Total Money Makeover

[RichNKatHolly]

DMRick - I just upgraded my cc to Platinum level and I will now have the rental car insurance, warranty, etc. It will be good for our trip in Nov, as I never get the insurance with the rental. I made sure that they did NOT increase my limit though. We will keep it at $200. Just enough!

 

[jay-nee]

I'm about 100 pages in to TMM now. I'm enjoying it alot, but time is a precious commidity lately. I do have this weekend off, but I need to stain the back of the house this weekend (always something to be done around here).

I feel like I was already leaning towards this path in life anyway, now I am beginning to move down this path. Yes, all be it, a step at a time, but it's the best I can do at the moment.

We have very, very little cc debt (actually, should be none, but that's another story at this point) and I am working on that a bit at a time. We do have a VERY large car payment though (and the excise tax and insurance to go with it). I am hoping the book talks even more about cars and relative expenses in more detail.

I make a very small income and have inconsistent CS to say the least, so times have been tough this year, but we are managing but cutting the "fat" in our lives. I am still in the "my hands are tied" phase of this process, so it is frustrating that I can't sell on eBay, etc. to help supplement our income. So, I am doing alot of financial reading and working to get my mindset in a different place (I was doing this for the last 3 yrs without cooperation, so I was only marginally successful at it). It is much easier now, but now, it is a necessity.

I do appreciate the discussions (yes, even the "heated" ones). I love to hear about peoples' success and methods. By talking about this, we all can take the "best" suggestions for our specific situations and use them, so I say...bring on those opinions!

I am ordering Financial Peace and The Millionaire Next Door through ILL today. I figure I'll be done with TMM this weekend and will be begging for another personal finance read as soon as I put it down. My DM picked up Money magazine for me this week, so that will be fun to read too. One of the libraries here subscribes to Kiplinger's Personal Finance as well, so I may pick up a few issues of that to hold me over as well. Reading is giving me a sense of empowerment over my current situation, so I keep doing it. Thank God for public libraries!

Well, just putting in my 2 cents. Thank you all for sharing your personal stories, thoughts, and feelings.

Happy Friday!

 

[luvthatdisney]

Hi guys~

I have been off the boards for a few weeks since we got back from WDW, but we are on the TMMO and have been since end of July. In that time we put our baby EF into the bank and even went ahead with our planned trip to WDW. When we returned we realized we did not spend all of the money we had previously saved to use in Florida - so we paid off $600 in debt - removed 2 items from our snowball. It really is a great feeling and Dave is right that you need to change your behavior regarding debt.

Last week we decided to change our phone/internet back to Bellsouth from TimeWarner. We are also going to satellite TV - we had to pay a $20 fee to Directv and DH whipped out his "credit card" I quickly said "WE DONT DO CREDIT AROUND HERE!". He looked at me like I was crazy - but what was he thinking - he said oh I forgot! Just out of habit he wanted to use credit for $20????? That is the behavior we have to break! Dave is the one to help us with this!

I would love to attend an FPU, but there are not any close enough to me that I could DH to go to. There are some about 45 min away, but he does work a 2nd job and he feels that is just too much time away that he could be working (he does car upholstery on the side!). I keep checking Dave's site to see if a class is added in our area - I will keep my fingers crossed.

 

[RichNKatHolly]

Good luck with all your reading. Please feel free to share any new tips you discover!

About the cars and TMM, I think you will find that DR says to sell the car and use whatever cash you have to buy whatever runs until things get better. He basically seems to say nothing with credit, only the house should be a payment.

Please share what you learn!! I'm new at this too and would appreciate any tips you can find!

I'm about 100 pages in to TMM now. I'm enjoying it alot, but time is a precious commidity lately. I do have this weekend off, but I need to stain the back of the house this weekend (always something to be done around here).

I feel like I was already leaning towards this path in life anyway, now I am beginning to move down this path. Yes, all be it, a step at a time, but it's the best I can do at the moment.

