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21.9.09

Dave Ramsey Followup

I could think of no other way that I would want to spend five hours on a Saturday than at the Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover Broadcast. It was well worth the twenty dollars I separated myself from to attend at First Baptist Church. I would like to extend a sincere thank you to the wonderful staff that provided ample seating, snacks, and COFFEEEEEE. On behalf of my willing companion, Panda, we were welcomed into an environment that would allow us to take full advantage of Dave Ramsey.

Now as to the presentation, I was really impressed with Dave. You see, I feel we're on a first name basis now. Dave Ramsey was able to hammer down the last remaining hangups of my budget, teach me about retirement, and become intricately involved in my personal finances. You're #*&@ right we're on a first name basis.

Budget wise, the place where I have been faltering is going over budget. I couldn't manage to tame the beast. And the reason that was happening was because I was working a budget that was less than the money I had coming in. Every time I would set my budget I had funds left over undelegated. That money would then be mentally spent, phyiscally spent, and shared over my assigned categories. Essentially, spending the money more than once. Inevitably, going over budget at the end of the week. Dave says zero-balance is the way to go. Krystal says zero-balance=zero-tolerance. Dave says, every dollar has a name. Krystal says, every dollar has a name and a job to do. Father Abraham had many sons and I'm putting them all to work. Start my budget from the ground up, do my saving and my giving before I work my budget together and then work my budget until every dollar has been spent. If I wait to do my savings until I've thrown my budget together, I run the risk of not saving. And I've been not saving. I've also been jolting on the offering bowl at church a bit more than I should. No more. Dave says, NO MATTER WHAT! Krystal expands on that and says, NO MATTER WHAT, This is my budget! I'M DONE MESSING IT UP!

Debt wise, I was doing fantastic at the beginning of the year. Now I'm making my weekly payments, but am I doing it effectively? Best to go back and review the Debt Snowball. One of my first posts was on how to put one together and I think its back to the basics I go. The snowball effect works wonders! Read my post here.

Retirement will be the beast I tackle at the start of 2010. Why don't I start now? Because frankly, taking on a financial responsibility that requires a great deal of research, knowledge, and setup isn't something I have the emotional capacity to take on right now. I may be screwing myself out of some serious compounded interest, but frankly I'm banking on the opportunity to do this the right way, the smart way. But when I do start, 15% of my income will be thrown at it. To help me plan ahead and decide how big of a risk I'm willing to take, punching in my figures and utilize the internet calculators, gives me a good idea of what I'm capable of doing with my money and future income.

I highly recommend anything and everything Dave Ramsey. My good homie from Tennessee.

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