Financial Peace University – My FPU Todo List
Over the past few months, my wife and I have attended Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University study at our church (of course you’ve breathlessly awaited each post I’ve done on our experiences!). During the process, I’ve been compiling a TODO list of all the things we need to tweak in our financial plan. Now that we are finished with the course, it’s time to put more effort into the actual implementation of the items on my list (I probably should have been working on them all along, but that’s water under the bridge now).
Thus, I will share my original list here and probably do some status updates as we work through it. If you have any comments, suggestions, questions, or just anything to share about any of the items on the list, please drop a comment (after you see the length of the list, you’ll realize that I need all the help I can get!).
Without further ado, here’s the list…
- Plastic surgery on some of our credit cards – we have a lot of credit cards (major credit cards, bank credit cards, retailer cards, etc) and we need to pare them down for piece of mind and ease of administration. Some we have not used in years, so it’s time for most of them to go!
- A cash trial – Ramsey preaches the power of cash throughout his course. We have never tried to use exclusively cash in all our years of marriage, so I suppose it is time to give it a faithful try and see how it works for us. Note: we have actually started this one.
- A workable budget spending plan – Especially with my wife not working for at least a few months, it’s time to get serious about creating a realistic and workable budget and then actually living by it and updating it each month. Note: we have actually created a rough budget but need to tweak it while my wife is off work for maternity leave/retirement.
- Periodically check our credit reports – Leveraging the free credit reports from the three major reporting bureaus, it is possible to view a free report every four months.
- Investigate identity theft protection – We currently have no ID theft protection coverage, so it’s time to investigate and probably purchase some.
- Investigate updating our life insurance – My wife and I currently are a few years into our 20-year term policies. Since having our fourth child, however, we need to evaluate whether that is still sufficient.
- 401(k) tweaks – I need to evaluate modifying my contribution to my 401k plan, specifically should I shift more of those contributions to the Roth 401k portion of the plan? I’d also like to up my overall contribution percentage but that is probably not feasible right now.
- Convert to a Roth IRA? – Is 2010 the year to convert my old rollover IRA to a Roth IRA? I’ll find out.
- Investigate increasing my college savings contribution – self-explanatory.
- Evaluate my current job – Is 2010 the year to change to a different job or even a different company. I’ll find out.
- Decide what to do, if anything, with our current mortgage – If my wife is no longer working, then our mortgage payment is a bit larger than I’d like it to be. But what to do about it? I need to evaluate whether it makes sense to refinance or move or stay put. This gets interesting due to the fact that we owe more money on our mortgage than zillow says our house is currently worth.
- Get title insurance – We did not purchase title insurance when we bought our current house, so I need to evaluate what it would take to get some now. Obviously, if any changes are made to our mortgage or housing situation, that will affect our plan of action for this item as well.
- Sell everything we don’t need – Getting rid of stuff, either by selling or donating it, is really a win-win! I love to end up with less clutter and putting a little extra money in your pocket is just icing on the cake.
So the easy part is done (creating the list), now it’s time to get to work on the hard part! As I mentioned, if you have any suggestions or comments or advice, please share – I’d appreciate the help.
Financial Peace University – Wrapup
Well, I am embarrassed that I am just now getting around to completing my Financial Peace University posts as the class has been finished for months! (productivity goes way down with a newborn around the house – especially when that newborn is your fourth!) Anyway, here I am so let’s get into it.
Did I learn anything?
I did, in fact, learn quite a bit over the past few months. Of course, I gained some new personal finance information. More importantly than that, though, I took away some new knowledge about myself and my wife. It was a great experience to participate in the class with her (this was the first time we’ve ever done any financial-type studies together). Not only did I learn about the way she thinks a bit, but the experience also sparked a number of practical conversations about our finances.
When we first were married, we used to “dream” about our futures and how they would unfold. As you get busy with jobs and then kids, the fantastic tends to be replaced by the concerns of daily life. Dreaming about and discussing what we wanted life to look like in 5 years, etc, was very valuable. Now, we’ve only scratched the surface on that and have a lot more to do, but I’m hoping that this was the match that rekindled it for us.
Weaning ourselves from credit cards
The biggest change that we’ve made as a result of this class was that we are trying to no longer use credit cards. For the past two months, we have been using a combination of cash and debit cards instead of credit. Whereas in the past, we put absolutely everything on our credit cards, now we put it on our debit card instead. Well, we do use actual cash for dining out – now that’s really easy to manage: if we don’t have any cash, then we don’t eat out. Practically, there isn’t much difference to using a debit card instead of a credit card, but we are still spending our money instead of exposing ourselves to credit limits and late charges. Dave Ramsey is adamant that using a debit card instead of a credit card makes a difference but the jury is still out on whether this makes a material difference for us specifically.
We have our TODO list
I created a list of items to look into that arose from taking this course and as I look back over that list, I’m struck by how large it is. I thought that we were doing things pretty well (personal finance-wise at least); either I wasn’t or there is just so much to take care of that it’s hard to completely nail everything. Either way, the class was quite beneficial in enabling me to create this list and I hope to be in a better place financially and personally as a result of working through the list. I was going to share the list here to create a record of it and to spark some discussion and suggestions, but I think I’ll have to save that for another post (check back soon).
