Financial Peace University

I have missed blogging about Financial Peace University for a few weeks. It has been an enlightened few weeks. We learned about credit, buying, and insurance. It is so freeing not to buy into the credit scam any more, I know it seems imposable to live without credit but it's really not if your willing to give up a few comforts now so you can have comfort and security in the future. Or as Dave Ramsey Says, if you live like no one else later you can live like no one else. I refuse to pay for debt, not saying I refuse to pay off my debt but I refuse to pay credit card companies, car loan companies, and anyone else fees and fines to borrow their money. No thank you. I will save up my money and borrow that for free if I need it. I rented a car this weekend with just my debit card, I did have to show two utility bills that had no late fee's but that was a breeze and I don't have to pay interest on that car rental now.

I also am trying very, very hard not to be a shopaholic. If I want something I will shop for it, research it, and then try and find the best deal. No more impulse purchases over 100 bucks, though I do have to check with my accountability partner if I want to spend over 30. I also recommend anyone who is clueless about insurance to take this class. I learned so much and I finally don't feel like an idiot when I try and make insurance decisions.

I guess what I am trying to get across is this way of life is not easy, it takes sacrifice and time that I am willing to spend if I never have to worry about money in the future.

FPU week 4

This week we talked about Dumping Debt and I tell you it was powerful. We talked about money myths and I had bought into most of them. Debt is a product not a privilege. Dave Ramsey talked about how we sit on bended knee begging lenders to sell us their "product". I never thought of it that way, we beg for the privilege to be in debt for the rest of our lives. I really can't do this lesson justice but a few things I took away from this lesson were credit cards are a product that I no longer want to buy, car payments are NOT a fact of life, and the borrower is the slave to the lender. This lesson seriously rocked my world, I wish everyone in my life could see the light I now see. It's quite freeing and very exciting.

FPU Week 3

I'm a little late on posting this but it was a crazy weekend. We totally blew our budget this weekend with camping and while I am still rationalizing it I feel guilty. This week is our new start. I am working on our zero-based based budget and while it's hard to spend every cent we have on paper before the month starts it's a real eye opener. I feel like I am in control for the first time, and that we are not drifting with our bank balance and hoping we stay out of the red. I am telling my money where to go and I will be checking to make sure it goes there. Every week I will be allocating our money to make sure the job is getting done. I have never thought of money like this before but like they say, when you fail to plan, you plan to fail. I am so grateful I am taking this class. I know this stuff is common sense but for some reason I never got it before now. This is more of that grown up stuff I have been hiding from, and I'm pretty happy I have faced this reality.

God Bless

Happy Birthday Sean

This is not going to be much about Sean but I wanted to wish him a happy birthday.

We went camping this past weekend and we had a blast. This is our first time camping without the couple who got us started on camping in the first place and it was perfect (not because they were not there). We were on primitive sites and I was really worried about that but I did not miss electricity one bit. We cooked over the fire, used flashlights and charged Tyler's portable DVD player in the car (we can't live with out that). I truly had a great time. I wish the bathrooms were closer though they do rate a high 8 on my scale for the best camp bathrooms. I think next time we may bring a portable toilet for the kids to use, since they have to pee every five seconds. LOL

So Sean got home on Friday and had to go back to work Monday night, so I felt like we were on borrowed time. Then today on the way home from camping I told Sean I was sorry for the crappy birthday and having to rush home so he could rush back to work. He said, with no sarcasm in his voice, that it was a wonderful birthday and he had a great weekend. I'm grateful that he and our whole family is so easy going and that we find joy in the little moments we spend together. Life is indeed to short to sweat the small stuff and I think we took a big step in that direction this week. I pray that we spend the rest of our lives enjoying the little wonders.

Camping weekend and other grown up stuff

Today is Friday and Tyler had his last day of preschool yesterday. Life marches on no matter how much I want the special moments to last. Sean got a job (yay) that takes him away from home five days a week (boo), but I'm really OK with it. Today as I am packing for our camping trip I realized how extra special this weekend is going to be. Not only because it's Sean's birthday on Monday but because when he leaves we wont see him for four days. So we are going to cherish our time together that much more. It is really hard to have him gone but man it gives you some perspective.
I am also marveling at Sean for leaving his home and his family to go off and make a living so I can stay here and maintain our life. I really don't think he knows how grateful and proud of him I am. That's what keeps me from being a wreck when he is gone. He is off doing this great deed and all I have to do is take care of our son, take care of our household and wait for him to come home. Thank you God for giving me this wonderful Man.

FPU week 2

This week we talked about relating with money and man it was a real eye opener for me. I so have an "I owe it to myself" problem. I rationalize spending to much money when I've had a bad day. I only deserve to have something if I have earned it. Having a bad day, getting into a fight with Sean, or dealing with illness is no excuse to spend money I don't have. Man it's hard to hear that. We also talked about how our spending impacts our children. If we don't teach our children to give and save no one will. I don't think about the fact that Tyler sees everything I do. He is going to learn all his life skills from us, I can't rely on school to do that for me.

These are all things I know but I have been tuning out my inner Dave Ramsey for my whole adult life. I do have to say that this sucks and I don't want to listen but I have to. I have to grow up and deal with this.

FPU

So today was my the first class of Financial peace university and I enjoyed the class and learned a lot but man I am stressing. With Sean on unemployment we have no money to work with and while I am trying to not stress and be upset it's hard. I wish I had my emergency fund built all ready. We would not be stressing right now. We would be saying...OK we have this covered and if Sean is laid off for six months, we have it covered. I am going to do this and implement this system in my life so this is the last time I ever have to deal with this anxiety.

I wanted to try out blogging via text message and also share my favorite bible verse. Matthew 6:27

Financial Peace University

Sean and I are starting Financial Peace University this Thursday and I am so ready to embrace this change. I have been trying to implement some of Dave Ramsey's techniques and I tell you it's all ready made a difference in my life.

FPU is a 13 week course that teaches you how to live debt free. I love that Dave Ramsey is a christian and uses biblical concepts to drive these messages home. So on my awareness kick I have realized that all the money problems I have had such anxiety over are not that big of a deal. I have had my head in the sand over our financial situation and that is no way to live. I have not even taken one class yet and I all ready feel like I can do this. I can get us out of debt and buy a house in two years. Then after we buy our own home we can think about growing our family. I pray this optimism last and I really do this. I want this so badly I can taste it, but I'm not a very driven person. OK, I was not a very driven person, I'm grown up now and I can be anything I want to be so I am a driven person and I can have anything I put my mind to. (lets hope that works).

grow up all ready

I finally feel like a grown up. For a very long time I have been remotely unaware of my impact on the world around me. Why should I be aware, I'm me, just a lowly nobody that no one notices. I sound pretty pathetic don't I? Well I am done with that, I am an important person who does impact my world and who is worthy of notice. I am also realizing that I deserve to be treated like someone who matters. I am not a door mat! I am not a door mat! I keep repeating this and try and take it into my heart and truly believe it. I have found a personal relationship with God and seeing myself through His eyes has given me some serious perspective.

I am blogging as I go through this process because I realized that this may be harder than I thought. While I have been living this new lifestyle for about a week I am realizing that when I try and stand up for myself I just come off as mean. I am really struggling with how to say no. My God, my family, and my church (which includes MOPS) come first. Not that I ever want to say no to someone who really needs me, but how do I figure that out? How do I do everything I want to do but also everything I need to do?