So how do you live on one income and raise a family? Well it isn’t easy I will tell you that. I will also tell you that our financial journey is still a work in progress.
I started working at a young age. Didn’t really think to save money unless it was something I REALLY wanted. I only had a car payment when I was living at home. Nothing else. It may seem spoiled, but I worked hard for every penny I earned and at the time I felt like I had the right to spend it. Boy do I wish I hadn’t done that! What could I have now if I had saved as much as possible? I probably could have had half a house saved before I got married.
But didn’t you go through a financial course because you were homeschooled? Yes, I went through one. But did I learn from it, no. I really wish I had. I wouldn’t blame the course either. It was just that I didn’t think I needed to apply it. My big mistake.
Over the past 10 years, I have made some pretty big snafu’s in the financial realm. They lead to a bankruptcy that probably could have been prevented. So you would think that I have it all under my belt. Nope. I still need help and guidance.
Our church has hosted Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University (FPU) several times over the past few years. We had attempted it before but scheduling didn’t work out. So we asked if we could lead a group at our church. This would force us to finish the course! 🙂 Great idea!
We led a Wednesday night and Saturday Morning group. It was great! We got the information twice. Dave makes it so informative and fun to watch. He has been where we all are and made the same mistakes. He lost it all and has worked to get to where he is now.
So now it’s 2013 and my husband and I want to go through FPU again to refresh ourselves and also help others. FPU has changed from a 13-week course to a 9-week course. It covers making a budget, investing, paying off debt, setting up college funds (if you need them) and so much more. We will be leading the 9-week course in February of this year. It’s going to be great to see the new/updated course. You can find locations all over the USA. Click here to find one near you!
Now the course does have a cost. $99 is the the course price. But what it will save you is well worth the investment of $99. You get everything in the picture above plus you can take the course however many times you want after that! Pretty sweet deal. 🙂
We still have a lot of work to do and are pretty much starting over again with the baby steps. The first is our emergency fund. Get $1000 in the bank for emergencies. That’s the biggie. Then we work on paying off our debt. We hope to be debt free in about 2 years or less. I will be sharing more about our journey, tips, budget forms, etc on the blog over the next few months. 🙂
Something I do want to share with you before I end this post. On Dave Ramsey’s website is a download about budgeting. It’s FREE! Take the time to download it and read it and apply it. It is well worth it. 🙂
** I was not given any financial compensation for writing this. It is my family’s opinion and experience.
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