Financial Peace

[JL Rockies]

I know some of you follow Dave Ramsey's teachings; I really only became aware of him in 2010 after I could afford to renew my Sirius subscription and started listening to terrestrial radio again.

Pre-2008, I was pretty much doing everything he talks about. In fact, in 2007, I was reinvesting 80% of my income and had no debt.

Then 2008 came and my interests were hit hard; I lost my job and left UT. In an effort to make a comeback, I risked most of everything in a business venture that brought me back to UT in 2009. I was counting on the economy turning around; I was wrong and it turned into a disaster. Most of my living expenses from 2009 ended up on a credit card.

I am happy to say that as of today, I've paid off all of my debt! I've no mortgage, no car payment and no credit card bills. Debt can strip your will to live. I encourage everyone to listen to his show on your drive home and find a way to fit it into your life. Have an excellent 2014.



Kooler than Mudd.

 

[rockreligious]

Very Good, I used Daves' teachings pre 2008 and got our household debt free but the house, but I too have had a struggling business, we are now working on getting the busisness out of debt. Congrats on your sucess.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Congrats, that's quite different from the average american's $10k in credit card debt. I can't wait 'till my house is paid off and I'm 100% debt free.

 

[Tacoma]

Well that's good to hear, Joseph. The "debt snowball" is a very useful concept. I had all my bills paid off and I am looking forward to that again sometime this year.

 

[Kevin B.]

We're snowballing. Way behind schedule, but we're getting there.

 

[N-Smooth]

I have a CC balance for the first time in my life due to not having a job for the last few months. It's not very much but it still makes me wonder how people average $10k in CC debt... It's just dumb

 

[Kevin B.]

I have a CC balance for the first time in my life due to not having a job for the last few months. It's not very much but it still makes me wonder how people average $10k in CC debt... It's just dumb

And that's average. And doesn't count the too-much-house or too-expensive-car they financed, either. It is dumb, but if you weren't raised to understand the peril of too much debt, it's an easy trap to fall into. Gotta keep up with the Joneses.

 

[SAMI]

We're on step 2, debt snowball. DR opened my eyes right about the same time we were having our baby (first kid, 1y/o). Assessing our situation and how to fix it asap resulted in selling the house, moved in with her parents, changed jobs (for better security), sell cars to consolidate payments and buy lesser expensive car with cash.. Our goal is to be debt free this year, then save for whatever our next stage is; down payment on house, move, etc. The urge to change was ultimately spurred by having the baby and wanting the very best situation for he baby.

We've paid off about $25k in the last year and have other $14k to go. We're getting there; I work 3 jobs and she runs her dance studio.

 

[Hickey]

Way to go JL. We are currently snowballing. Paid off student loans last month, $5k CC paid off this week. Lots more to go, but we've got some serious momentum.

 

[glockman]

My wife and I went through Financial Peace about 2007 and it saved our marriage, literally. His way of budgeting (and his segment about the nerd and the free spirit) ended all arguments we use to have. Spending every dollar on paper on purpose really is like getting a raise.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

 

[JL Rockies]

My credit card balance was $11k in 2009 and it stayed there until 2013. The minimum payment was $400 and the monthly interest was $235. The problem was, I'd make the payment but then have to use the card to get gas in the tank. It was a vicious cycle.

I now can put $ aside for the JL Rockies expo Invitational coming to UT in October. It will be epic.


Kooler than Mudd.

 

[UNSTUCK]

My wife and I took the course last August. I had no idea who he was up till then. We also hit rock bottom in 2008. A full year on CCs. It took up till a few months ago and a BK to get fully back on track. We now have the rest of our debt payed off. We have a full emergency fund, which is the best thing ever. We are now starting to save for the car we plan on buying a few years from now, with cash. We just purchased a house and pay each week on it automatically. It is helping to pay it off much faster.
Budgeting is kind of hard. On paper we spend every dime, so we feel poor. Stuff always comes up and we have to decide which envelope to pull cash from to pay for it. I do like looking at my bank statement though and only seeing a few lines of debt card purchases, instead of a thousand before. Paying everything with cash really helps.

