Living like no one else...

Last night was the last class of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University at our church, River Cross Church.  Chris and I started the class as a couple in June because we wanted to start off our marriage with a Biblical outlook on how we should manage our money.  We had to miss a few weeks in the middle (with the wedding and honeymoon!), but last night we finished the video series.  They are great and provide us both with a sense of hope! 

For those of you who don't know much about Dave Ramsey's FPU class, he developed a seven step process to financial peace.

     1.  $1,000 in an emergency fund ($500 if your income is under $20,000 per year)
     2.  Pay off all debt except the house utilizing the debt snowball
     3.  Three to six months expenses in savings
     4.  Invest 15% of your household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement plans
     5.  College funding
     6.  Pay off your home early
     7.  Build wealth and give!

Last night our lesson was on the last step, building wealth and giving.  It was my favorite class by far - the previous weeks focused on the steps to handling finances, but this last lesson focused more on the spiritual aspects. We are only MANAGERS of our money, not owners.  God provides for us financially, but it is ALL His and we are just managing it.  It is so hard for us as people to not hold onto our money once we get it - we work hard and deserve it, right?!  But it's not ours!  Giving moves us to become less selfish, and less selfish people have more of a tendency to prosper in relationships and in wealth.  In addition, because we are designed in God's image, we are the happiest and most fulfilled when serving and giving.  Something that Dave Ramsey kept saying was, "you can't lose by giving".  Wow. 

They shared a few stories of acts of generosity throughout the video.  One in particular was about a young family with 2 kids who had gone through the FPU class at their church, and were in step 2, getting rid of debt.  One day around town, they ran into a couple from their church who they didn't really know, more just recognized their faces, but still stopped to say hello to the couple.  In their conversation, they got on the topic of Dave Ramsey, and the family told the couple that they had about $10,000 in debt left to pay off.  The couple asked them what they were going to do once they became debt free, and the father said he promised his kids a trampoline, but they really wanted to adopt.  The next day, a trampoline was delivered to the family's home!  They were shocked!  The couple called the family and said that they would like to stop by and talk to them about something - of course the young family was really hesitant and instantly thought they were falling for a scam, but they finally agreed to meeting with them.  The next day the couple stopped by the family's home,and after a few minutes of small talk, the couple said that they wanted to write the young family a check for $10,000 to pay off their debt so that they can begin the adoption process!  WOW!   How awesome is that?!  That's my ultimate goal - to be able to bless those around me.

I would encourage anyone reading the post to look into taking his class.  We learned SO much and have set up a plan to have financial freedom.  We still have a ways to go, but we have so much more hope and can see the light!  One of the most awesome things about this is that once you buy the membership kit, you are lifelong members and can take the class as many times as you want, and have complete access to TONS of online resources.  Dave Ramsey's motto is that if right now you live like no one else, later you can LIVE like no one else!  Chris and I love that concept - the sacrifices we have to make now (living like no one else), will result in more financial freedom and the ability to truly live without guilt.  I would love to talk with any of you about this if you have any questions :)

I am off to clean the apartment!  I have family coming into town tomorrow for the football game - lots of work to get done!  GATOR FOOTBALL in less than 2 days!!!