We have very, very little cc debt (actually, should be none, but that's another story at this point) and I am working on that a bit at a time. We do have a VERY large car payment though (and the excise tax and insurance to go with it). I am hoping the book talks even more about cars and relative expenses in more detail.

I make a very small income and have inconsistent CS to say the least, so times have been tough this year, but we are managing but cutting the "fat" in our lives. I am still in the "my hands are tied" phase of this process, so it is frustrating that I can't sell on eBay, etc. to help supplement our income. So, I am doing alot of financial reading and working to get my mindset in a different place (I was doing this for the last 3 yrs without cooperation, so I was only marginally successful at it). It is much easier now, but now, it is a necessity.

I do appreciate the discussions (yes, even the "heated" ones). I love to hear about peoples' success and methods. By talking about this, we all can take the "best" suggestions for our specific situations and use them, so I say...bring on those opinions!

I am ordering Financial Peace and The Millionaire Next Door through ILL today. I figure I'll be done with TMM this weekend and will be begging for another personal finance read as soon as I put it down. My DM picked up Money magazine for me this week, so that will be fun to read too. One of the libraries here subscribes to Kiplinger's Personal Finance as well, so I may pick up a few issues of that to hold me over as well. Reading is giving me a sense of empowerment over my current situation, so I keep doing it. Thank God for public libraries!

Well, just putting in my 2 cents. Thank you all for sharing your personal stories, thoughts, and feelings.

Happy Friday!

 

[minnie1928]

I would love to attend an FPU, but there are not any close enough to me that I could DH to go to. There are some about 45 min away, but he does work a 2nd job and he feels that is just too much time away that he could be working (he does car upholstery on the side!). I keep checking Dave's site to see if a class is added in our area - I will keep my fingers crossed.

They sell the CDs or Videos on Ebay if you can't make an actual FPU class. I was in the same boat, I couldn't attend the classes. My employer sponsored FPU so I bought the kit and did it from home. Then I sold off pieces of the kit on Ebay (I think Dave would approve ) that I didn't plan on using. When I was doing my research before selling the items I was surprised at the number of Dave Ramsey items on ebay. You could buy the cds/videos, watch them and then if you wanted, you could turn around and sell them back on Ebay. Personally, I kept the CDs. It's nice to get a "booster shot" in the arm every few weeks in the car on my way to work.

Good luck!

 

[jay-nee]

sell the car. I am spending about $800 a month on car payment/truck payment/vehicle insurance - isn't that insane? OMG, it's freaking me out so badly! But, I can't do anything right now, just keep trying to stay on track with the payments.

My income has gone down over 50% this year due to this divorce and yet I've been left with all of the bills (yes, literally, ALL of the bills). I can't stand that I am paying for 3 vehicles insurance and a truck payment for a truck that I don't even have access to. But, stupid me, I co-signed the loan and have it withdrawn directly from my paycheck each month. So much for trust, huh?

This week we have $25 for groceries. For just milk, bread, and eggs, I've already spent $15 of it. The pantry is getting low. Thank God I filled the gas tank up of the car I have (plus it gets 31 mpg too). We are not doing any driving this weekend unless it is TRULY necessary.

Today's bummer is: DD has to have PT on her foot and that is going to cost $125 over the next 2 weeks in just co-payments.

The emergency fund went to pre-pay our oil bill for this winter, so there is no emergency fund anymore.

And, so, I keep reading and learning and trying to tighten things up every day. But, right now, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed.

So, how to start when your hands truly are tied? Thankfully, I'm getting to the envelope part now (budgeting). I've always budgeted, but the money issues are crazy for me right now. I never thought I'd be in this position in life, but here I sit. I know I will come out of this fine, it's just hard to feel so powerless and know that so much responsibility is on your shoulders every day. 50% less income is alot less to pay the same bills.

Well, enough venting, I'm going to go and do some reading (TMM, oh course! ).

I hope everyone is having a nice start to their long weekend. I am trying to put my worries in perspective and mine are nothing compared to the folks dealing with Katrina. We are praying for you! God Bless!

