Dave Ramsey - Live Event

Houston Texans were happy to fill the Reliant Arena today to see Dave Ramsey Live. The Woodlands church had 300 members come out to see the show. That was amazing! It's no secret that I am a fan. It's no secret that our family is WEIRD and debt free except for the house. No credit card payments, no loans of ANY kind and best of all no car payments! When we finally got to that place it was "weird." There was this feeling of, shouldn't our money be going to all these different lenders? It took a few months to adjust, honestly.

The burden is gone. Our service to others is to share Financial Peace University because of the impact it has made on our lives. Some times people will get excited about the steps but because it takes a while to work the plan they give up. It reminds me a lot of fad diets and exercise. People get on a health kick but if they don't see the results quick enough they quit. Maybe it's just a mental process. You have to be willing to do the work for as long as it takes. The speed is up to you!

Although the show is a hefty 5 hours long it is well worth it to see Dave live! He is a great motivator. As a coordinator of the FPU class my husband and I have heard most of this before several times. It's the energy of the people who haven't heard it yet that gets us excited again. After all we aren't to the 7th step yet. We are still working the steps as of September 2009. It's been 2 years and we are still staying in the game until we finish ALL the steps.

Because it is a long show you have to provide some refreshments for the audience. One bottled water was $4.25! People were refilling their bottles at the water fountain. You have thousands of people trying to manage their money yet the arena charges ridiculous amounts for food and drink. That was a HUGE topic of conversation among the audience.

Even though it was packed we still had 4 tickets we could have given away. We were unable to find the last of the four takers but we did find 6! It is my hope that those 6 people will change their families forever. It's a process but it can and has been done. Regardless of what people may think of Dave Ramsey and those that follow his plan it WORKS! Simple as that.



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Debt Free - Part 2

Now that we are debt free, all but the house, we teach and spread the word of Dave Ramsey in our local church. Our Financial Peace University class is starting in September. As facilitators we were invited to a luncheon hosted at Tallowood Baptist Church. Big B's Bar B-Q catered the event. It was fabulous! Sliced beef brisket, bbq chicken, seasoned green beans, baked beans, potato salad, dinner rolls, peach cobbler, bottled water, sweet tea and coffee were served. YUMMY!!!!!!!!

It turns out Dave is coming to Houston 10-08-2011 to the Reliant Arena. Yes, we bought tickets. It's always great to have a refresher and Dave Ramsey has a lot of passion about what he does. When I last left you in February we were going to try to call on a Friday but we never did make it. My husband went out of town and we just never made it. Maybe we can tell him in person when we go to the show.

Here are some follow up answers to some things that I have been asked since becoming debt free.

1.) Do we still use the envelopes? YES! Every single month we still have a budget meeting and we use the cash. We plan better for the birthdays, holidays, taxes and big things that are waiting for us around the corner.

2.) What's it like to be debt free? It's WEIRD. I have to be honest. We really want to pay our house off. We want to owe NOTHING!

3.) Are we able to give more? YES! We are but we give carefully. With some people you can't manage money problems with more money. It's important to understand the entire process or you will end up right back where you were before you got out of debt.

4.) Can you sign up for the class again? YES! Once you have taken the class you are a life time member. Go back for a refresher at any time. Even if you need a little boost or some group support.

I have heard some people say that they have tried Ramsey and just couldn't live off of cash. They had to use their debit cards. OK - everyone is different but being out of debt is the best solution.

The world is NOT set up for cash. It does work but if you take a look at your medical system or your local stores they just aren't equipped to deal with cash. Just because you pay with cash it doesn't mean you are poor! Just saying. We get that a lot at the doctor's office. We get cash discounts! It's true.

Do we still fight about money? YES but not in a bad way. We just argue about what to do with the LEFT OVER money each month. That is totally different!

We still have our bag of cut up credit cards handy. We will never forget what it was like in September of 2009. We honestly look at each other and wonder how we ever made it! If you have any questions at all please feel free to ask me!

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Debt Free

Every "Ramsonite" knows Baker Street as the "debt free" theme song. I've heard it about 700+ times since September 14, 2009. Today is the day we are officially free of consumer debt. It's what every follower of the "Baby Steps" dream of! Just getting through Step 2 "The Debt Snowball" can take up to three years. We are finally putting ours to rest after 17 months and 12 days!

We can finally breath and it feels really good. Honestly, there is a part of me that feels like it's a dream. We've been at this for so long and now we are free of it. What's next? We move on to the next step.

We will continue to do our monthly budgets, live on cash and never return to the land of credit cards ever again!

This is our mound of plastic. We really should get together and create some sort of molded monster out of it. Credit cards are not security folks! Just how much did we pay off? My husband has not given me the ok to blog about it but let's just say it was enough to make any sane person curl up in a ball and hide.

Now we will try to call Dave on Friday and let him know how much his plan has helped our family. It was NOT easy to stay the course but we did it. The plan works when you are BOTH on board and it takes sacrifice from both of you. You have to work it together to see the success. If you are thinking about taking a Financial Peace University class, take it! If you are reading Dave Ramsey's books follow the plan! Do not delay, you don't want to hold up your progress. Go ahead and "GET WEIRD!" live "Debt Free!"  Good Luck.



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Flash Back Friday #66 - Normal Is Broke...Be Weird

Today I'm flashing back to my introduction to Dave Ramsey. It's been about 4 weeks maybe more since we have been introduced to Dave Ramsey at our church. We've been taking the Financial Peace University 13 week course. It's been a real eye opener. We also listen to his talk show at home online. I do like his methods but when I hear it daily and everyone screaming how they are debt free, it causes me to stress out more. Last night I had to ask my husband to "please turn it off." My stomach has been turning for days. I would recommend the course to everyone. Our particular situation is not normal and that is what makes my stomach turn, not Dave Ramsey. Some days it's just a constant reminder and I just want out of debt. I would be fine not buying another single thing outside the 4 walls (transportation, shelter, food and clothing). Especially after having that garage sale last weekend. What are you flashing back to today?



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Money - Tips

		$1,000 to start an Emergency Fund
		Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball
		3 to 6 months of expenses in savings
		Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement
		College funding for children
		Pay off home early
		Build wealth and give! Invest in mutual funds and real estate

Before you go, don't forget to link up! I'm sure we are in some of the same circles. Have a look around the side bars and don't forget to check the "Add Me" tab.