Managing Money God’s Way

I would like to put “Easy” in the title of this post, but then I think we would be fooling ourselves.  The steps themselves are easy, but they are difficult to follow through on.  It will take determination, and a lot of sacrafice, to see all those credit card balances go to zero.  There is something I would like you to do before you begin to follow the steps below, and that is what I call Step Zero.  Identify why you want to be debt free.  Saying you want to be debt free is not enough, you need to know why.  For me, it is because debt is forcing me to stay in a job longer than I would like.  It is limiting my opportunities.  Once you have identified the “why” move on to the steps below.

Ten Steps to Paying Off Credit Card Debt

1. Save three months of expenses in an emergency fund.  You may be saying, “why is this on the list of steps to take to pay off my debt?”  You need this fund for when unexpected expenses come up, like when your air conditioner breaks, or your car breaks down.  This will keep you from using your credit cards to pay for this stuff.
2. Take an inventory of your debt.  In this step you list all of your credit card accounts.  Include the account number, current balance, interest rate, minimum payment, credit limit and contact number.  This may shock you when you see how much you really owe.
3. Contact each credit card’s customer service number.  What you are going to do here is explain that you are in the process of consolidating cards and would like them to review your account for a lower interest rate.  If they decline, ask to speak to a supervisor and repeat your pitch.  If that fails, thank them ad hang up.  Whatever you do, DO NOT close the account at this point.
4. Consolidate balances to credit cards with the lowest interest rate.  Move as much and as many of your high interest debt to cards with the lowest rates.
5. Get real angry.  I mean get really really angry and the debt staring back at you.  Take a look at it and remember all the nights it has kept you up, or all your dreams that have been put on hold.
6. Cut up all but the card with the highest available credit.  You are in a hole and you need to stop digging it deeper.  Get your scissors out and start cutting.  Take that card you kept with the highest available credit, put it in a plastic cup of water and freeze it.  You will only need it in case of an emergency.
7. Reorder your list of debts, putting the smallest debt at the top.  Put a big #1 next to that sucker.
8. Put every single dime you can find at debt #1.  You want every single extra penny you can scrape up to go to paying this debt off.
9. Snowball to the next smallest amount.  When the balance reaches zero and you have paid off the entire balance, you will then take the monthly minimum you were paying on that card along will every extra penny and begin to pay off the next credit card balance.  You will rinse and repeat this step until all your credit card balances are paid off.
10. Celebrate.  I think it is time to celebrate a great victory in your life.  Do something good for yourself.

If you are like me, you have probably been accumulating debt for years.  It is time to get it paid off and start living a life debt free!

I was sick this weekend so I had some time to contemplate about how our finances were doing, and I realized I was slipping back into some old bad habits.  I have been thinking about our finances lately, but not really wanting to dig to deep.

One thing I notice about this bad habit of mine is that the longer I put off entering transactions into my checkbook program and checking how we are doing against our budget, the harder it becomes to get caught up.  And I don’t mean because I have a lot of transactions to enter, I mean because I am afraid to look!

The difference now is that I can now recognize when this is happening to me and I will make time to make things right; to get caught up on balances, payments, etc.  I call this Budget Procrastination Syndrome or B.P.S. for short.

Symptoms of Budget Procrastination Syndrome

• Your last checking account entry is three weeks old.
• You are not quite sure when your next credit card payment is due.
• You feel a combination of anxiety and apathy towards doing anything financial.

Take it from me, the side effects of B.P.S. can be quite painful, ranging from missing a credit card payment and incurring a late fee, to bouncing a check.  So how can you over come B.P.S?

Home Remedies for Budget Procrastination Syndrome

The simplest cure for B.P.S. is to dive headfirst into your finances.  Try to set aside some time within the next 24 hours to get caught up with your finances.  Gather up your statements, update all outstanding balances in your checkbook and on your debt tracking sheet (you have one don’t you?).  Then start to look ahead at what bills are coming due and make sure you have enough cash on hand.

Sometimes we get so busy doing other things in life that managing our money gets relegated to the “I can do that tomorrow” pile.  Problem is, that tends to stay on that pile for quite a while.  If you feel yourself going down this road, I encourage you to make time today to get caught up.  You will feel a whole lot better if you know what is going on with your finances!

