You NEED an Emergency Fund

This post is to show you that you MUST have an emergency fund if you want to get out and stay out of debt. Last night The Man was helping me with all my canning (sshhh...don't tell all his manly friends) and the stove started on fire! Thank God it was a small fire in one of the burners that stopped when we turned it off. After that-nothing-the thing is totally dead. The Man and I were talking about how a few years ago we would have been worried about how to buy a new one. We would have paid with credit and thought "of course we will pay it all off next month". Then the next month would have come around and we probably wouldn't be able to pay it all off. Hence, how we got into debt in the first place. It is so great to have money in the bank for emergencies like this one. If you want to become debt free, start with $1,000 in the bank for emergencies because I can guarantee you they will happen! That way you won't have to ever rely on credit again. After all, isn't it wonderful knowing YOU can take care of yourself?

We're DEBT FREE!!!

We're DEBT FREE!!!!! And it feels awesome!!! I don't think it will truly hit me until next month. Want to become debt free too? Find a Financial Peace class in your area to learn how.

As a debt free side note: In a poll of the Forbes 400 (the 400 wealthiest people in North America) 75% say the best way to become a millionaire is avoid debt.

1 More Day

1 More Day until we are DEBT FREEE!!!!!!(except our house)!!!!!

2 More Days

2 more days until we are DEBT FREE!!!

Christmas In August???

Yes, now is the perfect time to be preparing for Christmas, especially if you are on a tight budget. Actually, January is the perfect time to start thinking about Christmas so if you haven't already-you are behind! =) You don't need to spend a lot of money to show your family and friends that you care about them. In fact, I think homemade, personal gifts are often times more meaningful than something you can buy at a store.

Some Christmas Gifts we have made in the past are:
Homemade wine & Beer
Knitted scarves and hats
Handmade Cards
Candy & Cookies
Homemade Jam

With the exception of the candy and cookies, all the other ones are gifts you want to start making months in advance. All the wild berries right now are perfect for making jam, so I have been picking berries like a crazy woman. The Man and I had fun last night bottling our wine and it is nice to know that is already done.

I have this thing about always being done shopping and having all my gifts wrapped by the first of December so that I can take the month of December to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. Since we are on a very tight budget this year a lot of people on our Christmas list will be getting homemade gifts so it is imperative that I start planning for Christmas months in advance.

If your budget allows you may also want to start setting aside money each month for Christmas. We used to go all out and just put our Christmas gifts on our credit cards (and still be paying them off by Easter!) but now we are done with debit! We don't buy things on credit so that is not an option for us. Last year was the first year we did this and you know what? We had a wonderful Christmas! Not to mention we paid for it with CASH so we didn't have to worry about getting the bill. This year I encourage you to PLAN AHEAD and do not use credit to have a Merry Christmas. I promise it will be much happier.

What are you planning to have a debt free Christmas?

Cut Them Up!

If you ever want to win with money you MUST cut up your credit cards and be DONE with them. We got rid of ALL our credit cards 2 years ago and we will never have one again.
When people hear we don't have any credit cards I usually hear one of 2 responses:
How can you live without a credit card? Very well, actually. You don't need a credit card. Our debit card works for everything like booking hotels, renting cars, ect.
What about emergencies? That is why we have an emergency fund.
Many people also tell me "Oh, I pay off my credit card every month". First off, 70%of people don't pay off their balance every month. Second, studies show that if you pay with plastic you typically spend more than 40% more than you would with cash. Cash is harder to spend than cold hard cash.

Don't Buy Things You Can't Afford

Seriously....What is the best way to get out of debt and save? Stop buying things, especially if you can't pay cash for it. Check out this SNL skit-Don't Buy Things You Can't Afford. Funny, yet sadly many Americans haven't grasped this concept.

The Why's Behind Our Goals

When we started Financial Peace University 4 years ago we made some financial goals as a couple. If you haven't yet done this you really need to. There have been ups and downs through those years but our goals have helped us keep moving in the right direction.
It is also a great idea to write down WHY you have these goals. In our culture it is much easier to have debt than be debt free and saving money. You will not do this by accident, you have to be very intentional. When hard times come and you're tempted to do something you shouldn't do financially (go on vacation on your credit card, buy a new car, spend money that isn't in the budget ect..) it is good to know why you have chosen to live the way you do.
Here are my why's:

Our family has chosen to stay out of debt (except our house), be frugal, and save for the future because:

1. When we get to the retirement years we want to be able to actually retire and
never have to be a financial burden to our children.

2. We want to be able to give money to charities we think are making a postitive impact on the world.

3. I want to be able to stay at home as much a possible to raise my children while they are young.

4. We would rather be making interest on our money than paying it.

5. These are the financial values we want to instill in our children and you cannot teach something you yourself are not living.

6. We want to be good stewards of what God has entrusted to us.

7. Money problems are the number one reason couples divorce and we choose not to have that as an issue in our marriage.

I encourage you, if you haven't already, write down your financial goals but also write down WHY you want to do this. It will serve as a great motivator.

Debt

"Dept is Dumb...Cash is King......And the paid off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice" Dave Ramsey
I cannot say enough great things about Dave Ramsey and Financial Peace University. It has changed our lives and hopefully the lives of our children as we plan on teaching them all we have learned. I don't know about you but my parents didn't teach me much about budgeting, saving for retirement, mutual funds, life insurance, stock markets, and on and on. Using the tools we learned in FPU we have paid off about $50,000 in debt in the last 3 years, we are saving for retirement and hopefully in the next year or 2 we will be DEBT FREE (except for our house)!!! Even more awesome is my husband and I are completely on the same page about money. We have financial goals and are excited that we are actually going to meet them. If your interested in being debt free and wealth building check out Dave Ramsey's site (to the right) to find a class near you, he is also on the radio and finally has his own TV show. I know this probably sounds like a commercial or something but I promise I don't work for FPU and he doesn't teach any get rich quick garbage-it is just solid money management. I get so excited because it has changed our lives and I am passionate about helping other people who are struggling with money management.
"We give you the same advice your grandmother would, only we keep our teeth in"Dave Ramsey