So we've started taking Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University courses through our church in Oakland. This will be our third week. It's a thirteen week course, so you know, pretty intense. :) I was a little nervous before going to our first class for a couple of reasons.
One, I heard we had homework and I wasn't sure I was okay with that. (Turns out, homework hasn't been too tough!) Two, I was nervous that it was going to be really boring. Luckily, Dave Ramsey is a really fun guy to listen to, very easy to listen to and that first hour goes by incredibly fast. He knows how to add in the humor when needed and he talked in a way that's easily understandable. The second hour we have a group discussion. This hour also goes by pretty quickly - we take turns discussing the answers to questions poised in the book and we also spend some time sharing our stories. After last week's class, I walked out of it feeling that not only is this a financial planning type of counseling, it could also be seen as couples counseling. :)
Even with just the first two classes under our belt, I really feel like we're learning a lot. I really feel like Austin and I are going to be able to get our life on the right track financially. It might take a little time, but we'll get there. We're also learning some key ideas on how to raise our kids to be financially successful someday.
I will tell you one thing though that's maybe a bit ironic. The first thing you see when you watch that first video is people getting asked a question: "What would you do if you had a $5000 emergency?" The answers all vary but it's to teach you the importance of having an emergency fund available. And three weeks into our course, I wish we would have had that fund. There have been two major events within a week and half of each other that have taken quite a bite out of our account.
First, Austin needed to get his wisdom teeth pulled. He's been told for a long time that they've needed to come out, so we probably should have looked into everything a long time ago. But we didn't. We waited until Austin was in enough pain he didn't want to take it anymore, and scheduled the procedure. Well, if you don't know, they make you put down a pretty hefty "deposit" before the procedure actually begins. I suppose we could have been saving up for this.
The second event we couldn't really see coming. But it was just like any other Midwestern day, the snow was falling, the roads were crappy and busy with morning commuters. And before I know it, I find myself hit by another vehicle. Luckily I was not hurt and neither was the other driver. It wasn't on the interstate so we weren't going too fast either. But it is definitely an unexpected (and unwanted) cost that we now have to take care of. We're hoping that the other guy's insurance will take liability and be able to cut us a check, but it probably won't be until after we've already had to pay out.
And finally, we still need to file our taxes. Actually we need to determine if we're going to go talk to someone or just try to figure out the whole live-in-one-state, work-in-another-state thing. And also trying to determine if it'll be better to file separately or together. After we had to pay to the state of Iowa last year, we were hoping for some good news this year. But after we started filing our taxes, things weren't looking too promising.
Money can be great. When you have it. Although I've heard having too much can be a burden too. So I don't want a lot of money. I just want enough money. And money can suck. And it seems that when something is going to happen, it's all going to happen together. When it rain, it pours. Or - when it snows, you get in a car accident. Ha.
But it's important to remember that money is not everything. Money does not determine who we are. And money does not determine our success. Our thoughts, beliefs and actions determine who we are. Our success is defined by so much more than money. And our family and friends are everything.
So to you - our family and friends - thank you. For who you are. For what you do. For being a part of our lives. You are the most important. But, if you do have any extra money lying around... we'd be more than happy to take some of it for you. :)
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