 

[RichNKatHolly]

Gosh, that is terrible. If it were me, I'd probably close out the linked account and have the car repossessed.

We are not as hard off, but when we are talking just income (and not the small windfalls that have come our way of late), we barely make it every month. And that is with no car debt or other cc debt. Things are expensive! We got a small infusion of cash (about $1000) and then DS went to the Dentist. Well, there went the cash. The insult is that our insurance only reimbursed about 30% of what we put out.

Sometimes the chips just seem so stacked against us. I hope all works out for you. Even if you can put away $5 a week, that is something. I haven't had $1 all week because of some unexpected expenses. It's amazing how creative I've become in the kitchen! BUT, I can't wait for tomorrow when I will have $40 for the grocery store and next week when we will get back on track. Wish I had an emergency fund already, but live and learn.

Good luck to you!!!

sell the car. I am spending about $800 a month on car payment/truck payment/vehicle insurance - isn't that insane? OMG, it's freaking me out so badly! But, I can't do anything right now, just keep trying to stay on track with the payments.

My income has gone down over 50% this year due to this divorce and yet I've been left with all of the bills (yes, literally, ALL of the bills). I can't stand that I am paying for 3 vehicles insurance and a truck payment for a truck that I don't even have access to. But, stupid me, I co-signed the loan and have it withdrawn directly from my paycheck each month. So much for trust, huh?

This week we have $25 for groceries. For just milk, bread, and eggs, I've already spent $15 of it. The pantry is getting low. Thank God I filled the gas tank up of the car I have (plus it gets 31 mpg too). We are not doing any driving this weekend unless it is TRULY necessary.

Today's bummer is: DD has to have PT on her foot and that is going to cost $125 over the next 2 weeks in just co-payments.

The emergency fund went to pre-pay our oil bill for this winter, so there is no emergency fund anymore.

And, so, I keep reading and learning and trying to tighten things up every day. But, right now, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed.

So, how to start when your hands truly are tied? Thankfully, I'm getting to the envelope part now (budgeting). I've always budgeted, but the money issues are crazy for me right now. I never thought I'd be in this position in life, but here I sit. I know I will come out of this fine, it's just hard to feel so powerless and know that so much responsibility is on your shoulders every day. 50% less income is alot less to pay the same bills.

Well, enough venting, I'm going to go and do some reading (TMM, oh course! ).

I hope everyone is having a nice start to their long weekend. I am trying to put my worries in perspective and mine are nothing compared to the folks dealing with Katrina. We are praying for you! God Bless!

 

[miss missy]

Hi guys~

I have been off the boards for a few weeks since we got back from WDW, but we are on the TMMO and have been since end of July. In that time we put our baby EF into the bank and even went ahead with our planned trip to WDW. When we returned we realized we did not spend all of the money we had previously saved to use in Florida - so we paid off $600 in debt - removed 2 items from our snowball. It really is a great feeling and Dave is right that you need to change your behavior regarding debt.

Last week we decided to change our phone/internet back to Bellsouth from TimeWarner. We are also going to satellite TV - we had to pay a $20 fee to Directv and DH whipped out his "credit card" I quickly said "WE DONT DO CREDIT AROUND HERE!". He looked at me like I was crazy - but what was he thinking - he said oh I forgot! Just out of habit he wanted to use credit for $20????? That is the behavior we have to break! Dave is the one to help us with this!

I would love to attend an FPU, but there are not any close enough to me that I could DH to go to. There are some about 45 min away, but he does work a 2nd job and he feels that is just too much time away that he could be working (he does car upholstery on the side!). I keep checking Dave's site to see if a class is added in our area - I will keep my fingers crossed.

"WE DONT DO CREDIT AROUND HERE!" ... Hmmm Sounds like you will do just fine! Keep up the good work!! YAY for you

 

[miss missy]

Good luck with all your reading. Please feel free to share any new tips you discover!

