Lesson #2 Relating with money - Marriage & Money

1.  If you are married, briefly (or not so briefly) describe how you and your spouse traditionally communicate about money.  Do you fight about it?  Do you ever talk about money at all?  Do you have written goals for your income?
Me and my other half DO NOT get along when it comes to MONEY.  We FIGHT, a LOT.  We do not have written goals for our income, and we should... no we need to work on that.

2.  Why is it not a good idea for spouses to have separate checking accounts?  Why is this such a popular practice in our culture?  What problems could this cause?
My other half and I have separate checking accounts... we have been together a little over 5 years and we are not married, but we live together as a family with our son.  I have talked him into getting a joint checking account but he is not willing to go there just yet.  

3. What is the biggest difference between you and your spouse when it comes to money?
Iʻm a SAVER, think through my DECISIONS before ACTING on it.
My other half spends whatever money he has and has a hard time SAVING, which could be due to his history and childhood experiences.

Lesson 1 Supersaving Journal Entry #3 Day 3 Saving for Wealth Building

1.  In this session, Dave pretty much says that anyone should be able to retire with dignity and some personal wealth.  How do you respond to that?  Do you believe that you could find $100 a month to save?
I believe that people should retire with dignity and some personal wealth.  I know I can find $100 or more a month to save for my retirement.

2.  In your to-do list from the last session, you were instructed to start laying out your personal budget by using the Quickie Budget form.  Have you done that yet?  If so, can you how easy it would be to save money consistently, every month if you had no debt? What would that feel like?
I have a budget in place based on my previous reading of the "TOTAL MONEY MAKEOVER".  I currently have my FCU automatically place money into a savings account each payday... an account that is not linked to my debit card, and if I need to take money out of that account, I have to physically walk into my FCU and withdraw the money.

3.  Do you struggle with discipline when it comes to your money?  What are some specific strategies you can use to overcome this challenge?
I struggle most with sticking to my budget.  But just like a diet, you have to keep trying until it becomes a habit.  I learned from Weight Watchers that it takes 21 days to form a habit.... I will keep working at sticking to my budget until it makes a habit.

Lesson 1 Super Saving, Journal Entry #2 Day 2

1.  What was the last major unexpected financial crisis you faced?  How much money was involved?  How would that have gone differently if you had had the money sitting in a savings account?

I have had many financial crisisʻ in my life... but the one I will share happened about a little over 2 years ago.  I was working a minimum wage job, my kane was in/out of work... we could barely make the rent, and my car needed a brake job and new tires...

The brake job was estimated at $1100 and the new tires estimated at $800...  Humble and grateful to my dad for paying for my brake job and to my mom for buying me new tires.

If I had met FPU earlier, I would have saved up an emergency fund and I would have been able to pay for the brake job & tires myself... but itʻs better late than never to have found DR & FPU.

2.  Dream big.  What if you were debt free (except your home) and had $10,000 sitting in the bank just for emergencies?  How would your life be different?  How would you be different?

If I was debt free, I would be working part-time, working towards my clinical licensure, spending more time volunteering at my childʻs school.

I probably would be less stressed out about living paycheck to paycheck... Iʻd have more time to do the things I like to do... cooking & baking, and Iʻd be able to give my child more of my attention.

3.  In this session, Dave introduced the notion of actually paying cash for major purchases.  This is something we'll talk about A LOT as we work through FPU.  As we get started, what are your initial reactions to the idea of never borrowing money again?  Do you think this is too extreme?

I love love love the notion of never borrowing money again.  I especially liked the parallels made in his video about sinking funds and saving for purchases.  I do not think that the idea of paying cash for major purchases is extreme at all.  In a world, where credit cards are the norm, I think paying cash is realistic and do-able...

Lesson 1 of Financial Peace University - Start Saving Journal Entry

What do you hope to get out of FPU? What motivated you to enroll?

I hope to get out of FPU a better system for staying on budget and saving for the future.  I was motivated to enroll into this program because I have seen how well FPU has helped others, and I myself need all the help I can get to get my budget under control, and to start saving before itʻs too late.

What are three or four specific goals you have for this program?  In what ways do you want your life to be different by the time you finish this program?

My top three goals are to pay off all my debts (past due credit cards, outstanding medical bills, & outstanding utility bills?), save enough of an emergency fund that if I had an emergency I would be able to cover it stress-free, and to be able to save up atleast 50% of a down payment towards the purchase of my own home.

I want to stop living paycheck to paycheck, I want to stop making spontaneous purchases "just because", I want to be able to teach my child how to be financially responsible from the beginning... I want to be able to live like no one else...

Financial Peace University

Today's the day, I finally jumped onto the bandwagon... I purchased the online version of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University... for the next 16 weeks, I will have access to his Financial Peace University and I plan to watch all the DVDs, fill out the workbook (once i get it printed), etc.

I have come to the realization that I no longer want to live like everyone else, and I want to live like no one else, not financially strapped...

I will...
a) pay off all debts owed
b) purchase my own home
c) save for retirment
d) take care of my keiki

Motivation is what will get me to where I want to be...