When we purchased the materials for Financial Peace University we didn’t know what to expect. I mean when you hear the term Financial Peace you think freedom right? We figured that the program would help us become debt free but honestly didn’t know what that entailed.
The first class talked about Super Saving and the importance of saving your money. I looked back on my working career and realized that I was a horrible saver. I would always say I would save but something always came up to buy/spend and I didn’t. I didn’t have any true expenses – a car (scion tC at the time that I shouldn’t have purchased), car insurance, my student loans (2.125% interest rate and consolidated so less than $150 a month) and a cell phone bill. I lived with my grandmother after college and while working and didn’t have to pay rent or anything. So what was my excuse for not saving? I helped out when she would let me, which wasn’t often. I had nothing to show for the 6 years I lived there. Clearly I was not a super saver. Mr. HutchLife on the other hand was definitely a Super Saver.
The second class on Relating with Money made me see how the way I grew up and saw my parents handle money is the same way I did. Buy what you want, when you want and put it on a card. Pay it off and start the cycle over. You have student loans forever, a mortgage forever, a car payment forever. That’s the mentality of most people. Why rush to pay it off they say? Who can get out of debt they say? Before that I never thought to truly get out of ALL debt. I got rid of the car payment 2 years after trading in the scion tC for a more reliable Toyota Corolla – thanks to Mr. HutchLife encouraging me to pay it off before we got married. Why didn’t I do that with my student loans???? Relating with money shed light on why I was a spender and not a saver but also how to be a better saver and spend more intentionally.
The third class was on Cash flow planning – what was that?? That was an eye opener at the time. Save up for what you want to buy or do? Not use a credit card??? Who lives like that? Weird people of course, and I was normal.
The fourth class was on Dumping Debt. This class broke down how debt is dumb, the borrower is slave to the lender, the importance of delayed gratification and getting your spending under control. Adding up all of your debt shows you what your starting is with the debt snowball. Then came acceptance. Acceptance of the dangerous habits that we’d cultivated and held onto. Acceptance of the fact that we needed to change. Acceptance of the importance of creating a new legacy and building generational wealth. Acceptance of how much teamwork truly does make the dream work. Acceptance of being one with your spouse and working toward this goal together.
The journey to debt freedom began for us. What about you? If you’re interested go to www.fpu.com to get that kickstart for 2019. You won’t regret it. If you’re on the journey already, what led you to start? How have you or are you enjoying FPU?
