Budgeting, or Who's doing the "Dave Ramsey" plan or similar?

[breakingcontact]

Paying off our last credit card in January, then starting on my stupid student loan which should be done by the summer, leaving us debt free except the house at the same time the daughter starts at college, which we'll cash flow.

Didn't follow Dave's plan to the letter and never did FPU, but listening to him widened me up tremendously and we're seeing the results.

Congrats!

 

[shortround]

Never buy a car on credit, save up and pay cash.

Pay for college the old-fashioned way. Work for tuition, room and board. Never take out a school loan. If you want low cost higher education, join the armed forces or get a scholarship.

Finance your home for 15 years instead of 30, and pay any extra income towards principal. Skip vacations and put that money to work on your mortgage.

Don't put anything on your credit card that you cannot fully pay when the monthly statement arrives.

Don't have kids until you can afford them without public assistance.

Spend less than you earn.

Works every time.

 

[Orbie]

My wife and I are FPU coordinators through our church. We began following Dave in 2010 and have now taught 4 classes. The process works! Its a lifetime process and is something that you must be devoted to. We have seen marriages saved and many other awesome things happen to our members. I am 30 and my wife is 28 and the only debt we have is our mortgage which we refinanced for 15 yrs with a lower APR. I encourage every one to sign up and take the course. You can find a local place to sit down every week with other like minded people and coordinators to lead you, or you can purchase the FPU kit and do it all from home. The more people who start getting their finances under control now, the better.

Anyone who is an FPU graduate, Dave will be back in town in March. He will be discussing what comes after FPU. Anyone can attend but it is geared towards those who have already completed FPU. The Legacy Journey LIVE - San Antonio, TX

GAZELLE INTENSITY!!!

 

[cajunautoxer]

It's tough to follow his plan. My wife and I haven't had any CCs in 6 years and our 2 30year loans we're on schedule to pay them both off in less than 10 years each

 

[mitchntx]

Spend less than you earn.

Works every time.

Very true and speaks volumes.

I'm about to make a cash offer on 25 acres of land in Hico, Texas and begin to build my retirement squanderosa.

 

[Texas42]

Make a budget, make it a lean budget, have a cash supply to cover emergencies, budget for "emergencies" that you should see coming, don't go out to eat, learn how to make healthy/inexpensive food, and figure out that this is a marathon, not a short term race.

 

[breakingcontact]

Make a budget, make it a lean budget, have a cash supply to cover emergencies, budget for "emergencies" that you should see coming, don't go out to eat, learn how to make healthy/inexpensive food, and figure out that this is a marathon, not a short term race.

I think thats why a lot of people dont budget and just stay on the debt treadmill. Its easy and quick to blow money and get into debt. It takes awhile to see the progress of being disciplined and doing right with money.

 

[rushthezeppelin]

I've never exactly been rich but have only had a few debts in my life and currently have none, well sort of, helping my best friends pay on a house, not on the mortgage since I'm not officially family with them (might as well be, they are the only people on the planet I would trust doing this with mostly because all my other friends aren't that responsible). Only debt I still have right now is some BS charge from Verizon that I refuse to pay, I had a two year contract that I always paid on time on and they suddenly stick me with a $500 charge at the end of my contract, can't even remember the reason anymore, now I use Cricket wireless. Only thing I could work on is getting some cash reserves in case something bad happens but this hobby hasn't exactly helped that (granted in a way guns and ammo are like cash reserves but I shouldn't use that excuse since I would have a damn hard time parting with them).

 

[breakingcontact]

December starts tomorrow. Sticking to the budget if it kills me and tracking all the money spent. Actually excited about it.

 

[Mreed911]

Buying the daughter a car this month. She turns 18 soon and we're to the point this is needed. Her first car?

Likely a 2000 Jeep Cherokee. $3000, one owner, 160k miles. She learned to drive in my and my dad's SUV's (Escape/Blazer) and it's easily serviceable. Cash purchase as a gift to her... for several reasons she's earned it.

Best part? Cash deal, no payments, so she'll never have experienced car payments. Our deal on gas is that she'll earn enough for school and back + 20% (essentially two tanks a month) from me for housework, etc. and anything beyond that comes from her earnings babysitting, being a photographer, etc.

