Money Matters Monday

I am getting so much information about money and budgeting and I know many are out there who struggle just like me. I think I would be greedy if I didn't share some of what I've been learning with those who are interested, so in addition to my Monday IAHY blog post (here's today's) I've added a Monday edition to my blog, and as you can see from the title above, it will be about money. Hopefully you can take what is written and it will help you somewhere in your financial journey through life, just as it is helping mine.

I am taking a Dave Ramsey course entitled Financial Peace University and he has seven "baby steps" to financial success. Do them in the order they are listed.

1. $1000 in an emergency fund ($500 if your income is under $20,000 per year)--This needs to be done as quickly as possible. If it means you sell something to get it, then do it! But this is priority since you never know when an emergency will hit.

2. Pay off all debt except the house utilizing the debt snowball. I will get into this more in another post, but it is vital.

3. Three to six months expenses in savings. This is what I'm working on getting now!

4. Invest 15% of your household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement plans. Do you realize, if you put away $100 per month, every month from age 25 to 65 at 12%, you will have over $1,176,000? Who wants to be a millionaire? Get on it now!

5. College funding.

6. Pay off your home early.

7. Build wealth and give!!

So, there's a start for all those who are seeking direction financially. Trust me when I say it won't work unless you COMMIT and DISCIPLINE yourselves! Don't get discouraged if you fall off the horse a time or two--it is bound to happen, but get right back on and plow away at those money issues. It will be worth it!

"Live like no one else today, so someday you can live like no one else." --Dave Ramsey