I will always strive to be honest with those of you reading my blog posts.  So coming from someone who is still in debt, I can tell you that it really stinks to be in debt.  I would like to give you 10 reasons why being in debt stinks.

1. God, through his word tells us that being in debt stinks.  Proverbs 22:7 states: “The borrower is servant to the lender.” Being a Christian this one really hits home for me.  I have not been a good steward of what God has given me.  My wife and I are actively working on this one.
2. Debt limits your opportunities.  Maybe you would like to make a career change, go back to school, or maybe even move to another area.  Forget it.  You are in debt.
3. Debt affects your entire family.  Your kids may not fully understand the fact that mom and dad are in debt and maybe even struggling to pay their bills, but they sure understand when mom and dad are fighting about money.
4. Debt forces you to put up with a lot of crap.  Being in debt forces you to put up with a lousy job, broken down cars, and overall lower standard of living.
5. Debt plays by its own set of rules.  If you don’t believe me, try carrying a large balance on a credit card.  One month your statement shows an APR of say 7.99%, the next is is up to 23.99%.  What happened?  You just appeared to be a high risk.
6. Debt is something you think about all the time.  If you are anything like me, it is one of the first things you think about when you wake up in the morning and it is the last thing you think about when you go to sleep at night.  Don’t we all have better things to think about?  And realizing that it is not going away anytime soon, leaves you with a feeling of helplessness.
7. Debt eats away at future earnings.  Every dollar you pay in interest on debt is a dollar that could have been saved or spent on something else, and a dollar taken away from your earnings.
8. Debt is a lousy employer.  When you are in debt, and more and more of your income is going towards repaying that debt, you might as well as consider yourself the employee of your debt.  What a lousy employer!
9. Debt sours even the best events in life.  getting married, having a baby, buying a house, taking a well deserved vacation should be some of the highlights of your life.  But if you are deep in debt, these events only provide temporary relief.
10. Debt plain STINKS!

I hope and pray you are like me and working your way out of debt, because trust me it stinks!

Today I will be closing out my series on Dave Ramsey’s 7 Baby Steps with a look at giving to others.  In my opinion giving to others, though I have not always been the best at it, is one of the best reasons to build your wealth.

Here are the Steps we have covered to date:

• Step 1:  Emergency Fund – When It Rains It Pours
• Step 2:  Pay Off All Debt Using The Debt Snowball Method
• Step 3:  3-6 Months Of Expenses In Savings
• Step 4:  Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement
• Step 5:  College funding for your children
• Step 6:  Pay off the home early

Baby Step 7:  Build Wealth and Give

Baby steps 1-6 are all about getting your financial house in order, paying off debt, saving for the future and funding college for your children.  Step 7 looks at what Dave calls the “Great Misunderstanding”.  The misunderstanding in his eyes, is the mistaken belief that many people think that the way to have more, is to hold on tightly to what they have.

He uses an example of taking a wad of money and closing your fist around it.  You now have that money and it is not going to get away from you, but on the other hand, you can’t receive more money in your hand either, because it is closed up tight.  When you freely give with an open hand, your hand is already open and is ready to receive blessings as well as to give.

So once you reach the point where you have all your debts paid, and your blessed enough to be building surplus wealth, you should give it to others.  I am not advocating wating until ALL your debt is paid off to give.  I personally am still paying off debt, but I still tithe.

Reasons Why We Should Give

• First and formost, as a Christian I believe that everything is God’s, and we are only stewards of everything we have.  Psalm 24:1 says “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof”.  We need to be good stewards of what has been given to us, using it for the good of others.
• Giving makes us less selfish people.  Giving helps us to become more Christ-like.
• Giving is a form of worship in which we show or gratitude to God for everything he has given us.

Get Creative About Giving

Here are some ways you may think about giving, both with money and without!

• Volunteer time at your church serving others.
• Serve meals at a local homeless shelter.
• Give to a local charity.
• Help a single mom by buying some groceries or paying a couple of bills.
• Spend time with people at a nursing or retirement home.
• You might consider investing some of your money into MicroPlace.

Your giving is only limited by your creativity.  So what are you waiting for?  Get started!