About the cars and TMM, I think you will find that DR says to sell the car and use whatever cash you have to buy whatever runs until things get better. He basically seems to say nothing with credit, only the house should be a payment.

Please share what you learn!! I'm new at this too and would appreciate any tips you can find!

Do you listen to his radio show? If not, he tells over and over how the plan works and just by listening, you can get a lot of info! You can hear it online for FREE!

Listen FREE The total money makeover

 

[peacefulgirl]

WOW, you're quite a follower huh?

Thanks for the info about his site. I will check it out.

Yes I am! I get my inspiration from Dave. I basically live and breath the plan!

So one day I will soooo weird, my family will think I joined a cult.

 

[jay-nee]

for the link to DR's Radio Show, I'm listening right now to yesterday's program.

Interesting info about having the car repo'd. I don't think that is in my best interest. I think stbxH is starting to get the idea that the sooner that this finalized the better for both of us. I will be selling the car as soon as the court will let me. Then I will be driving a "bondo buggy" until I can pay cash for a semi-decent non-bondo buggy. I wish my family had an extra car that I could borrow for a few months while I save, save, save for a cash car. Funny how priorities change when you are in $ crisis. Most of the time now, my dream car just sits in the driveway collecting dust anyway --- stupid! I just need something to get me back and forth to work. That's it!

I will start putting $5 a week away for a new emergency fund (thanks peaceful girl for this suggestion). So, that is baby step #1!

Happy Saturday all!

 

[RichNKatHolly]

Do you listen to his radio show? If not, he tells over and over how the plan works and just by listening, you can get a lot of info! You can hear it online for FREE!

Listen FREE The total money makeover

Thanks for the link. I never heard him on the radio here. I think that will provide more info!

 

[TNKBELL]

Yes I am! I get my inspiration from Dave. I basically live and breath the plan!

So one day I will soooo weird, my family will think I joined a cult.

I was telling my Mom all about the plan and I was very excited and she said" Hmmm... Is this some type of cult?" I guess I sound a little "TOO" excited when I tell people about it because they seem a little freaked out by it!! I mean really... who gets excited about NOT spending money???

 

[minnie1928]

I was telling my Mom all about the plan and I was very excited and she said" Hmmm... Is this some type of cult?" I guess I sound a little "TOO" excited when I tell people about it because they seem a little freaked out by it!! I mean really... who gets excited about NOT spending money???

I DO! That's why I hang out here!!!

 

[peacefulgirl]

I was telling my Mom all about the plan and I was very excited and she said" Hmmm... Is this some type of cult?" I guess I sound a little "TOO" excited when I tell people about it because they seem a little freaked out by it!! I mean really... who gets excited about NOT spending money???

Oh believe me, most do not want to hear about the plan, it doesn't make sense if you are normal and broke...

The only two who wanted to know and was VERY interested were my SIL'S ... I feel like buying the books and giving nothing but for xmas!!!!

 

[MickeyMonstersMom]

I've followed this with great interest and even went down to the library (which has *nothing* about financial planning - sad, huh?) looking for the books. I too am a divorced mom and teacher whose ex unexpectedly didn't work all summer. I've spent my entire emergency account keeping us afloat this summer (hefty car and house repairs in addition to regular family expenses) and can't even afford to buy DR's books right now, but as soon as my own paychecks resume I plan to check them out. I haven't had a credit card since 2000 and won't consider getting one until I can maintain a stable emergency account - which means adjusting my lifestyle to be independent of cs payments. I am very interested in DR's ideas for teaching fiscal responsibility to children, because I am quite sick of hearing my children "need" everything under the sun. Their father lives far beyond his means to satisfy his need for instant gratification and I'm open to all ideas to prevent my children from living that way too.

