Going Old School: What To Expect When You Take Financial Peace University

At the beginning of each spring and fall, you can expect a number of churches across the country to begin promoting Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University (FPU). Personally, I am a huge advocate of FPU for the simple fact that I have seen the program help change lives.

My spouse and I will begin facilitating our third set of FPU classes within the next few weeks. When we originally purchased the FPU Kit at a Dave Ramsey Live Event in the spring of 2010, we sat the kit down, looked through the contents, and passively looked for a class in the fall of 2010. Unfortunately, we could not find classes that fit our schedule close to home. We waited a few more months, and finally found one that was definitely worth the wait in the spring of 2011. We had a great coordinator and facilitator who cared about our progress.

We could not have imagined what the classes would do for us financially, emotionally, and spiritually. We attempted to pay down debt on our own, but FPU really helped us to get Gazelle Intense. Additionally, it was great to know that there were others, like us, who were simply sick and tired of making payments each month with so much of it going to interest. Saturday Night Live has even poked fun at the topic of credit and consumerism with the following skit:

Saturday Night Live – Don’t Buy Stuff

So, what can you expect when you take Financial Peace University? You can expect to go old school by paying for purchases using only cash or your debit card. You’ll also learn to:

• Build a budget,
• Start saving money for your emergency fund,
• Eliminate debt with the Debt Snowball,
• Retire with dignity,
• Pay off your home early,
• Save for a college education,
• Accumulate wealth, and
• Give like no one else!

Personally, I have given away a few of Dave Ramsey’s books and an FPU kit, and I am grateful I can help others get a jump start towards changing their family trees. The cost to attend FPU is roughly $100 for all of the study materials, but it is well worth the investment. Since the kit comes with a Lifetime Membership, you could attend refresher classes later at no cost to you at any site that offers FPU.

This weekend, I spoke to a number of people who were very happy to have gone through the program. These people are just like you and me. They are:

• single, married, divorced, or widowed;
• mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, daughters, sons, grandparents, and pet parents;
• uneducated and educated with G.E.D.’s to Ph.D.’s; and
• unemployed or working, earning low incomes and high incomes.

On a final note, Financial Peace University is not the only program out there. Gail Vaz-Oxlade, Suze Orman, Clark Howard, and a number of other financial gurus have similar programs to help you pay down debt and save money. I encourage you to take a look at various programs and find one that works for you and your situation.

Will FPU work for everyone? By all means, no. If you follow the Baby Steps diligently, you will start pay down debt and grow wealth. It won’t be easy, but it was worth the sacrifice to my family and the students in our FPU classes. On the other hand, if you continue to use money as you do, then I can pretty much guarantee that things will not change, and may even get worse regardless of whose plan you choose to follow. Unfortunately, not everyone is ready to stop using credits cards, stop taking out student loans, stop financing new vehicles, and stop buying into the current trends. It’s harder to hear this when people admit that they are broke, but refuse to change their lifestyle.

As for my family, and me, we’re done keeping up with the Jones.

Welcome to DEBT! How did we get here?

As a college student, you could say that I was okay at managing my money. I managed to have a savings account, attempted to pay my credit cards on time, used student loans to finance my education, and tried to take advantage of every student discount possible. That process worked for a while.

As teenagers and twenty-somethings, we were okay at managing money which meant, we managed to have it if we really needed it. Sometimes this meant borrowing from the family bank. Other times, this meant selling books, CDs, and DVDs to a resale shop. At worst, it meant pawning a beloved item. I am fortunate that I have not had to do that last one; however, I know a few who have.

If you fast forward 15 years later, it seems that nearly all of my high school and college friends are in the same boat. Those dollar signs have multiplied greatly, and we have started to see our neighbors served with eviction notices or weather a foreclosure. Sometimes it meant being served with a judgment for a credit card or getting your vehicle repossessed. At worst, it meant bankruptcy. I did look into that last one at some point, but I decided against it. I’ll explain why in a future post.

How did we get here? Well, it goes back to managing money. As I mentioned earlier, we managed to have it. Unless it was for a pair of great shoes, concert tickets, or car stereo, rarely did we plan how we would use our money – wisely.

This blog is going to talk about friends helping families save money. For me, my friends are also my family. Their financial well-being definitely impacts me on a regular basis since it pains me to see any of them struggling. Hopefully, we can start a conversation about saving money and helping your family tree become debt free.