The other day I glanced on the fridge (where we proudly have our completion certificate) and realized it has been one year since we have graduated from Financial Peace University. One year already.
When we first started our journey on Financial Peace and decided to learn all about Dave Ramsey’s method for handling money we told you all about it. We walked through the nine week FPU class with you, sharing the information we learned along the way. If you missed any of that information you can find all our previous FPU posts on our website.
A year has passed and Jim and I spent a little time reflecting on just how our lives have changed. We’ve always been fairly smart with money, but there have been times in our marriage where we made dumb decisions (sometimes really really dumb decisions). We were normal, we had credit card debit and car loans and a mortgage and we liked to go out to eat often. Does this sound familiar to you? If so, you are not alone. You are normal.
We had heard about Dave Ramsey’s FPU and it intrigued us. We loved the idea of being intentional with our money and working towards the goal of being debt free. Signing up for the class was a huge step because it is a nine week commitment. If you are on the fence about taking the class, I urge you to do it. You will not regret it!
Like I mentioned, you can read all about our journey through FPU, but today we wanted to give you an update on how FPU changed our lives.
Since starting Financial Peace University, this is the progress we have made:
- We budget every single month, telling every dollar where to go. We set aside money for bills (obviously) and for fun things too like entertainment, eating out and fun money that we spend on whatever we want. (I tend to hoard mine, and save it up. Just last week I splurged on a $209 Silhouette Cameo 3 bundle on Amazon! It felt so nice to buy that and have the money already set aside to pay for it.).
- We paid off 2 family loans
- We paid off our vehicle loan
*The above two items mean we are now 100% debt free except for our home…that put us on baby step 3 of the plan
- We refinanced our mortgage to a 15 year fixed rate using Churchill Mortgage (I can not recommend them enough – they are fabulous!)
- We stopped the monthly payment plans for our auto insurance and our house insurance and paid the policies in full for the year. This saved us well over $300 total per year. (We still include these items on our monthly budget. We took the total bill and divided it by 12; that amount goes into the “insurance” envelope every month so when the bill rolls around the cash is set aside to pay it).
- We have 6 months savings set aside for an emergency fund. That means if for any reason we were out of work we would be able to survive for 6 months without worry. Having experienced breast cancer we are well aware of how life can turn on a dime. You never know what is around the corner. (This is baby step 4).
- We began investing 15% of our income into our retirement plans. Years before we had been making regular deposits into our retirement accounts but then stupid happened. Yes, dumb decisions, a lack of budgeting and a lack of money caused us to stop contributing. This is baby step 5 of the plan.
- We stopped overspending. For example if the allocated amount for eating out has been spent for the month, we don’t eat out.
- We meal plan more. Since we are on a tight grocery budget I try and plan out at least 3-4 meals for the week (the other nights we end up having a sandwich or leftovers).
- We hustle harder. We want to be debt free and have set a lofty goal of having that accomplished in 5 years or less. That means paying off our 15 year mortgage in 5 years (or less). In 10 of the past 12 months we have paid extra on our mortgage principal. We even created a simple chart so we can mark off our progress as we move along. That chart has a spot on the fridge too, right next to our FPU certificate.
- We don’t dwell on money. That may seem contradictory to you, after looking at all the changes spelled out above. What we mean is that we are content, we know we are following a set plan and if we stick to that plan, we will succeed. The panic about money is gone. The scrambling to pay a bill when it comes due is gone (because we budget for everything). We have fun, we go places, we do things. The best part is that we use cash. CASH. Never, ever will we be in debt again.
In summary
This class, this plan, this system has changed us forever. Our marriage is stronger and our communication is better, especially concerning money.
Is FPU for you? Without hesitation I would say yes. What do you have to loose?
To learn more about Financial Peace University, check out DaveRamsey.com. You can also listen to Dave’s daily talk show for free. He’s on YouTube too, where you can watch people who traveled to do their Debt Free Scream in person. That will be us one day, guaranteed!