 

[peacefulgirl]

I've followed this with great interest and even went down to the library (which has *nothing* about financial planning - sad, huh?) looking for the books. I too am a divorced mom and teacher whose ex unexpectedly didn't work all summer. I've spent my entire emergency account keeping us afloat this summer (hefty car and house repairs in addition to regular family expenses) and can't even afford to buy DR's books right now, but as soon as my own paychecks resume I plan to check them out. I haven't had a credit card since 2000 and won't consider getting one until I can maintain a stable emergency account - which means adjusting my lifestyle to be independent of cs payments. I am very interested in DR's ideas for teaching fiscal responsibility to children, because I am quite sick of hearing my children "need" everything under the sun. Their father lives far beyond his means to satisfy his need for instant gratification and I'm open to all ideas to prevent my children from living that way too.

DR has books and a program to teach kids. Check his website. Listen to the show online, because he talks about the paln a lot for kids too.

I know what you mean about the library having no Fin books! But can you order it? Mine deliver from other towns, takes longer, but I can get what I neeed! I also have on line system at the library, I can order the hold on books from home and just go pick it up when it comes in. Check on that...

best of luck !

 

[jay-nee]

Now, here's the deal, you need to read the philosophy behind the words. There is a chapter for each of these baby steps devoted to the philosophy of each step and why they are in this particulatr order. We can discuss these in more depth too. I know I have trouble, personally, with some of it too, but I am going to give this a GO!

Also, order this book from your local library via ILL (Inter-Library Loan), usually they can get it in a week (at the most). Don't buy it if you have no money, it sort of defeats the purpose. Ask for it as a birthday present or christmas present instead, but read it. It's good stuff.

So, here are the baby steps:

(1) save $1000 to start your "emergency fund" (keep liquid/available)

(2) pay off all debt using the "debt snowball" (except the house)

(3) put 3-6 months of expenses into savings (your expenses will be smaller now because you paid off your debt before you hit this step)

(4) invest 15% of household income into Roth IRA's and pre-tax retirement

(5) college funding

(6) pay off your home early

(7) build your wealth (mutual funds & real estate) & Give!

According to his plan, you need to make a full commitment to each step in order to succeed. This is not a plan for someone who can not fully commit. If you are in a committed relationship, your partner needs to be committed as well, otherwise, it will not work.

I have a real problem with putting off my 401K deductions, but I can understand the rationale here (not agree, understand). Once you have your emergency fund, debt paid off, and your fully funded emergency fund, you will jump back in and it will not be a stretch, but... (yikes) The premise is that those 1st 3 steps should take about 2 years (maybe more, maybe less).

Also, involved in this plan is a budget. There are worksheets in the book to copy and you work these month to month. I will be starting this process today. Also, you need to redo the budget each month, and it might take a few months to get it right.

Let's see... I guess that is it for the moment. Get the book and read it, even if you don't use it now, it may change your mindset.

My quest started when I listened to "Start Late, Finish Late" on audio book. It got me thinking. And, now I am reading everything I can get my hands on to do with personal finance.

FYI, I think libraries don't have much personal finance because it truly changes minute to minute in our culture, it's like guidebooks for traveling. BTW, the personal finance books are in the non-fiction section 332.__.

I hope this information helps!

Happy Sunday!

 

[RichNKatHolly]

I certainly changes your mindset. I'm glad I read it this week. Due to some unexpected circumstances, I have not had $1 in my wallet since last Monday. BUT, we got (or I should say, getting) through - 3 more days until payday!!!!

I now see how little I NEED. Most of what we purchase is WANT.

I already cut alot of the cable TV, but I think I'll call today and cut more. I'm also going to research new car insurance - ours is crazy even though it went down.

 

[MickeyMonstersMom]

Now, here's the deal...

FYI, I think libraries don't have much personal finance because it truly changes minute to minute in our culture, it's like guidebooks for traveling. BTW, the personal finance books are in the non-fiction section 332.__.

I hope this information helps!

Happy Sunday!

Thanks for the rundown, it's a nice introduction until I can get the book. Hehe, I was in the 332 section of my library - it consisted of a 2-foot shelf with books on "beating" the stock market. Given the economic makeup of our county, I'd love to know what genius chose those books and how often they get signed out.