Last time we looked at Baby Step 5, college funding for your children.  We talked about when to start and some options to use for saving for their education.  Today we look at taking extra money and use it to pay off your home early.  Before we begin, here are the steps we have covered so far:

• Step 1:  Emergency Fund – When It Rains It Pours
• Step 2:  Pay Off All Debt Using The Debt Snowball Method
• Step 3:  3-6 Months Of Expenses In Savings
• Step 4:  Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement
• Step 5:  College funding for your children

Baby Step 6:  Paying Off Your Home Early

After having payed off all your debt, saved for your retirement and put away money for your children’s college expenses, the next thing Dave Ramsey suggest doing is paying off your mortgage early.

To start with Dave suggests getting no more than a 15 year fixed rate mortgage, that is no more than 25% of your income.  If you don’t already have a 15 year fixed rate mortgage, now may be a good time to get one by refinancing your home.  A 15 year mortgage will probably mean higher monthly payments, but it also means you will pay the home off sooner, and pay less in interest.

Why Should I Pay Off My House?

• Interest Savings:  You will be saving thousands of dollars in interest payments on the mortgage.  For example, on a 200,000 dollar mortgage over 30 years at a 6% interest rate, you will end up paying over $250,000 in interest.  Cut that time frame to 15 years and you will only pay $115,000 in interest!
• Peace Of Mind:  Having paid off your house means having peace of mind.  Having debt of any kind is extra weight on your shoulders, and it can weigh you down.
• Less Stress:  You will have less stress in your life when you need to deal with a job change (or loss), or want to have a spouse stay at home to raise your kids.
• Getting a Raise:  Without that large bill every month, it’s like getting an instant raise!

Why I Should Not Pay Off My Mortgage

• Investing Returns Could Be Higher:  Yeah right, in this economy?  But at times this may be the case, and if you can get a better return on your money, than maybe this might be a better choice.
• Inflation Works With You:  As you know, inflation goes up by 3-4% a year, so by not pre-paying your mortgage you will be paying it off with cheaper money.
• I Will Lose My Tax Write Off:  And you are giving the government a free loan for what reason?

Conclusion

When I look at both sides of the issue, there are valid points to debate.  To me it comes down to weighing the benefits, the risks, and the emotionl/psychological sides of the equations.  I am still leaning towards paying off the mortgage early.  Have I been able to do that yet? NO, but it is a goal I will be working on!

What do you think about paying ogg your house early?  Good or bad idea?

Last time we looked at Baby Step 4, investing 15% of your gross income into Roth IRAs and other pre-tax retirement accounts.  Before we dive head first into step 5, here is a review of the Baby Steps we have covered so far:

Dave Ramsey’s 7 Baby Steps

• Step 1:  Emergency Fund – When It Rains It Pours
• Step 2:  Pay Off All Debt Using The Debt Snowball Method
• Step 3:  3-6 Months Of Expenses In Savings
• Step 4:  Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement

Baby Step 5:  College Fund For Your Children

Now that you have your debt paid off, and saving 15% towards your retirement, it is time to start thinking about saving some money for your children’s education.  You should only start this step AFTER completing steps 1-4.  Here are some options for saving for that college education.

• Education Savings Account (ESA):  With this you can save $2,000 (after tax) per year, per child that will grow tax free!  Money must be used for education purposes only, otherwise a 10% penalty and taxes will apply.  Money must be used or rolled over to a qualifying family member by age 30 or a 10% penalty and taxes will apply.
• 529 Plan:  If you do not meet income limits for an ESA, or if you want to put additional money aside, you can use a 529 plan.  With this plan you can save up to $12,000 per year, per child.  The money must be used for higher education only, otherwise a 10% penalty and taxes will apply to the gains.  Many states offer a 529 plan, and you do not necessarily need to live in that state to use their 529 plan.
• UTMA/UGMA Plans:  This stands for Uniform Transfer (Gift) to Minors Act.  According to Dave, this one is not as good as the ESA or 529 plans.

Dave also notes several ways he would NEVER use to fund a college education.  These include:

• Insurance
• Savings Bonds
• Pre-paid college tuition
• Zero-coupon bonds.

Why Complete Steps 1-4 Before Funding College For My Children

Many people will disagree with this being step 5, and that you should only start this step after completing steps 1-4, but listen to the logic behind this.

Your kids can always help pay for their own college education or get scholarships, grants or loans.  But if you don’t pay off your debt and start saving for retirement, you might not be able to catch back up.  It is better to get your own financial house in order first.