You, yes you, should take this course
I found this course extremely enjoyable. Now, if you’re a normal person, maybe that’s not an endorsement you take seriously (you know, since I write a PF blog and read about these topics for fun in my spare time). So, to allay your concerns, allow me to mention that my wife enjoyed the classes as well (truthfully, she did!). She found Dave to be a very engaging speaker. It was fun to go to class and watch him on the DVDs.
The topics that are covered in FPU are myriad and varied. Whether you are struggling with getting out of debt, worried about creditors, trying to get started on the right track, or trying to get things in order as retirement looms, this class has information that you will find valuable.
That being said, Dave’s basic philosophy is based on simplicity. In a nutshell, save and invest your money instead of giving it away to banks and credit card companies. There is nothing too terribly complex about the advice. If you think that you are too sophisticated for this advice, you might not enjoy the class with its simple approach (of course, if that describes you, I’d argue that maybe you really, really need to hear some of the lessons!)
So, don’t be afraid; even if you’re not the “nerd” in your relationship, I’d venture that you’ll get a kick out of Dave. Go for the entertainment and you’ll probably learn a tremendous amount of finances and how to really win with money. Truthfully, if you can find a session going on near you, I highly recommend that you attend. If you are married or engaged, I’d highly recommend both or you attending the class together. Of course, you can take an online version of FPU, but you just can’t recreate the valuable discussion alone (I hope not, at least) and undoubtedly some of your classmates will serve as inspiration for you!
There you have it – I enjoyed FPU, was glad that I did it, was thrilled to complete it with my wife, and you should find a class and participate as soon as you can!
Check out my previous FPU posts:
- Introduction
- Lesson 1 – Super Saving
- Lesson 2 – Relating with Money
- Lesson 3 – Cash Flow Planning
- Lesson 4 – Dumping Debt
- Lesson 5 – Credit Sharks in Suits
- Lesson 6 – Buyer Beware
- Lesson 7 – Clause and Effect
- Lesson 8 – That’s Not Good Enough
- Lesson 9 – Of Mice and Mutual Funds
- Lesson 10 – From Fruition to Tuition
- Lesson 11 – Working in Your Strengths
- Lesson 12 – Real Estate and Mortgages
- Lesson 13 – The Great Misunderstanding
Weekly Bible Verse – God is the source of Wealth
I have riches and honor, as well as enduring wealth and justice. My gifts are better than gold, even the purest gold, my wages better than sterling silver! I walk in righteousness, in paths of justice. Those who love me inherit wealth. I will fill their treasuries. Proverbs 8:18-21 (NLT)
I spend a significant amount of time here discussing money, topics such as how to get it, how to keep it, how best to use it, and so on (this is a personal finance blog after all!). This week’s Bible verse refocuses us on the true source of all of this wealth that I and so many other people devote countless hours to.
God possesses not only riches, but also honor, not only wealth, but also justice. His gifts are ever better than the purest gold and sterling silver. Personally, I like the sound of all of that. So, let’s keep reading and see that “those who love” God will inherit this wealth from Him. In fact, he will fill your treasuries. Remember, God created and owns everything, if you decides to fill your treasuries, you won’t be able to contain all of His blessings!
Now maybe this isn’t specifically speaking of wealth as in money. Certainly, you might read “enduring wealth” as not being money since wealth is so fleeting. Whatever He is speaking of in this passage, however, it is good and I want some of it! Enduring wealth, justice, and gifts that are better than gold – I would definitely love to inherit that (wouldn’t you?). Whether this is a strictly monetary blessing or something different (better?), focus on God, love God, worship God, serve God so that you can inherit what He has in store for you. And whether that is a big pile of money to use for His Kingdom or a contented spirit such that you are just completely satisfied and happy with your life, it will be enduring and it will be good!
God bless and have a great week…
Weekly Bible Verse – Being Truly Rich
Do you want to be truly rich? You already are if you are happy and good. After all, we didn’t bring any money with us when we came into the world, and we can’t carry away a single penny when we die. So we should be well satisfied without money if we have enough food and clothing. 1 Timothy 6:6-8 (LB)
I thought of the meaning of being “truly rich” often this past weekend as I drove to North Carolina with a college friend for the visitation of another college friend who died suddenly and quite unexpectedly last week. Now I may be old but I am certainly not old enough that my friends should be passing away from cardiac problems! My friend was a wonderful woman who leaves behind a husband, a three-year old, and a two-week old baby!
Times like this, of course, force you to reflect on your own life. I spend a lot of time thinking about, reading about, and talking about money and finances. So, naturally, when I reflect on life, I think of concepts like being “truly rich” as this verse in Timothy explains. You are truly rich if you are happy and good. In other versions, the word “contentment” is used. If you are content with what you have (be it a little or a lot), if you are happy with your family and friends, then you are rich!
I was reminded again this past weekend that life is short and that you should never take anything for granted. I urge you this week (and this is a reminder for me as well) to focus on what is really important in life. As it says above, you “can’t carry away a single penny when you die,” so spend your time working for the things that endure – namely kingdom works, relationships, memories, and the like. Maybe we should focus a little more on being truly rich and a little less on being monetarily rich as we go forward.
God bless and have a great week..
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