Tag Archive - financial peace university

Debt Week 3: That New Car Smell

December 1, 2008 in Goals, Life Change with 1 Comment

Have you ever bought a new car on credit? They smell. Bad. When you pay cash they can actually smell pretty good.

What I mean is this: If you don’t have the money, you don’t need the car. When BROKE PEOPLE go to purchase a car, they say “how much down and how much per month?” When RICH PEOPLE go to buy a car they ask “how much?” do a little wheeling and dealing, and then they pay CASH for it.

I don’t know about you, but I love the idea of paying myself the amount of a car payment. When we had a car payment, I HATED it! Don’t get me wrong, I love new, sleek, fast cars, but I just can’t stand sending in that check each month for something that doesn’t pay me back in any way!

How many times have you heard “I’ll always have a car payment”?

That’s a load of crud.

A while back, Amber and I sold both of our cars to finish off the last bit of our debt. We hit craigslist and bought older used cars. The windshields are cracked, only some of the automatic locks work, and a couple of times a year, we have to make a repair. But guess what: we aren’t broke anymore. We don’t owe anyone money. And it…feels…goooood!

NORMAL in America when it comes to our finances means broke, living paycheck to paycheck, stressed out and on the verge of a meltdown. And, if that is NORMAL then I want to be a freaking weirdo!

Think about it this way:

  • What if you decided to STOP messing with car payments?
  • What if you invested that old car payment every month instead of giving it away to the bank?
  • What if there was a six-year plan that would put you in free cars for the rest of your life?
  • What if that plan also made you a millionaire?

Dave Ramsey said it this way:

Car payments are the mantra of the middle class. As long as you keep a car payment, you’re going to be mediocre in your finances. It’s just stupid. Avoid that. Pay cash. Save up and pay for whatever you do.
— Dave Ramsey, Radio Show 2007-06-08

Check out this video. Its basic 8th grade math.

Or, here is the version on Dave Ramsey’s website.

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Debt Week 1: YOU NEED A PLAN

November 24, 2008 in Goals, GOD, The Connection Church with Comments Off

It’s debt week here on the blog. I preached on debt yesterday and really needed about 7 hours to talk. Of course, I only have 30 minutes to preach. So, I decided to offer some additional debt info right here. Tune in tomorrow for more.

You need a plan and you need to WORK IT WORK IT WORK IT if you are ever going to pay off your debt. Saying “Well, I’ll pay my debt off one day” is NOT a plan.

Just a short time ago Amber and I searched far and wide for a plan. What we found was Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. I remember being so mad that we had to pay $99 to take a class on our finances. I was a skeptic. But now that I’ve been through the class and my life has changed for the better, I would recommend that everyone take it. Heck, knowing what I know now, I’d pay $1000 to take the class. I believe in it so much that I think every high school senior should be required to complete FPU.

That won’t ever happen though because Discover, Visa, Mastercard, and all the other creditors out there won’t let it. It would shut them down.

At The Connection Church we have seen FPU change lives, save marriages, and help people pay off TONS of debt. God is using Dave Ramsey and his team in some incredible ways.

FPU covers way more than just debt. Over the course of the class, Dave also explains about:

  • Investments
  • Insurance
  • Retirement
  • Real Estate
  • College Planning
  • Careers
  • Debt Collectors
  • Credit Reports
  • and More!

You need a plan. If you live in the Kyle, Austin, San Marcos, Buda area, be at our first FPU preview tonight! You don’t have to sign up, just show up.

Click here to read more about FPU.

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The Third F-Word: Finances

October 30, 2008 in GOD, Leadership with Comments Off

Read about the first F-Word here and the second F-Word here!

The reason we are in the middle of some financial crisis right now here in America is because we have made bad financial decisions as leaders AND as consumers.

Proverbs 11:25 says, “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” We don’t believe that verse…if we did, we’d be more concerned with giving. The Bible is a book about generosity but many of us can’t really be generous b/c we’ve gotten ourselves into such a financial mess.

The best leadership decision Nehemiah ever made was when he walked in to Jerusalem and said I’m not going to take my fair share…I’m going to be generous.

Let me ask you this question. Let’s say that today on the way home you hear the audible voice of God. He tells you exactly what He wants you to do and its something that requires a lot of sacrifice.

Could you do it? Most likely it will require a pay cut. Or, would you be unable to act in faith, b/c you are:

  • Owe more on a car than it is worth?
  • Chilling on financed furniture?
  • Paying off credit cards with credit cards?
  • Making those $15 minimum payments on credit cards?
  • Constantly getting bank charges because you have negative balances in your checkbook?

At The Connection Church, our take on the economy is that we will “respond but never back down. You won’t see us retreating at all from our mission of connecting with God, connecting with others, and connecting others with God.

I want to encourage you to do the same thing; respond wisely to the current economic situation but don’t back down one bit because that’s what Christ followers do.

Some of us may even need to take serious action. You might need to sell your new car and buy a used one, cut up your credit cards, or stop eating out so much. I have done all of those things and I would never go back to any of them. It’s time to get our finances in order and BITE BACK.

In January we’ll be starting some new Financial Peace University classes. I want to encourage you to sign up if you are feeling hammered in the area of finances right now. Watch for your chance to get in on this incredible opportunity coming in the next few weeks.

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