Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University: Week 11 - Working in your strengths

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Last week - From Fruition to Tuition

Last week was week 10 in Dave Ramsey’s “Financial Peace University“. Week 10 was all about retirement, education and planning for the future. Key points:

Independence in retirement is up to you. Don’t depend on Social Insecurity.
Fund college education only after you are funding your retirement.
If you don’t have a will, get one TODAY!

While my wife and I don’t have children yet, it is still good to be thinking about what might happen down the road, and planning for their college. Our retirement savings will come first though, and we’re already started on that!

This week - working in your strengths

Week 11 in our FPU class looked at work, and doing what you love in your job. Some key points that were made by Ramsey in the lesson:

The average job in America is now 2.1 years in length.
The key to power in our careers is to first look at ourselves.
Plan your work around your life rather than planning your life around your work.

Work is important, but there are some things that are even more important, like your faith and family. Don’t let your work become the only thing important in your life.

Life is too short to not do what you love

One thing that really jumped out at me during this lesson was just how much Ramsey stressed that you should try to do something that you enjoy doing for your work. If you’re dreading going to work every Monday, and you’re watching the clock til it strikes 5pm, then you may want to think about doing something else for a career. At the same time, there is no shame in working hard at a job you don’t enjoy for a while, just to get out of debt, or for a short term goal.

A book that Dave suggested people buy in order to help them finding the right path for work was 48 Days to the Work You Love:

The book, written by Dan Miller, talks about exploring yourself, finding out where you true abilities lie, and then finding work that you enjoy doing. Definitely worth a read.

When is it time to switch jobs?

Have you found yourself in a job situation where you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, and you can’t wait til you go home every day? If that’s the case, you may need to think about moving to a new job. At the same time don’t just go and quit your job before you have something new lined up. It’s important to first figure out what you truly love to do, and research where you’ll be able to do that work. From the Ramsey website:

When searching for job or vocation, it is important to know what kind of personality you have, as well as your strengths and weaknesses. By identifying your traits, you are much more likely to find a job in which you will love and excel, and you will learn how to work well with people who have different personalities.

Ramsey suggests even taking a personality test, to find out what kind of a career you might excel at. We were given an example of a personality assessment and the careers we might excel in with those traits in our class. Download the .pdf here:

Personal Trait Inventory (63.58 KB)

Once you find something you think is a fit, make sure that you do your research, and know exactly what you’re getting into. Research salaries and responsibilities. Be ready to explain what you bring to the table. And negotiate your new salary by making a value proposition to your prospective employer.

Here’s a 5 minute sound clip from the Dave Ramsey show where Dave talks through a potential job change with the caller.

Write a mission statement

After you’ve figured out what traits you have, what type of a career might fit you, and where you can do those things, try writing a career mission statement. Write down what you would like to accomplish in your home and work lives, what career you would want to hold, and what values you will hold dear. Hang onto the mission statement and refer to it!

Next Week

Next week is week 12 and a lesson called “Real Estate and Mortgages”, where Dave Ramsey talks about real estate, buying a house, selling a house and paying off your mortgage early.

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· Filed Under Dave Ramsey, Financial Peace University, tips

Comments

3 Responses to “Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University: Week 11 - Working in your strengths”

Kallan on August 7th, 2008 1:51 pm

Hey, Did you see Dave Ramsey’s new Visa Card? Wow! Check it out: http://www.rivervalleycoaching.com/?p=14

Seriously though, FPU changed my life! I am glad that you are getting the word out on it!

God Bless,

Kallan

[Reply]
Peter on August 7th, 2008 2:04 pm

@ Kallan - very funny link. You had me going - for about 2 seconds. FPU is very life-changing. It really makes you think differently about finances in general!

[Reply]