Personally, I think that even if you are able to pay for your child(s) education, it is still a good idea to have them participate in paying for their own schooling.

What is your opinion of paying for your kid’s college?  Are you saving for their college funds now?  Should they even go to college?

Today we talk about investing 15% of your household income.  So far, the steps we have covered in the Dave Ramsey’s 7 Baby Steps series are:

• Step 1:  Emergency Fund – When It Rains It Pours
• Step 2:  Pay Off All Debt Using The Debt Snowball Method
• Step 3:  3-6 Months Of Expenses In Savings

In Babystep 4, Dave Ramsey suggests saving 15% of your household income in good solid long term investments.  No more (for now) and NO LESS.

Why Should I Save 15%?

Because this is your nest egg.  This is what you are saving for your future, your future when you are retired and no longer working.  If you are anything like me, I want to save as much as I possibly can for our retirement.  I am not counting on Social Security to even be around when I retire, and I DO NOT want to eat dog food.  The point to all of this is that 15% is usually going to be adequate to get you to where you need to be.  The longer you have until retirement, the bigger the gains you will see through compounding interest.

If you are older nad have less time until retirement you may need to be investing a higher percentage than 15%.  You started late, so you have some ground to make up.

What Should I Invest In?

Dave Ramsey suggests the following investments:

• Company 401k or other plan up to the match
• Roth IRA for you and your spouse
• Back to the 401k or other plan

What you invest your money into within these types of accounts, I am not going to try and give you any advice.  You should make that decision as a couple.

Will 15% be enough for your retirement?  Do you think you should save more or less?

It has been a few days since I last posted.  That is because I am on vacation with my family at the beach for a few days, but I wanted to continue with my series on Dave Ramsey’s 7 Baby Steps.  Here are the steps we have covered so far:

• Step 1 – Emergency Fund – When It Rains It Pours
• Step 2 – Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball Method

Baby step 3 build upon the emergency fund you established in baby step 1 and takes it to the next level.  In this step you are building a fully funded emergency fund of 3-6 months of living expenses.  The reason for so much money?  With this reserve you are building a safety net against major life events so that you do not have to go into debt again.

Once you have 3-6 months of expenses saved there are not very many things that can happen that you can’t pay cash for outright.  Lose your job, unplanned surgery, your emergency fund should have enough money in it to cover these expenses.

Why Bother To Build An Emergency Fund?

Many people think that this step is a big waste to build an emergency fund that is so large.  Why not use the money for something better?  I personally can think of a few reasons why this is a good idea.

1. Stuff Happens:  You will have things come up that are most unexpected and I think it is better to have planned for them than to just stick your head in the sand like an ostrich.  You will be glad that you have enough money to pay cash instead of having to whip out the old credit card and go further into debt.
2. Stress Management:  When you have an emergency fund saved, life is a lot less stressful.  You will not have to wonder how you are going to pay for something unexpected, you have the cash available to you.
3. Risk Is Reduced:  When you have an emergency fund, along with the proper insurance(s) you have a lot less risk of having a bad situation turn worse.  You manage the risk that comes along with those big negative events, and stop them from turning into life changers.

How Much Is Enough?

That decision lies with you and your family.  The amount may vary based upon your living situation, number of children, job stability and other factors.  Dave Ramsey speaks of a baseline of 3-6 months of expenses.  So if your family has a minimum of $3000 in expenses every month after getting rid of all the un-necessary bills, your 3-6 months of expenses would be between $9000 and $18,000.

Where Should I Put My 3-6 Months Of Savings?

Where you save your emergency fund is really up to you, but I would say you need to make sure that you can get to it right away if you need to.  My personal preference, and where we have our emergency fund is in a high-yield savings account at ING Direct.  Whatever you decide, DO NOT put your emergency savings into things like real estate, or the stock market that could be tied up for a while.  KEEP IT LIQUID!

So, my question to you is this:  Do you think saving up 3 to 6 months of expenses is enough?  To much?  Let’s discuss.

In Baby Step 1 we talked about saving up an emergency fund of $1000.  The most important reason you are saving up that money is so you do not go further into the debt hole by using your credit cards while you are paying down your debt.  As a review, here are the steps we have covered thus far:

Step 1 – Emergency Fund of $1000.

