Friday, April 23, 2010
Save the Date
Soooo my future sister-in-law is super creative and does all this awesome business w pics and she made my brother n her save the dates and i loved it so much i asked how she went about it and then i messed around for a while on this website called picnik and this is wat i came up w! Not sure if we're def gona use this for the save the date cuz we havnt printed it out to see how it looks in print form so we'll see! so far this is wat we got!
Dave Ramsey's Day One: Super Saving!!
So today (well...technically yesterday now that it's officially Friday...) was our day one of our newest adventure: Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University!! I (the plan-lovin, organization crazed, information-nerd) was SO excited walking into the class. Believe it or not, money is an integral component of life..(i know...it's a deep revelation that just came to me in my sleep...im so happy to be sharing this BREAKING news with u lol). Being that money is so dag-gone important i figure im better off knowing how to handle it so i dont end up gettin handled by money ya feels me? I've always been the type to research things on my own...especially things that will bring me peace/security/freedom...im all about feelin free and one of the biggest causes of bondage is the greenery...the plasticry..that moo-lah-lah! SO, realizing this, i refuse to let money ever be a matter of distress/worry/bondage..and i ESPECIALLY dont ever want money to become a stressor in my marriage/family life...too many marriages are destroyed over finances (whether it's a lack of, disagreement over, etc) and our marriage will not be one of them.
Day one of FPU (financial peace university) is titled "Super Saving" and focuses on saving being a *PRIORITY* . Reese and I both are savers to begin with so saving shouldn't be THAT difficult for us...especially now when we dont have very many additional expenses (mortage, kids, etc). I think we're unbelievably fortunate that we are learning about saving and creating a strong financial foundation NOW (while we really have nothing) because then when we eventually both have good paying jobs and have more expenses and the such we will already have a strong foundation to build on. I, yet again, see God workin in our lives particularly regarding this financial business. Reese still hasnt landed a job (my heart just pours for those with families to support who cant find a job cuz MAN its a tough world out there), and since it's just my income we have grown accustom to living off of just the one paycheck and while sometimes we'd love a new car or to go out to eat more (etc etc) we are forced to find fun in other, less expensive, activities, and we are learning to just be content with what we have...now dont get me wrong...we still aspire to have a house one day and bring in more income, go on vaca's yada-yada-yada, but we are HAPPY with how we are now...and we are continuously forced to live within our means...and i really think that God is setting us up with a strong financial foundation for the rest of our lives...not to mention, i think it's easier to learn how to manage finances when you have very little to begin with bc your forced to prioritize.
WoW...im more tired then i thought id be...i feel like i just typed a whole paragraph and im not even sure if i made any sense...im not even sure wat i just typed to be honest...its like when ur reading a book, get to the bottom of the page, and then realize you have NO IDEA what you just read.. I just got so much goin thru my head i wanna say yet my brain isnt keepin up very well sooooooo yeah. I'll start typin using bullet points to try and keep me more focused
*Emergency fund:
So we are encouraged to save for three basic reasons: emergency fund, purchases, and wealth building. Reese and I are both excited about all of this...him more so because he has never had a credit card and has only paid for things in cash his whole life (which has its goods and bads to it...but for the most part pretty good cuz a) the man has only small debt due to school loans and b) he obviously knows how to live within his means and only buys things he KNOWS he can pay for) I'm more so excited bc saving sounds so secure and FREE to me! How nice it will be when something (insert: LIFE) happens and we will already have money stored away to help pay for those GUARANTEED pop-up expenses...life plain and simply happens...and i find so much freedom in knowing that we will have money stored just for those life incidences. No need to stress over how we're gona pay for it...we will have self-created insurance. That makes my whole body just say "Aaaaahhhh" (the relaxing "aahhh"...not scared "aahh!!" lol). Later on today we are going to take that first step to creating our emergency fund. I'm excited about it already!
*Living within our means:
As stated earlier, we are told to save for purchases as well. What a concept right? I wonder what our society would look like if we honestly lived within our means AND were thankful for whatever that "means" might look like. One thing i know for sure is there'd be a whole lot less greed, a lot more gratitude, and FREEDOM! There'd prolly also be a lot of frustration at first, too just cuz it would be such a transformation for so many to have to stop buying the things we always have even when all along we never really could afford it. Nobody ever said the road would be easy, right? All worth it in the end tho...well atleast one would hope lol
I, personally, think that when you really live within your means your purchases become a) more valuable bc u realize u cant just buy anything that makes ur eyes go googly so when u actually DO buy something you KNOW it's important and b) more rewarding! What a great feeling it will be to have bought something you've saved up for and then pay for it upfront! You've reached your goal! EUREKA!! haha. And then obviously it will feel good not having a dark cloud of rainy dreary DEBT hanging above our heads!
