Financial Peace University

Every since Mike and I combined our finances, we have both felt like we were lost in a mirror maze. Mike is an accountant, so he is really good at balancing the checkbook and making spreadsheets to track our spending, but neither one of us had a clue about budgeting, investing or saving.

We had tried various times to be better about budgeting and saving, but that typically meant categorizing our expenses from the past month and saying, next month we shouldn't spend so much on x. One particular instance that really sticks out in my head was several months ago when we were discussing how much we could spend on a new kitchen table. We knew we had x amount in the account and that we still needed to pay the rent, and that we wanted to have some money left over for other expenses, but we just couldn't determine how much to keep for these hypothetical expenses and how much to spend now.

Well, about two weeks after, while waiting for me outside of the children's ministry at church, Mike talked to a couple about a financial class they facilitated. He brought some information home to me and suggested that we sign up for the class. Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University is a Christian based finance class that teaches the basics about everything you need to know to be successful with money, but does not go into so much detail as to bore you and scare you away.

Taking this class has been both enlightening and overwhelming. I feel so much more secure about our future and our ability to handle our finances. However, I also feel overwhelmed about the road ahead of us. The class is broken down into baby steps, which guide you along the way. However, some of these baby steps seem more like Everest at times. One of the nice things is that we now have a clear path guiding us, but one of the scary things is that we are only at mile marker 1, with hundreds of miles left to travel. I am glad though that we did this while we are still young, so that we have time to complete the journey and still enjoy the destination. Just need to maintain the gazelle intensity.

I think the best thing about taking the class was meeting all of the other people who were also feeling lost. We were all at very different places in our lives, looking for different answers, but were brought together for a reason. It was so great to have the support and understanding of our class as we faced obstacles, and overcame them, as well as sharing their accomplishments with them. Some of the things may seem simple, but to us on our journeys, they took a lot of strength and faith.

We were also asked to facilitate a new class of FPU in the fall, and am excited to do so. I am hoping to be able to bring the life changing message of FPU to others who feel overwhelmed. I am also excited to have the messages reinforced for myself, as it is a lot to take in, as well as to once again have the support of a class who is going through the same thing.

Look for more posts on our financial peace journey once the class begins in September, or if you are in the C'ville area you are welcome to join us on Tuesday nights!