, and does not belong in this category at all, but somewhere nearer the end...)
Auto/Repair/Gas - I tend to lump these together a bit. If you have a car payment, then be sure to keep making those payments - it gets you to work. I hope to explore the car thing another day, but do check out the link on the sidebar... We have had to make a number of adjustments to the gas part - essentially it doubled twice since the time we started. We include oil changes and minor repairs here as well.
Medical - you can bet that this will happen if you have kids, so put some money here. (Keep in mind that though you plan to save for the emergency, you can plan for prescriptions and deductibles.)
Once you have covered your necessities, then add lines for the creditors. When you run out of money, then you are done. Will they like this, no. I have to say that God helped us to make all the minimums throughout our payoff.
Continue to put every expense family into the budget. Be sure to include money that you will spend - even though it isn't a real category. We found that having $10/check for each of us to spend however we wanted made sticking to the rest of it easier.
In this way, you spend everything on paper, every time you get paid. This worked very well for us, and we still follow it.
This is just the basic budget concept. If you have a sporadic income, then you will need to focus on another concept, which is to pay the minimums, but save the leftovers so that you have something to draw from later. People who are on commission - such as realtors or self-employed business owners - will most likely have to do this. Save the leftovers so that you have a few months of expenses covered, then pay off the debts.
Here are some free forms from the Dave Ramsey site...
If you have an unexpected or overlooked expense come up, then you and your spouse both decide what other category suffers. Never use the credit card. Stay away from the drive-thru and avoid spending with your debit card for planned purchases. I think this is another subject to cover, but we use the debit for gas and cash for everything else. Occasionally, like tonight, I will stop to get a few things from the store for dinner with the gas account debit card, but this too could be planned for in cash. It is way too easy to blow the budget with that little piece of convenience.
On a future post, I hope to point out some possible areas that you might be over-extended, and may be able to curb some of that for some relief in the budget.
Until then, God Bless.
I left the morning before with all sorts of intentions, not unlike the valiant knight with brandished sword; but I came home with tarnished armor, my helmet in my hand, my sword dragging behind me on the ground. I was ready for my recliner - not to sit at the desk and do battle with more numbers.
Well, I know that procrastination did get the best of me from time to time, but the end of it came down to my own maturity. I had to step up, or better yet, grow up. I took a lot of inspiration from The Dave Ramsey show, grateful to hear callers who were worse-off than me, others who were better off, and still others in pretty much the same place - and I realized that the difference between the callers who had done things right and those who were like me was entirely audible. Fridays on Dave's show became very good for me. On Fridays, crazy excited people call in to yell, "I am debt freeeeee!!!!"
There is a difference between that crazy, jubilant scream, and my own look what the cat drug in appearance coming up the walk. In order to get through the debt, we had to stop the poor spending habits, and that required a real, written plan that my wife and I could both agree.
It isn't some mystic or scientific ordeal to arrange a good budget. You can do it with any piece of paper and a pencil - maybe a calculator for those of us who need a little mathematical verification. A good budget is one that takes care of the priorities first, then works its way down the list in descending priority. I recommend this form or something like this...
I mimicked the same thing in an Excel document that we still use. It works well for us because we set it up for us, but if you want to take a swing at it let me know and I will send that to you to take a gander...
Dave and Crown both have budgeting software that you can also purchase. I just don't recommend getting bogged down with anything if you are just beginning a budget.
Don't get crazy on the details. Don't over-extend your spouse's attention span when you have it done. Don't get absorbed in some software financial program. Just put it together, then go over it when you're done in about a ten minute meeting with Honey. You make it, your spouse vetoes, you revise, then you present it again - until you have a plan. I know, it sounds simple... but this is where our money fights really ended. We both held each other to the plan that we both agreed to stick to.
Start with the essentials. Every good financial planner that I listen to will advise this.
Give/Save - if you put these at the bottom, they will never get funded. Give your offering as you are led. Save until you have a small emergency fund (we did the $1000 "Baby Emergency Fund") put away in a saving account. (Do this by paying minimums on all debts until you have it funded.)
Start with the Rent or the House payment - on time, or ahead of time.
Food - I was surprised at how much we were spending on food. And I was disappointed to learn that there was rarely a shortcut in this category. On the other hand, my wife is a great bargain hunter and we have found ways to manage this category really well. Our total spending in this now averages around $400/mo. but we went for a while at $300/mo. (Eating out had to end for a while, however, and does not belong in this category at all, but somewhere nearer the end...)