 

[skippy]

I have never owned a credit card before. When I started my new Job I had the opportunity to work unlimited amounts of over time, I decided then I was going to work 60-65 hour weeks until everything was paid off. We owed money on my wifes JK and my Tow rig a combined total of about 25k at the time. After about 8 months of working my ass into the ground and getting burnt out on work I am glad to say I owe money on just my house. Its nice to not have to stress about my wife going shopping or how I am going to afford my new buggy build

With all this being said I have never heard of Dave Ramsey.... Its common sense that debt is bad....I thought

 

[MattL]

Here is my perspective on Dave. Dave can be a North star. He is like Dr. Laura on money. Not everything that he says is absolute for everybody but the whole direction is nothing but common sense and truth. Me and the wife listened to him to help us get out of debt. We listened to him about 6 years ago and it was just background driving noise. We would comment on the scenarios that callers would plead with him about for help. One day it hit me. A lady called in and had similar debt and similar income. She had gotten out of debt in some crazy amount of time. I said to the wife we could do that. She looked at me and said no we couldn't. A day later she came to me and we talked about it after. It took us just about 3 years to pay everything off including the house. We don't live high on the hog. She is now a stay at home mom and I am a sole provider. That part hurt the worse, going from two incomes to just one. The term eating beans and rice is true when your trying to accomplish this. We also used the envelope system and paid cash for everything except for the gas fill ups.

The pain of watching friend and families buy new things is hard. But when it comes down to it, they don't own anything unlike we do. Everything that we have is paid for, the house, cabin, cars, bikes, etc.

I think the biggest thing that is a eye opener is families. Today's families are so split because of money and trying to keep up with the Jone's. Because of our choices, we live comfortably, my son has a mom that is able to stay at home and our lives are not run by the bill collector but by us and our common sense.

One of the fun things during this adventure was listening on Friday nights when people would call in with the count downs. I cant tell you how many times my wife has gotten emotional because we have said the same exact words. Anybody can do this, it just takes a lot of dedication.

Its a truly nice feeling. It really can be financial peace.

 

[skippy]

Here is my perspective on Dave. Dave can be a North star. He is like Dr. Laura on money. Not everything that he says is absolute for everybody but the whole direction is nothing but common sense and truth. Me and the wife listened to him to help us get out of debt. We listened to him about 6 years ago and it was just background driving noise. We would comment on the scenarios that callers would plead with him about for help. One day it hit me. A lady called in and had similar debt and similar income. She had gotten out of debt in some crazy amount of time. I said to the wife we could do that. She looked at me and said no we couldn't. A day later she came to me and we talked about it after. It took us just about 3 years to pay everything off including the house. We don't live high on the hog. She is now a stay at home mom and I am a sole provider. That part hurt the worse, going from two incomes to just one. The term eating beans and rice is true when your trying to accomplish this. We also used the envelope system and paid cash for everything except for the gas fill ups.

The pain of watching friend and families buy new things is hard. But when it comes down to it, they don't own anything unlike we do. Everything that we have is paid for, the house, cabin, cars, bikes, etc.

I think the biggest thing that is a eye opener is families. Today's families are so split because of money and trying to keep up with the Jone's. Because of our choices, we live comfortably, my son has a mom that is able to stay at home and our lives are not run by the bill collector but by us and our common sense.

One of the fun things during this adventure was listening on Friday nights when people would call in with the count downs. I cant tell you how many times my wife has gotten emotional because we have said the same exact words. Anybody can do this, it just takes a lot of dedication.

Its a truly nice feeling. It really can be financial peace.

I agree, my wife quit her job 3.5 years ago to stay home with our daughter and cutting that 55k out of our budget was extremely hard. I only wish we had the dedication to start saving when that money was rolling in, but instead we spent it on shit we didnt need. lol

For me and my wife we kind of save and pay stuff off in spurts, we will buckle down for 6-10 months and save a buttload and then spend the next 2-3 months playing and not saving anything. I realize this isnt the smartest way but it helps us see why we save the money and not get burnt out on the concept. We look at it as a reward for ourselves for doing so good the last 6-10 months.

 

[Stephen]

I just paid attention to my economics class in college. Radio is for music.

 

[skippy]

I just paid attention to my economics class in college. Radio is for music.

I didnt go to College and I am still smart enough to know how to budget money .......

 

[Troop92]

I am happy to say that as of today, I've paid off all of my debt! I've no mortgage, no car payment and no credit card bills. Debt can strip your will to live. I encourage everyone to listen to his show on your drive home and find a way to fit it into your life. Have an excellent 2014.

Congrats, that's awesome. By the time Baby Boy comes in April, we'll have nothing but our mortgage, which is modest. It's a great feeling.

 

[rockdog]

You guys make way more money than I ever have. Hell, I've never made $55,000, let alone my wife.

 

[MattL]

It can be done with out making 55k.