Baby Step 2:  Pay Off All Debt Using The Debt Snowball Method

This step more than likely will be one of the longest in the 7 step process.  If your dealing with alot of debt from student loans, credit cards, auto loans and other things, you might be at step2 for a couple of years or more.  Remember, the key here is to pay off your debts.  Bankruptcy should not be an option.

So how does the debt snowball work?

• Put all your debts in order from the smallest balance to the largest.
• After all your necessities (food, gas, utilities, etc.) are paid, make minimum payments on all your debts.
• Put any extra money towards paying off the debt with the smallest balance.
• Once you have paid off the smallest balance, you roll (snowball) all that money towards paying off the next smallest balance.
• Repeat until all your debts are paid off.

This may not be the quickest way to pay down your debt, but I know this works because I am using it with great success.  Using this method also gives you a great psychological boost from the quick “win” you achieve by paying off the smallest debt.

Do Not Go Into New Debt

The key to making the debt snowball method work, is to make sure you don’t go into new debt, while you are paying down the old.  Here are a few tips:

1. Quit borrowing more money.
2. Take your credit cards and put them in a plastic cup with water and freeze them at the back of your freezer.  This makes them very difficult to get to.  While they are thawing out you can really think hard if you need to use them.
3. Have a yard sale.  If your like me, you have a garage and house full of stuff you don’t even look at anymore.

Get serious about paying off your debts, and in no time you will be debt free!

Next Up:  Baby Step 3:  3-6 Months of Living Expenses in Savings

I have been writing about personal finance for oh, just about 4 days now and realized that after posting yesterday’s comments about establishing an Emergency Fund I actually put the cart before the horse as they say.  What I should have done, which is what I am starting today is a series on the 7 baby steps Dave Ramsey recommends in his book The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness.  So today I’ll be starting a series of posts about his system.  In this series I will be going over the 7 baby steps in depth, talking about each one and going over what you need to do to achieve each step.

Who is this Dave Ramsey Guy?

Dave Ramsey is a personal money management expert, radio talk show host and TV personality who has helped thousands of people become debt free and change their financial lives forever.  He gives no-nonsense advice to people who are in debt, gotten in over their heads, and need help finding their way out.  My wife and I bought his book and have been following his steps, so I can tell you from experience that they really work.

Dave Ramsey’s 7 Baby Steps

1. $1,000 to start an Emergency Fund: Before you get started with the rest of the plan, you need to save some money in an Emergency Fund.  We opened an account at ING Direct for our emergency fund.  This is to be used in case of an emergency like flat tire, medical, etc.  You need to do this so you will STOP using your credit cards.
2. Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball Method: Basically you list your debts from smallest to largest.  You pay the minimum payments on all of your debts and any leftover money you have you pay extra on your smallest debt until it is paid off.  You then roll (snowball) that amount over to the next smallest debt.  I found a great Excel spreadsheet I used for this that does most of the work for you.
3. 3 to 6 months of living expenses in savings: Dave recommends that you save 3-6 months of expenses in case of job loss, illness, or other long term problem.
4. Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRA’s and pre-tax retirement: Save for the future, unless you want to eat cat or dog food.
5. College funding for children: After saving for retirement you can save for your kid’s education and college expenses.
6. Pay off home mortgage early: Make extra payments on your mortgage.
7. Build wealth and give!: Continue building your wealth through mutual funds and real estate, and GIVE IT!

7 pretty simple, yet effective steps, but if you don’t ever take the first step you will not take the other 6.

Getting Started

Before you even get started, I think it is important to understand why you really want to do this.  It is also important that you discuss this with your spouse and get him/her on board and committed to making this change.  My wife and I finally came to the realization that we needed to change our habits on day while talking over the phone about our financial situation and how much credit card debt we had.  We decided right then that we needed to do something, so I ran right out and bought Dave’s book.

No More Credit Cards or Debt Period!

When you finally make that decision to change, you need to begin immediately and decide as a family that you are not going to incur any more consumer debt.  Credit cards, store credit cards, home equity lines are off limits.  If you want something new like a LCD TV or Laptop you are going to have to save up the money to buy them.  Freeze your credit cards in a cup of water and leave them at the back of the freezer!

I will be skipping to step 2, “Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball Method” tomorrow, since I already wrote about step 1 in yesterday’s article.