*Wealth building:
I really love this reason to save for more than one reason.
#1 I, as crazy as it may sound, want to retire one day and not have to continue to work to stay above water. Now...i enjoy working and being active so im always going to be doing SOMETHING, but i dont want to be working at age 70 bc i HAVE to in order to put food in the belly.
#2 I think it's just a responsible thing to do and a great way to maintain peace of mind knowing we've been takin the steps to live comfortably after retirement
#3 I want to start building wealth in our future little ones' funds
#4 I want to save money to build into causes i support...there's going to be a whole discussion on giving back later on in the course but i think it ties in already...we want to build wealth so we can give it away...money does what u want it to do...it can control u...stress u out...define u...support u..help others...etc. Dave Ramsey states " money requires you to take the initiative to control it"...WE do with money what we CHOOSE to do with money...its all about personal choice (so much for blaming others for ur financial situation lol)...a personal choice i want to make is to not hoard it. I am EXTREMELY frugal and for the most part that's been a good thing for me..but i dont ever want to be SO focused on saving that i forget to SHARE it...both on myself/my family AND others. The Bible emphasizes tithing...maurice and i really want to be doing more of this. Our church does SO much for SO many and we want to be contributers to all the things our church community is doing for the kingdom of God (yes we can do things for others without the exchange of any money BUT theres so much that can further be done to reach out to and build into others that require a little cold hard cash)...Also, i want to know that we can help out friends/family if the need might arise...money is not just for the taking and keeping...it comes and goes...and should continue to come and go
Some of the charts/numbers that were displayed were staggering too! It's crazy how with education and discipline we really can grow wealth! One example was that if a 19yr old put away $2000 a year at 12% for only 8 years and then quite putting money in that account but didnt touch the money and just let it continue to grow til he was 65 he'd have $2,288,996 in that account! So $16,000 turned into $2,288,996 with a little education on investing and discipline to put away $2000 a year (thats only $167 a month folks) by the time this kid turned 65! CRAZY! EMPOWERING!!
The scripture that went along with the discussion of disciple was Hebrews 12:11 "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of rightesouness and peace for those who have been trained by it".
Needless to say, reese and i walked out of the class both so excited about the class and those to come and the resultant peace we will hopefully have for years to come attributed to what we are learning and disciplinin ourselves on now. Another great bonus is, unbeknownst to us, a few of our friends are takin the class, too! Reese's "other parents" were there (whom i have grown to love as well...very easy to love people) and then of his high school buddies and his gf were there too! Lookin forward to more weeks with them...and more empowerment from good ol Dave Ramsey!
p.s. its only been the first day and i ALREADY recommend this to EVERYONE whether you're in debt, already doin ok financially, young, old, whoever! So check it out!
Day one of FPU (financial peace university) is titled "Super Saving" and focuses on saving being a *PRIORITY* . Reese and I both are savers to begin with so saving shouldn't be THAT difficult for us...especially now when we dont have very many additional expenses (mortage, kids, etc). I think we're unbelievably fortunate that we are learning about saving and creating a strong financial foundation NOW (while we really have nothing) because then when we eventually both have good paying jobs and have more expenses and the such we will already have a strong foundation to build on. I, yet again, see God workin in our lives particularly regarding this financial business. Reese still hasnt landed a job (my heart just pours for those with families to support who cant find a job cuz MAN its a tough world out there), and since it's just my income we have grown accustom to living off of just the one paycheck and while sometimes we'd love a new car or to go out to eat more (etc etc) we are forced to find fun in other, less expensive, activities, and we are learning to just be content with what we have...now dont get me wrong...we still aspire to have a house one day and bring in more income, go on vaca's yada-yada-yada, but we are HAPPY with how we are now...and we are continuously forced to live within our means...and i really think that God is setting us up with a strong financial foundation for the rest of our lives...not to mention, i think it's easier to learn how to manage finances when you have very little to begin with bc your forced to prioritize.
