if you're familiar with the dave ramsey mantra, you know that you could finish that sentence with "so that later you can live like no one else." this has been the philosophy of the pfeifer household since november of 2011 when we decided to enroll in financial peace university. i remember when we were preparing to enter into matrimony, we received a lot of unsolicited advice from well-meaning parents, married friends, pastors, grocery store cashiers (you get the idea.) everyone added their two cents (ha) and there were varied pearls of wisdom, but one thing that almost everyone agreed upon was that we had to address our money issues and come up with a solid financial plan.
we both knew of dave ramsey and were vaguely aware of his principles, but we wanted to expound on that and when the class was being advertised that day in november at mass, i knew this was the time to go for it. though financial peace university is offered in a classroom setting, we opted to do the class online because of our crazy, abnormal life. (i highly recommend this option for couples in alternative settings, as it allows you to work at your own pace.)
through the fourteen weeks of the course, we learned everything from setting up an emergency fund to investing and developing our kids' college funds. we tackled the tough issues like what amount of debt had each partner brought into the marriage and what was our financial lifestyle philosophy. we had conversations we never would have had and we came up with a logistical map for our future.
we completed the class two weeks ago and i can say that it has been life transforming. i am fearful of what would have happened to us in the future if we had never taken this course...i can tell you with total assurance that it wouldn't have been good. just three months in to the program, we have compiled a $1,000 emergency fund and we have paid off four credit cards, cut them up, and closed the accounts. we now budget and pay cash for everything we do and we are on track to be completely debt free in february of 2014.
now, let me tell you, this has not been easy and we have had to make sacrifices. i came from a world in which i had major retail credit cards and you just CAN'T LIVE without a credit card - what about emergencies?!?! (as in, i have a cocktail party next weekend and it is an absolute emergency that i go find an appropriate outfit.) i have been a victoria's secret vip angel member for the last five years and today i cut it up...you think that was easy?! but it is my new way of life...
i am not sharing all of this with you to sell some sort of gimmick, but i always feel it is my responsibility that if something has greatly changed my life, i need to share that with others. this lifestyle can set you free, give you peace of mind, and free up your income so that you can invest, spend, and give it away. it gives you excitement and motivation for the future and opportunity to build wealth, so that you can impact the community and pass on a great legacy to your children. it takes an incredible amount of sheer self discipline and it is not always met with eager approval. many people will shake their head and many people will question why you aren't spending your money...they will say you're not normal. well seemingly, "normal" is broke, so i don't know about y'all, but i don't wanna be normal!!!
i will use this blog to update our progress and share any insightful tips i might find along the way on saving money and investing. i am THE biggest personal finance nerd!!!! (but proud of it.) in the meantime, go check out dave's site and explore. it will change your life and your family's life as you know it.
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