I am excited. We are now less than two weeks away (September 14) from hosting the Financial Peace University seminar. As the Coordinator, I have been very busy these last few days. We have over 50 people signed up to attend!

I will begin previewing the sessions (one of the perks of being the coordinator is that I have access to the DVDs) next week. The preview video which we have shown twice so far to two different groups is really good, and it was only about 20 minutes. The preview highlights the topics that will be covered and gives a brief glimpse into Dave Ramsey’s background, and gives a few stats concerning American Finances. The average length of the actual  seminar video’s is one hour.

13 weeks is a long time – from September 14 through December 7th. I hope I can keep motivated giving up so many Tuesday nights in a row (I already give up my Wednesday nights for church / work). But if a few people can get their finances in order, then it will be worth it. Plus, maybe I will get a few blog articles out of it!

Hi there - could you help spread the word about A Penny Saved? We rely on word of mouth to get new readers. If you would send someone a link, email, or even mention it to your friends, I would truly appreciate it. Dave Ramsey Seminar Update is a post from: A Penny Saved, the best darn personal finance blog around.

I just finished painting our hallway and our downstairs bathroom. Naturally, once you finish a project, it will now cost more money to decorate! For the hallway, my wife now wants new picture frames because the old ones do not “look good” with the new paint.

I understand her point. And I am willing to get them – but not until I have the money for them. Now, picture frames are not that much. But I would have to rob from another budget to get them now. If I wait a week – it can come out of the correct budget.

It’s a small thing – but I have found that it is the small things that add up and get us into trouble. We cheat a little here, a little there, and pretty soon we have a financial crunch. I would rather make a little decision now than have to make painful big decisions later!

Hi there - could you help spread the word about A Penny Saved? We rely on word of mouth to get new readers. If you would send someone a link, email, or even mention it to your friends, I would truly appreciate it. Delaying a Purchase is a post from: A Penny Saved, the best darn personal finance blog around.

School starts next week for our three girls. They will be in 3rd, 2nd, and 1st grades – this will be their first year in public school (they have been home schooled). My wife and I thought that this year would be a good time to start giving an allowance and start teaching some financial principles in a more direct manner (we are always teaching about money!).

So I went online and I bought each girl a new piggy bank – the money savvy pig. Each bank comes with four separate compartments: one for saving, one for spending, one for donating, one for investing.  The girls will earn their allowance daily – 25 cents. The first day they will put the quarter in to donate, the second day saving, the third day spending. The other two days we will split between spending and saving again. For now we will skip the investing part until they are old enough to understand stocks, bonds, etc.

We decided to give their allowance daily because if they do their chores correctly they will get their allowance, but if they don’t they will not receive their “pay”. This way if they do miss a day, they do not miss out on their allowance entirely, they can still collect for the other days. We want them to learn that they need to work to earn money, and if they goof off, well then their are financial consequences – just like in real life. Their chores are pretty simple for this year – make the bed, keep their room tidy, eat breakfast, be on time for the school bus. Obviously we will give them guidance and at first some “second” chances. The girls are pretty excited about their new banks – they have already talked about what charity they want to give to (makes a Dad’s heart proud!).

What tools are you using to help your children learn about finances? Share your thoughts and help all of us!

Hi there - could you help spread the word about A Penny Saved? We rely on word of mouth to get new readers. If you would send someone a link, email, or even mention it to your friends, I would truly appreciate it. Money Savvy Pig! is a post from: A Penny Saved, the best darn personal finance blog around.

The other week I received a call from a local Funeral Director asking me if I would perform a funeral for a family that did not have a pastor. I agreed and met with one of the family to work out the service details.

The funeral was for an older person who did not have children, and was only married for a short time before they died. The person had a will, but it was written before they were married. Also, shortly before they died, they changed  executors of the estate. Talk about setting up fireworks for when you pass away! Part of the family was mad because they switched executors. Part of the family was mad that the person married. Then there was confusion because the will was outdated because they had gotten married. So some of the family was scrambling to make sure they “got what was coming to them”.

