Beginning September 19th at 6:30 pm and running for nine 90 minute sessions I will be leading Financial Peace University Margin KC. And, for all those still on the fence as to “if” they should attend I think it is important that you know why I have chosen to lead this class.
I grew up in a house where money was always a topic. Not the abundance of money or how to use money properly, rather the lack of money and how money “doesn’t grow on trees.” After my parents got divorced it got a little worse. I love(d) my mom. However, managing money was not what we would call a strength for her. In fact there was nothing she couldn’t borrow-to-buy.
So guess what? I look up in my young thirties with a wife and a child and a house and a car and several credit cards and medical bills and and and. I had perpetuated what I had learned; Borrow for what you want and then figure out a way to pay for it. Then the day came, inevitably, that I couldn’t pay for it. The interest had been eating away at the payments. My income didn’t climb. And I had to realize that “I’m broke…and I don’t know how to manage money.”
Now, to be sure, part of my problem was that I also didn’t know how to earn money. Sure, I was often self-employed (because I wasn’t mature enough to hold a steady job) and well…earning is another story for another time.
The fact is that I HAD heard of the Debt Snowball. I inherently knew that debt cannot be good and that interest, when working against you, had to be bad. Still, I chose to ignore these basic monetary principles.
The price had to be paid. And it hurt.
The lesson not learned, I managed to find myself in escalating debt…again… years later. But by this time Dave Ramsey had written The Total Money Makeover and had established a growing radio show where financially stupid people like me could learn, slowly but surely. I bought the book. I listened everyday for about 90 minutes m/l as I drove around looking at real estate and I began, step by step, to put in to play the complete elimination of my debts.
Shedding debt is harder (and simpler) than you think. The brilliance in Dave Ramsey’s approach, in my mind, isn’t the thousands of years old Biblical principles he teaches. Rather, it is the support group provided by Financial Peace University, his radio show and his books. It may be next to impossible to relearn money habits, instill them and carry them forth without support from your friends, parents, kids, spouse, etc.
At every turn in our American culture we are taught to “have it now” and “pay for it later.” We are all susceptible to it.
There is a better way to live.
I’ve had nothing. Then had less. I’ve stressed over money. I’ve seen my wife cry on the phone as she answered the phone and it was a bill collector. I’ve signed for registered letters and met lawyers and, frankly, felt like a complete failure.
I’ve sat at a table of “friends and acquaintances” while they ordered drink after drink, nachos, sandwiches, steaks!…and I recalculated the money in my wallet to make sure I had enough to cover the two beers I could afford. Well, not really afford. But I made it happen.
And that is the thing; We make happen in our lives what we choose to make happen.
At that table were usually two to four other guys who made more money than I ever dreamed. At that table were guys who owned businesses or were executives at their companies. At that table were men who thought differently when it came to money. Some nights I literally drove home saying to myself “Wow! What if I did that? How do I make THAT happen? What changes in my thinking do I need to embrace?”
Maybe you are sitting there reading this and thinking “Yes! Me, too!” Or maybe you only have a “little” debt and you have it “under control.”
I’m here to tell you that today I live differently. The only debt I have is two mortgages on two houses…with plenty of equity in both. I have in excess of six months in savings. And I haven’t woken up worried about money in YEARS.
None of that is to brag. It is simply to bear my financial soul. It is to remind you that I didn’t wake up this way after a decision.
- First I had to change how I think about money.
- Then I had to make a decision about how money would be handled this day forth.
- Then I HAD TO DO IT even though I’d really like to take my family on a BIG vacation.
And, I had to FINALLY decide to tithe. Again, that is another discussion for another time. It’s just something to think about.
I don’t live like I once lived because I was willing to accept that I had more to learn. I was willing to make changes and make hard choices and tell people, including my wife and kids, “no.” It took time. A few years. It may take you less time. It may take you more. I don’t know.
Now my wife doesn’t have to call me from her work to make sure it is “ok” to buy some milk on the way home.
What is your alternative? At what point will you wake up rested and not worried about “what happens if I lose my job?”
Financial Peace University
Held at 18103 W 106th St Suite 120
September 19, 2019 6:30-8:00 pm
Running nine consecutive Thursdays
Register here and follow these directions.
PLEASE REGISTER NO LATER THAN 9/13/2019
- Visit this link.
- Look for the orange box that says “Find an FPU Group Near You” and click.
- Choose Olathe Campus
- Choose Chris Lengquist
- Register
I’d love to see you there. Not for me. For you. For your family. For your future. There is a better way to live. Especially if you make your living based on service and commissions. Just imagine…advising your clients based on what is best for them and not on when you need a commission check.
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