Email from an inquiring mind...

I received the below email yesterday from a person who is on the "edge" of implementing the basic principles of Financial Peace University and thought I would post my reponse to them.  Hopefully, it can encourage you to get serious about your spending before it is spent.

Question: What would fpu advise about taking on debt to upkeep a house? Ac unit, siding, windows and such.

Response: Well if you are actually following/committed to FPU Baby Steps and the principles, you wouldn't go into anymore debt. But that also depends on where you are in the process.

I don't need to know the answers, they should just help you assess the situation.
1. Can you sell some stuff to pay for it? Gaming systems, furniture, cars...
2. Do you have an emergency fund?
3. Which of these is a true emergency and which can you radically save for? I would make the AC an emergency since your wife is pregnant. ;-)

If you've sold everything and don't have an emergency fund, then you really only have two choices. Start radically saving now and live on beans and rice until you can cover the cost or do what most Americans have done and go in debt.

I know this doesn't help now, but since I tell people to spend EVERY dollar on paper before the month begins, I encourage everyone in my class to setup a car and home repairs account in their budget and put at least $5 a month in it. Things break, so we need to plan for it. This also keeps their emergency fund full because they pull from a different fund (repair fund) when things need upgrading/fixing.

Hope this helps!

Caleb

Current state of the business...

Shhh... Stop. Look around. Where are we? As a nation, a culture, where are we? What have we done? Just watch the commercials on your TV. Do you see it? Do you see the thing we've created? "Buy now, pay later" "Zero down" "No monthly payments..." Why? Why do we have to say "Yes" immediately?

It's obvious that banks are struggling from not making wise choices with you they lent money too, but some Retailers aren't far behind. Like Target... who is struggling because their "guests" are struggling to make payments.

Do you hear that? It's the economic alarm and it's time to wake up America. Time to wake up church! You of all people should no that borrowing other peoples' money is enslavement and when you do this you teach your children how to respond to crisis or an appetite of immediate gratification.

Honestly I'm tired of it and I'm tired of seeing families fall apart because their attempt to "keep up with the Jones'" has caused too much stress. Thank goodness, I've seen something that can change lives. A process/program that has caused 180 degree turns in relationships just by changing your behavior and relationship with $$$$.

Since I began facilitating this class in 2007, our classes have paid off $1.6 MILION in debt and saved over $135,000. The key IS the behavior change! Deciding that today, I won't live like everyone else by borrowing my way to happiness. Deciding that I won't be in the norm and living paycheck-to-paycheck. Deciding that today. Right now! My family will be my priority, not my WANTS. My goal will be to manage the money and resources given to me, with great care and in the end leave an inheritance for generations to come.

So stay tuned. Next week, "How do YOU relate to money and why is it important to know".