WoW...im more tired then i thought id be...i feel like i just typed a whole paragraph and im not even sure if i made any sense...im not even sure wat i just typed to be honest...its like when ur reading a book, get to the bottom of the page, and then realize you have NO IDEA what you just read.. I just got so much goin thru my head i wanna say yet my brain isnt keepin up very well sooooooo yeah. I'll start typin using bullet points to try and keep me more focused
*Emergency fund:
So we are encouraged to save for three basic reasons: emergency fund, purchases, and wealth building. Reese and I are both excited about all of this...him more so because he has never had a credit card and has only paid for things in cash his whole life (which has its goods and bads to it...but for the most part pretty good cuz a) the man has only small debt due to school loans and b) he obviously knows how to live within his means and only buys things he KNOWS he can pay for) I'm more so excited bc saving sounds so secure and FREE to me! How nice it will be when something (insert: LIFE) happens and we will already have money stored away to help pay for those GUARANTEED pop-up expenses...life plain and simply happens...and i find so much freedom in knowing that we will have money stored just for those life incidences. No need to stress over how we're gona pay for it...we will have self-created insurance. That makes my whole body just say "Aaaaahhhh" (the relaxing "aahhh"...not scared "aahh!!" lol). Later on today we are going to take that first step to creating our emergency fund. I'm excited about it already!
*Living within our means:
As stated earlier, we are told to save for purchases as well. What a concept right? I wonder what our society would look like if we honestly lived within our means AND were thankful for whatever that "means" might look like. One thing i know for sure is there'd be a whole lot less greed, a lot more gratitude, and FREEDOM! There'd prolly also be a lot of frustration at first, too just cuz it would be such a transformation for so many to have to stop buying the things we always have even when all along we never really could afford it. Nobody ever said the road would be easy, right? All worth it in the end tho...well atleast one would hope lol
I, personally, think that when you really live within your means your purchases become a) more valuable bc u realize u cant just buy anything that makes ur eyes go googly so when u actually DO buy something you KNOW it's important and b) more rewarding! What a great feeling it will be to have bought something you've saved up for and then pay for it upfront! You've reached your goal! EUREKA!! haha. And then obviously it will feel good not having a dark cloud of rainy dreary DEBT hanging above our heads!
*Wealth building:
I really love this reason to save for more than one reason.
#1 I, as crazy as it may sound, want to retire one day and not have to continue to work to stay above water. Now...i enjoy working and being active so im always going to be doing SOMETHING, but i dont want to be working at age 70 bc i HAVE to in order to put food in the belly.
#2 I think it's just a responsible thing to do and a great way to maintain peace of mind knowing we've been takin the steps to live comfortably after retirement
#3 I want to start building wealth in our future little ones' funds
#4 I want to save money to build into causes i support...there's going to be a whole discussion on giving back later on in the course but i think it ties in already...we want to build wealth so we can give it away...money does what u want it to do...it can control u...stress u out...define u...support u..help others...etc. Dave Ramsey states " money requires you to take the initiative to control it"...WE do with money what we CHOOSE to do with money...its all about personal choice (so much for blaming others for ur financial situation lol)...a personal choice i want to make is to not hoard it. I am EXTREMELY frugal and for the most part that's been a good thing for me..but i dont ever want to be SO focused on saving that i forget to SHARE it...both on myself/my family AND others. The Bible emphasizes tithing...maurice and i really want to be doing more of this. Our church does SO much for SO many and we want to be contributers to all the things our church community is doing for the kingdom of God (yes we can do things for others without the exchange of any money BUT theres so much that can further be done to reach out to and build into others that require a little cold hard cash)...Also, i want to know that we can help out friends/family if the need might arise...money is not just for the taking and keeping...it comes and goes...and should continue to come and go
Some of the charts/numbers that were displayed were staggering too! It's crazy how with education and discipline we really can grow wealth! One example was that if a 19yr old put away $2000 a year at 12% for only 8 years and then quite putting money in that account but didnt touch the money and just let it continue to grow til he was 65 he'd have $2,288,996 in that account! So $16,000 turned into $2,288,996 with a little education on investing and discipline to put away $2000 a year (thats only $167 a month folks) by the time this kid turned 65! CRAZY! EMPOWERING!!
The scripture that went along with the discussion of disciple was Hebrews 12:11 "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of rightesouness and peace for those who have been trained by it".
Needless to say, reese and i walked out of the class both so excited about the class and those to come and the resultant peace we will hopefully have for years to come attributed to what we are learning and disciplinin ourselves on now. Another great bonus is, unbeknownst to us, a few of our friends are takin the class, too! Reese's "other parents" were there (whom i have grown to love as well...very easy to love people) and then of his high school buddies and his gf were there too! Lookin forward to more weeks with them...and more empowerment from good ol Dave Ramsey!
p.s. its only been the first day and i ALREADY recommend this to EVERYONE whether you're in debt, already doin ok financially, young, old, whoever! So check it out!
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