When I did the funeral, some of the family stayed outside until right before the service started – they didn’t want to speak or see the other part of the family! Fortunately there was no fighting at the funeral, but it was tense. It saddened me that the individuals were more concerned about the estate than about the deceased.

This was a reminder to me and now to you – make sure your will is up to date! And choose your executor wisely. Also it was a reminder to me that if there is something I definitely want to give to someone, if I can give it while I am still alive that is the best – then I know that they will get it!  A final thought that I had was that I want to live in such a way that my family and friends will miss me and not just wish for my money.

Hi there - could you help spread the word about A Penny Saved? We rely on word of mouth to get new readers. If you would send someone a link, email, or even mention it to your friends, I would truly appreciate it. A Funeral to Remember – and a Reminder to update your Will! is a post from: A Penny Saved, the best darn personal finance blog around.

A few days ago I received an “Information Update” from the Hospital where I went to have a stone removed from a duct. They wanted me to know that the total charges for my three day visit amounted to $17,455.40! I must admit my heart skipped a beat when I read that. Under the “Amount You Now Owe” it said pending insurance.

I know that I grumble about insurance, like everyone else. But this year, with all our medical bills, I am so glad to have insurance. I am expecting that I will only have to pay the $750 deductible: our actual deductible is $1500 per individual, $3000 for family, but my employer picks up half the tab – Thank You! Since my wife already met her deductible, and I think we had already had some expenses toward the family deductible, my part may even be a little less.

This has been a crazy medical year for us. My wife had surgery in June, I had this three day hospital stay, my daughter had braces, plus we have all been to the family doctor for several illnesses that swept through the family (strep throat, etc.).  The good news is that we have been able to pay every bill without going into debt! The bad news is that we are currently living paycheck to paycheck until I can get the emergency fund built back up (which got depleted because of all the household emergencies – well pump, water heater, leaking windows, used car purchase, etc.).

More than ever I am a believer in both health insurance and in having a well funded emergency account!

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The other day my wife was talking with some of her girlfriends and they were talking about houses. One of them made this comment that just surprised my wife completely. This women said that her family did not own a house (they rent one) because they did not want to pay real estate taxes. My wife couldn’t believe that comment and I know I can’t.

Now there are many good reasons to not own a home and to rent. Depending on particular circumstances, renting may be a financially wise choice. But to make a decision to rent verses buy because you don’t want to pay taxes is not a good reason. It is wrong financial thinking. In the first place – they are paying taxes, albeit not directly. The landlord / owner of the house, his goal is to make money. When they come up with a price for rental, it will include covering the mortgage payments and taxes. So the price of the rental will have those items, among others factored in. Her family is paying the taxes, but on a monthly basis to the landlord verses a lump sum to the city.  

Although I am surprised at thinking like this, I know I shouldn’t be. Everyday people are making wrong financial decisions out of ignorance, foolishness, or just carelessness. I do not want to be one of those people, and if you stopped by today to read this, hopefully that means you also do not want to be one of those people. It was a good reminder for me to keep learning and growing in this area, so that I do not fall into traps that have caught others by surprise. Let’s keep learning together!

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I have often wondered what Financial Peace University (FPU) by Dave Ramsey was like. Well, beginning this September, I won’t have to wonder anymore. Our church has decided to host FPU, and I will be the facilitator. So for 13 weeks on a Tuesday night I will be leading / learning from Dave. I am excited about this for several reasons:

• I’ve always wanted to know what he teaches (because everyone asks me!)
• Because I am the facilitator I get to go for free (there is a reason this is called a penny saved)!
• It’s good to review financial things just to refresh and get recommitted
• I will be doing this with my wife – we’ve never really gone through a financial seminar together

So far about 5 couples have signed up. I expect we will get close to 20 couples. The price is a little steep – $100, but then again it is 13 weeks and you get a lot of information. It’s funny to me how we will spend $100 easily on something else, but when it comes to learning more about finances we balk!

Anyway, I am looking forward to it and will try to blog through the series each week.

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I am on the Board of Directors of a local nonprofit charity. Last Saturday we spent a day in training, and one of the topics we covered was our Mission and Vision. