financial {peace}

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Let no debt remain outstanding,

except the continuing debt to love one another,

for he who loves his fellow man

has fulfilled the law.

{Romans 13:8}

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When Rodney and I got married, we were completely debt-free {except for our home} and each of us had a good little retirement nest egg going.  Then we decided to use the equity line of credit on our home to finance a new business.  Going into debt was the first step down a very slippery, stressful, agonizing, horrendous slope that led us to make some really really really poor choices over the next couple of years until we lost it all. 

Dave Ramsey calls that brutal life lesson of ours a "stupid tax".  Every one pays them some time in their lives.  If you wise up quick enough, your stupid tax won't be too bad.  Ours had lots and lots of zeros attached to it, and so we were determined to never ever make those mistakes again.  E.V.E.R.

We had been told by several people at our church that they recommended "Financial Peace University" by Dave Ramsey.  Personally, I didn't care about Dave Ramsey or what he had to say.  I just wanted to be home with our babies. I am the "people-person", the "free spirit", and the last thing I want to think about is a budget.  I didn't want to be restricted or tied down or to think about money (ahem, that would be part of the mindset that got us into that giant mess in the first place!)

So, Rodney {the "nerd"....or, the wise one... or the spreadsheet guru... or my "best half"...} downloaded the MP3 of "Total Money Makeover" and we listened to it on a road trip.  He got my attention. I wanted more {really!!}.  So, we signed up for the 13-week "Financial Peace University" at our church.

The biggest miracle from FPU ~ I now care deeply about our budget and am completely invested in helping our little family stay on the course we have set to save more, give more, and live more:)) FPU has improved our communication about money (which has improved our marriage), has given us mutual goals, has given my "free spirit" its own little envelope every month (yay for Americanos, Freddos, and thrift store shopping sprees!), and has given us the tools to help our real estate clients make wise financial decisions when they are buying or selling their homes.

I just read on Dave Ramsey's Facebook page that they are now offering the first session of FPU for FREE!  You can come to the first class just to check it out and then decide if it's what you need.  Our church offers the class for $100 per family (that is a lifetime membership, which means you can come back anytime for forever).  Rodney and I will be facilitating one of the Tuesday evening groups that starts in October (I'll let you know when the registration opens if you want to join in our class!)  It's not a class where they try to sell you a bunch of other junk once you are there.  It's a class where you learn and where you get so much support from others in the class with you. 

We are going to Nashville at the end of this month.  I hope Dave Ramsey is in town when we go by his offices.  I just want to thank him, tell him we are debt-FREE!!!, that we almost have our Emergency Fund fully funded with six months of living expenses, and will be adopting our baby later this year (God-willing!)  He has given the Kennedy Family a new legacy and we cannot thank him enough for the peace that comes as a result of financial discipline. 

The road here hasn't been easy, but it's more than worth it.  Ask us about it sometime.

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Don't run up debts,

except for the huge debt of love you owe each other.

When you love others,

you complete what the law has been after all along.

The law code—don't sleep with another person's spouse,

don't take someone's life,

don't take what isn't yours,

don't always be wanting what you don't have,

and any other "don't" you can think of—

finally adds up to this:

Love other people as well as you do yourself.

You can't go wrong when you love others.

When you add up everything in the law code,

the sum total is love.

{Romans 13:8-10}

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