Liability only insurance which I'll carry while she's in school. Vehicle in my name until she finishes school OR earns enough to sell/replace it if she wants.

College? Before I heard Dave I'd already done some prepaid tuition stuff so that's our mainstay the first two years, at least, plus any scholarships. Cash flow after that and for room, board, etc. No student loans. I'm hoping to have mine paid off this year (from my Master's program, which HAS been worth it for me).

Had I found Dave earlier all this would have been much simpler... and much faster, I think.

 

[FrEaK_aCcIdEnT]

I have seen the Dave Ramsey plan. It has it's value, but it isn't what we chose to go with. My wife and I realized that we always lived within our means as long as we watched our budget using Microsoft Excel. So we decided to play the credit game. We have 1 credit card that we use. Every purchase goes onto the card. When we get the bill we pay it off. No balance carries over. We get the benefits of the points on the card. We used 100,000 points to buy new cell phones a couple months ago. It took us a year and a half to get those points. Our next point funded purchase will be plane tickets and hotel stay in a couple of years when our son is old enough to travel and remember the trip.

 

[35Remington]

I have seen the Dave Ramsey plan. It has it's value, but it isn't what we chose to go with. My wife and I realized that we always lived within our means as long as we watched our budget using Microsoft Excel. So we decided to play the credit game. We have 1 credit card that we use. Every purchase goes onto the card. When we get the bill we pay it off. No balance carries over. We get the benefits of the points on the card. We used 100,000 points to buy new cell phones a couple months ago. It took us a year and a half to get those points. Our next point funded purchase will be plane tickets and hotel stay in a couple of years when our son is old enough to travel and remember the trip.

Lots of people own venomous snakes. They're non-threatening most of the time. Only some snake owners get bitten. It's not a matter of whether you'll be bitten, rather what happens if you are.

 

[breakingcontact]

I dont do credit cards at all anymore. I dont own one. Not even for "emergencies".

 

[breakingcontact]

Doing my first real budget in basically forever starting in December.

Basically doing high tech envelope system by deducting from google gdoc on my phone. Holy cow I spend too much money. We are going to save a lot this month which is good but its bad ive been pissing away so much. Oh well had to confront the problem to get better. Very humbling and eye opening. Off to make my last purchase from Midway with the remnants of my fun money.

 

[35Remington]

Let me add two things that I didn't include previously.

(1) Build some fun money in there. It will keep you from going insane. For two years my FM was only $20/month, but it was better than nothing. You can trust me when I say I made every one of them dollars count.

(2) Try using Mint.com to track your spending. It's not a good budgeting tool IMO, but it's great for looking backwards and realizing you're spending $700/month on fast food.

 

[F350-6]

Doing my first real budget in basically forever starting in December.

Basically doing high tech envelope system by deducting from google gdoc on my phone. Holy cow I spend too much money. We are going to save a lot this month which is good but its bad ive been pissing away so much. Oh well had to confront the problem to get better. Very humbling and eye opening. Off to make my last purchase from Midway with the remnants of my fun money.

That's a great way to understand where your money is really going. Write every penny spent down and then look back over it. The same method also works for trying to lose weight or a specific type of diet. Write down the calories, sugars, or whatever you're trying to accomplish and it becomes much easier to make choices when you have to stare at the consequences of your decisions on paper.

 

[breakingcontact]

Im pretty "wired" and have tried mint.com and several other budgeting/spending tracking programs but ive found simpler is better and just use a spreadsheet.

I agree you have to have some entertainment/hobby money or you wont stick to the budget.

Honestly this is going to force me to be healthier as i am seeing how much i spend on junk food. So thats a secondary benefit.

Ive seen where some spending categories need to be adjusted or added but im going to wait until January to do that.

 

[jocat54]

Congrats to all of you that are doing the plan.
I did the Dave Ramsey plan long before Dave was around. Many years ago it dawned on me one day while paying bills that paying the minimum on my credit cards would never get them paid off. Duh! We never were big spenders but spent more than we made some months, hence credit cards.

We have been debt free (including home) for many years and only pay cash for stuff. If I don't have the cash I just don't buy it. We never made big money but made a decent living. I would love to buy a new truck soon but got to save a little more for now.

 

[Das Jared]

I budget. I use the envelope system, but electronically

sent from Jennifer Lawrence's bedroom