Teaching Financial Peace University
My wife and I were just asked by some friends at church if we would help them in hosting a Dave Ramsey “Financial Peace University” class at our church. They had been planning to teach the class by themselves, but in the wake of our tough economic times they had over 60 people sign up for the class. They decided they were going to need several other couples to co-host the group, and they asked us to be one of them. We agreed to do our best to help facilitate the class.
In preparation for our new class, I thought I’d do a quick review of our own experience in Financial Peace University. So here is a review of the 13 week class, written by me as we participated in it this summer.
Financial Peace University – Week by Week
- Unboxing Dave Ramsey: Opening the Financial Peace University Membership Kit
- Week 1 – Super Saving
- Week 2 – Relating with money
- Week 3 – Cash Flow Planning
- Week 4 – Dumping Debt
- Week 5 – Credit Sharks in Suits
- Week 6 – Buyer Beware
- Week 7 – Clause and Effect: Buying Insurance
- Week 8 – That’s Not Good Enough!
- Week 9 – Of Mice and Mutual Funds
- Week 10 – From Fruition to Tuition
- Week 11 – Working in your strengths
- Week 12 – Real Estate and Mortgages
- Week 13 – The Great Misunderstanding
Dave Ramsey’s 7 Baby Steps
While we’re at it, why not do a quick review of the Dave Ramsey 7 Baby Steps. In case you don’t already know, the 7 baby steps is Dave Ramsey’s plan to get out of debt, build wealth and reach financial independence. Here are the 7 Steps:
- $1,000 to start an Emergency Fund.
- Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball.
- 3 to 6 months of expenses in savings.
- Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement.
- College funding for children.
- Pay off home early.
- Build wealth and give! (Invest in mutual funds and real estate).
Right now my wife and I are currently just finishing step three (we’re debt free except the house!), and are working on setting up some more savings and investments. Where are you in the plan?
Have you taken The Financial Peace University Class? Did it make changes to your life? Tell me your experience with FPU in the comments.
Related Articles From Bible Money Matters- Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University: Week 13 - The Great Misunderstanding
- Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University: Week 11 - Working In Your Strengths
- Dave Ramsey's 7 Baby Steps Review: Get Out Of Debt, Build Wealth And Give.
- Should There Be Mandatory Personal Finance Classes In High Schools?
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Congrats on the great opportunity! Sounds like it will be a great experience.
My community offered FPU earlier this fall, but I didn’t sign up for it because we are already debt-free except the house. I’ve read quite a bit of Dave Ramsey and watch his show, so I’m wondering if FPU would be worth the time and money.
What are your thoughts on this? I wouldn’t want to take the class and not learn much… or worse yet, have the rest of the class hate me.
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Personally I thought the class was good, and entertaining even if you are out of debt. We were out of debt except the house as well when we took the class, but we still learned quite a bit.
Ramsey also has a very entertaining approach to teaching in the videos that are shown in class, so I think it would be worth it to take it anyway.
I agree with you in that Ramsey is a great teacher and communicator and definitely entertaining (after all I actually watch him on the Fox Business channel and how many financial experts could you say that people actually want to listen to!) but there are at least 2 areas where I think that Dave Ramsey is absolutely positively dead wrong and I can prove it here: http://www.creditcardchaser.com/dave-ramsey-credit-cards-i-love-ya-dave-but-you-are-dead-wrong/
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This should be a lot of fun. I’ve yet to take a class myself, but would love to attend one with my wife here soon. We have been to a live event, and enjoyed hearing Dave reinforce the ideas we live by every day!
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we had our first class last night, and we had a good group. Should be a lot of fun!
Is this a course that is offered in the states or is it available in Canada as well? Sounds like a good course for my Church as well.
I’m sure some churches in Canada probably offer it, and setting one up at your church shouldn’t be that hard. We just did that at ours.
In looking at the Dave Ramsey class finder it looks like some Canadian provinces are included, so you may be able to find a class near you.
You can also listen to his radio show on itunes if you’re interested, just do a search for Dave Ramsey.
@Pete
Are you really on step 3 or are you using debt to float your monthly expenses? (ie are you using credit cards and paying them off each month?)
yes, we’re really debt free – we’re not using debt to float monthly expenses. If expenses come up we pay them in cash.
I don’t quite follow his “no credit cards, only debit cards” approach. That would keep me from wanting to lead such a class.
Of course I am far from even staying faithful to his goal, so I wouldn’t be the best candidate either.
Brad
The idea behind the no credit cards approach is that when you “use credit”, you’re never really getting ahead. You may think you can use credit responsibly, but then – as ramsey says – Murphy comes calling. Everything that can go wrong, does. Credit cards you had intended on paying off right away end up carrying a balance. And savings becomes a second priority.
When you don’t use credit you’re able to be more responsible about spending, saving up for purchases before you buy them. You save up an emergency fund – just in case bad things DO happen. You get the appropriate health, life and other insurance to cover the worst case scenarios, and when you’re done making following the plan – you really don’t need to use credit.
Another good site to read about the whole – “we don’t need debt” paradigm is No Credit Needed. Thanks for stopping by!
I have no problem with the principle, I just don’t trust debit cards as much as he does and I have too many things that need remote authorization and such.
His points are great and I need to be truer to them, but I still don’t trust debit cards enough to switch completely there (especially after research into that area).
Brad
Thanks for posting this. I have wanted to do the classes but none are offered in my area. I am going to follow it week by week from your posts. Maybe if I try to follow one week at a time I won’t be overwhelmed.
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Hi,
I was just browsing the web about the new (2006) version of the FPU dvd’s. I have been a BIG Dave fan since 2002. I have paid my house off, have my emergency fund and have been putting over 25% of my income in investments. It took some work, but it was worth it. Its really nice to not have the burden of debt. In the financial meltdown we are in, I feel very secure. Even if I lost my job, I could still get a very low paying job and would be able to survive with no problems. I owe it all to Dave and I also feel that I have more than I deserve.
Just thought Id share that with you! It does work!
Brunswick, Maine
I’ve “surveyed” your info. I like the feeling of hope. I earn $150 per week. My monthly rent is $202. Why can’t group leaders provide one truly POOR “surveyor” a “FREE” kit?
Brunswick, Maine
Instead of asking for a handout, why dont’ you try saving like $5-10 per week and save up for the class? We all have misc expenditures that we can cut back on to get something we want. Think of it as practicing savings before you even get in the class.
We’re doing FPU right now and hoping to bring it to our church in the Spring. So far we’re really loving it, and we’re taking our eleven year old daughter along (with a calculator and a workbook so she can follow along on the math too!)
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