Financial Peace University

Monday, February 11, 2008 - Tina Lovett

Hey classmates! Well it's Monday morning and I'm happy to report that I'm STILL on the program after last night's start. :]

I thought I'd start this blog for our class. I have been surfing around on the FPU Community Forums on the Ramsey website this morning and found some posts that interested me -- particularly one about a person who was frustrated and struggling to get the $1000 emergency fund. She was flooded with ideas on how to raise money -- from ebay (which is part of my gameplan) and books on Amazon.com, to even suggestions to sell home baked goodies to co-workers.

There were others who said they were gonna just put their tax refund and the stimulus check towards it -- which I plan to do also. However, I think I am going to start immediately with some of the other ideas. For me, it's humbling and kinda makes me feel like I'm paying through "sweat equity" for the financial mistakes I've made. Secondly, I think if I work hard to earn the money I will be less likely to spend it and keep it only for emergencies!

I hope you all are able to use this forum to share ideas and successes. I'll see you all around the church and for sure next Sunday!

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4 comments (Add your own)

1. Tina Lovett wrote:: Here are the ideas I found on the FPU forum post I mentioned above:

1) Sell Candy Bars/treates to other co-workers
2) Aluminum Cans
3) Sell lunches to our co-workers as well
4) Garage Sales
5) Something for Valentine's Days (or Easter? gift
baskets?)
6) Consignment stores (clothing, musical instruments,
music, DVDs, etc.)
7) Ebay (just look around at stuff you don't want any
longer that's gently used -- could be clothes, DVDs -- particularly boxed sets -- CDs, stuff that don't
cost a lot to ship)
8) See if you can sub at kids' school (if you don't work)
9) Babysit
10) Amazon.com (books, CDs, DVDs, etc.)
11) Roll loose coins around the house (take them to
the bank and don't "pay" to have them rolled at
one of those machines!)
12) Lawncare / gardening for others

Here are a few posts I thought were interesting:

"I made excellent extra cash by making very good sandwiches, banana bread, muffins, and other homemade treats. I kept them at my desk in a lovely basket with a little price list."

"I was all excited that I rolled up $88 in loose change, but one of the other women in my FPU class beat me with $381. All that money was just laying around our houses!"

"Remember it is the tortoise that wins the race!"

"Look for ways to create more money....they are out there - sell some books on amazon.com or some stuff on ebay."

"The good news is while you are working on your EF you are also paying down debt and not creating new debt...so still heading in the right direction."

"I sold my boxed dvd sets (that I loved!) we sold so much. We lost everything in Katrina in 2005 and we still had stuff to sell!"
February 11, 2008 @ 10:57 AM
2. Scott Wood wrote:: In the spirit of the first class, I figured I would post something about establishing a fully funded emergency fund.

Many of you may realize that coming up with a $1000 can be difficult and where I agree with the things mentioned in the previous post, you just may have to take even more drastic measures. Not eating for a week or walking to work to save on gas to name a few. Just kidding.

Seriously, you may consider cutting back on some of the things around the house. Cutting cable, not going out to eat for the next couple of months, cutting back the phone service (long distance if you have a cell phone) and yes, have a garage sale. You may be thinking that cutting back on these little things won't get you to the $1000 much faster, and you may be right, but I've learned every dollar helps. Plus, when you begin to take these steps, it helps you move into Baby Step #2, the Debt Snowball.

You may be surprised that as you go through the class, you might find other ways to fund the EF. I know I found mine by canceling the wrong type of life insurance plan (Universal Life Policy with a cash value) and using the cash value by putting it in my EF.

That was the way I did it, how you get there will depend on your monthly budget and what your willing to give up.

Based on what I heard last night, everyone there seems to be willing to do what it takes. It also sounded like everyone made up their mind to make a change. Usually, that's the hard part, coming to the conclusion that you need to change. All you need to do now is act on it and you took that step last night.

Now, each week you're going to learn something new that will help you continue to make the change that you signed up for.

Good luck with the Quickie Budgets. See you on Sunday.
February 11, 2008 @ 4:51 PM
3. Chris Pennington wrote:: I just wanted to share a thought this morning. I listen to the Dave Ramsey show podcasts when I'm driving, so, I'm several weeks behind. I was listening to a show from a couple of weeks ago and a couple was calling in to announce that they were debt free. One of the woman's comments spoke to me and seems extra relevant to the lesson coming up this week. She said that now, thanks to the principles that they had learned, they have money talks, not money fights. I think that expresses at least one important aspect of Financial Peace.

I hope you all are doing well, see you Sunday!
February 13, 2008 @ 8:57 AM
4. Chris Pennington wrote:: Quote for the day:

The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don't define them or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing their adventure with them - Denis Watley

We are in the process of defining our goals and getting the tools and instructions needed to reach them!

I hope you all have a blessed week.

Chris
February 18, 2008 @ 9:46 AM

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