I'm a huge Dave Ramsey fan. My dh and I completed the 13 week Financial Peace course by him at our church. I believe in it so much that I then taught it for our church friends and the community. If you don't have the money to shell out for the Financial Peace course then you can read his Total Money Makeover and glean a lot of the information there. Here's some of the highlights that stood out to me.
1. Save $1000 in your emergency fund for...emergencies. Your car might need work or your heating and air. You need to have some money set aside so that you can pay it without putting it on a credit card.
2. List your debts from smallest to largest and begin paying them off. The reasoning behind smallest to largest is that you get a rush paying off those bills. Seeing them gone helps keep you motivated to keep going. When you've paid off one you add that payment to the next credit card/debt. This accelerates the pay off.
3. Get life insurance and get the right kind...Term. If you have any other kind of life insurance make sure you purchase term insurance. It is the one that will give you the pay off in the long run.
4. Put 3-6 months worth of savings in the bank. This is your long term emergency fund. If you or your partner were to get laid off what would you do? The average time it takes to get another job is 3 months. Once those credit card bills are paid off get yourself a nice sized savings account and don't touch it unless you absolutely have too.
This next steps will be continued next week! So make sure you come back to read the rest. Sign up to get the reminder newsletters.
Here's the book, in case you're ready to get debt free!
And here's a great workbook to get you started. Your family will thank you when you are done and you will
rest easier knowing you are out of debt.