Auto/Repair/Gas - I tend to lump these together a bit. If you have a car payment, then be sure to keep making those payments - it gets you to work. I hope to explore the car thing another day, but do check out the link on the sidebar... We have had to make a number of adjustments to the gas part - essentially it doubled twice since the time we started. We include oil changes and minor repairs here as well.
Medical - you can bet that this will happen if you have kids, so put some money here. (Keep in mind that though you plan to save for the emergency, you can plan for prescriptions and deductibles.)
Once you have covered your necessities, then add lines for the creditors. When you run out of money, then you are done. Will they like this, no. I have to say that God helped us to make all the minimums throughout our payoff.
Continue to put every expense family into the budget. Be sure to include money that you will spend - even though it isn't a real category. We found that having $10/check for each of us to spend however we wanted made sticking to the rest of it easier.
In this way, you spend everything on paper, every time you get paid. This worked very well for us, and we still follow it.
This is just the basic budget concept. If you have a sporadic income, then you will need to focus on another concept, which is to pay the minimums, but save the leftovers so that you have something to draw from later. People who are on commission - such as realtors or self-employed business owners - will most likely have to do this. Save the leftovers so that you have a few months of expenses covered, then pay off the debts.
Here are some free forms from the Dave Ramsey site...
If you have an unexpected or overlooked expense come up, then you and your spouse both decide what other category suffers. Never use the credit card. Stay away from the drive-thru and avoid spending with your debit card for planned purchases. I think this is another subject to cover, but we use the debit for gas and cash for everything else. Occasionally, like tonight, I will stop to get a few things from the store for dinner with the gas account debit card, but this too could be planned for in cash. It is way too easy to blow the budget with that little piece of convenience.
On a future post, I hope to point out some possible areas that you might be over-extended, and may be able to curb some of that for some relief in the budget.
Until then, God Bless.
You Can't Take it with You...
You have to know that the title of this excursion in literary sacrilege must have some meaning - I mean, Ryan would not post something that is proverbial, so mundane, so cliche - there it is, the word I could not find... ...cliche.
Normally, I would advise myself to avoid the kinds of things that turn the average listening ear away while they finish the thought before you complete the sentence... It just isn't that interesting.
The title of this post is both. It is something cliche and it is also the title of an old movie that I had the rare treat of thoroughly enjoying. Better yet, it is a great movie to get the old nogin going on the subject of money, wealth, and life.
There is corny-ness, humor, life lessons, black-and-white (read no HD), a somewhat predictable plot, my favorite actor, Jimmy Stewart, directed by Frank Capra, and even a few of the other cast from It's a Wonderful Life - which all adds up to a great flick that I can whole-heartedly recommend for a night of... well how about just a night off.
I have heard a few too many headlines lately that include "financial", "crisis", "meltdown" and other economic profanities, so I quit looking at them. I quit watching the news a long time ago. I might open an email with a link to a story, but likely not lately.
It isn't completely the head in the sand trick. It's more a matter of refusing to participate in the madness. And that's where this movie has a great theme. Think of it as "Meet the Robinsons" combined with "It's a Wonderful Life". My cheeks hurt from smiling... ...and these days, smiles mean a lot.
So, take a few minutes to pop up some corn so you can really relish the corny humor and take a night to beat back the gloom with a light hearted reminder of the big things.
While you are busy doing that, I will work on the next subject - budgeting... ewwwww.
Normally, I would advise myself to avoid the kinds of things that turn the average listening ear away while they finish the thought before you complete the sentence... It just isn't that interesting.
The title of this post is both. It is something cliche and it is also the title of an old movie that I had the rare treat of thoroughly enjoying. Better yet, it is a great movie to get the old nogin going on the subject of money, wealth, and life.
There is corny-ness, humor, life lessons, black-and-white (read no HD), a somewhat predictable plot, my favorite actor, Jimmy Stewart, directed by Frank Capra, and even a few of the other cast from It's a Wonderful Life - which all adds up to a great flick that I can whole-heartedly recommend for a night of... well how about just a night off.
I have heard a few too many headlines lately that include "financial", "crisis", "meltdown" and other economic profanities, so I quit looking at them. I quit watching the news a long time ago. I might open an email with a link to a story, but likely not lately.
It isn't completely the head in the sand trick. It's more a matter of refusing to participate in the madness. And that's where this movie has a great theme. Think of it as "Meet the Robinsons" combined with "It's a Wonderful Life". My cheeks hurt from smiling... ...and these days, smiles mean a lot.
So, take a few minutes to pop up some corn so you can really relish the corny humor and take a night to beat back the gloom with a light hearted reminder of the big things.
While you are busy doing that, I will work on the next subject - budgeting... ewwwww.
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