Financial Peace University

[StitchesGr8Fan]

Any one taken this course? DFH and I are signed up and start next week. Taking the course at a local church. Any words of wisdom or encouragement? We really want to get out of debt and I have agreed with quite a bit of what I've heard Dave Ramsey say on his show and in The Total Money Makeover. Hoping this will give us the motivation and tools to knock out student loans.

 

[KristiKat]

We took the class last year at a local church. We enjoyed the class and learned a lot from it and feel that it has really helped us. It's not going to be easy but if you stick with it I feel you will benefit from it.

 

[annabanna]

It's what motivated my husband and I to pay off our debts and live debt free. It's not easy, but it is rewarding!

 

[LSU25]

I love DR and his FPU classes / books. We have found that taking a few ideas of his an implementing them into our daily lives worked better for us than follow the program 100%. We also have the viewpoint of "if we have all our debts covered monthly and still have money left over...we would rather pay ourselves / college fund / 401k ) than to lower the debt right now.

Basically we are done with all the baby steps except for paying off debts and our mortgage, we just found this works the best for us.

 

[TnTWalter]

Dave Ramsey fan here. Great class. It's a hard road. But SOOOO worth it.

Live like no one else so later you can LIVE like no one else.

I still listen to his podcast every morning when I walk my dog [FREE one hour commercial free].

I'm a SAHM. My husband is a land developer and business hasn't been good since 2008. We often wondered when the doors would be closing but somehow they stayed in business. Having no debt and a big emergency fund equals FINANCIAL PEACE.

The peace we've had during the past four years is PRICELESS.

 

[mrsklamc]

Average time to debt free (minus mortgage) is 18 months, average time to mortgage paid off is seven years.

 

[bwolfe]

It's not easy...but it's worth it. We now are a cash only/debt free house and love it. Good luck!

 

[mrsklamc]

Do you have a mortgage or just student loans?

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

Mortgage and student loans. And a little credit card debt. And car payments. We can make our monthly bills, but we want to knock them out as fast as possible. I'm hoping we will get not only motivation, but tips on more ways to cut costs.

 

[mrsklamc]

Ok I asked about the mortgage because Dave doesn't usually advise refinancing- his theory is just pay 'em off quick and don't worry about it- but personally I highly recommend contacting a credit union and seeing what they can do for you. We switched to a 15 year, no PMI and it would have saved us $300,000 over the life of the loan, except we still intend to pay it off early... And the credit union did this at no cost to us other than the $300 appraisal.

 

[tweedlemom]

Didn't take his class, but we follow his steps and are debt free except mortgage!

Step 1: Save up $1,000 to start an “Emergency Fund”
Step 2: Pay off all debt (except the house) using the “Debt Snowball” (smallest to largest)
Step 3: Save up three to six months of expenses in savings
Step 4: Invest 15% of your household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement accounts
Step 5: Save up college funding for your children
Step 6: Pay off your home early
Step 7: Build wealth and give! Invest in mutual funds and real estate

 

[mrsklamc]

Pretty much. He does talk about stuff in the class he doesn't cover on the radio very often, like how to negotiate, more details on how to invest, stuff like that.

 

[chris31997]

I guess you can say we "drank the kool-aid"

We read Total Money, listen to the program, watch him on tv, and took the class 2x. It is worth the pain and discomfot of going thru it. It is not easy. But so liberating. It is nice to know that we are on the right track. Living on a budget and not stressing over making ends meet. We are debt free and have convinced other family members to get on board with it.

We are thinking about teaching the course. You will have a lifetime membership and can take the class as many times as you need to. We took the second time due to a move overseas, a major life change

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

Really enjoyed it. I found it motivating. DFH stayed engaged through the whole thing too, which I was worried about. He said he thinks the course will change how he thinks about money. Looking forward to next week.

 

[hsmamato2]

DR is very sensible...and if you have debt, you should be following his plan...100% (IMHO,I know) Plus ,we refi'd our mortgage to save a bunch of $$$ over the next few years, different from cc debt,etc.
OP,have fun learning how to make your finances work for you,instead of the other way around!
(FWIW,I do use cc's...so not a total follower, but what he says is great for those who may be carrying debt around with them)

 

[Nintfamily]

Dave fans here We paid off everything but our mortgage. It took us 4 years, we had several set backs but kept at it. It makes it so nice. No debt or sleepless nights any more. You can do it!!

 

[disneychic2]

DH and I took the class a few years ago and then DH actually helped lead a class. He is currently attending a class with a friend who needed it but didn't want to go alone. We love Dave's ideas and they really work. We're debt free except a small mortgage that we pay extra on every month.

Good for you for doing this now. I'm so glad you enjoyed the first week. Stick with and work the plan because it will set you free. (More $ for Disney??) Good luck to you!

 

[CowboyCO]

Ok I asked about the mortgage because Dave doesn't usually advise refinancing- his theory is just pay 'em off quick and don't worry about it- but personally I highly recommend contacting a credit union and seeing what they can do for you. We switched to a 15 year, no PMI and it would have saved us $300,000 over the life of the loan, except we still intend to pay it off early... And the credit union did this at no cost to us other than the $300 appraisal.

Dave doesn't advise refinancing unless it makes financial sense. http://www.daveramsey.com/article/is-a-mortgage-refinance-right-for-you/lifeandmoney_realestate

 

[mrsklamc]

Dave doesn't advise refinancing unless it makes financial sense. http://www.daveramsey.com/article/is-a-mortgage-refinance-right-for-you/lifeandmoney_realestate

I stand corrected.

 

[luvmy2sams]

Dave fans here, too! His advice is the reason we paid cash for our home instead of getting a big mortgage. Best decision we ever made...being debt free is a blessing!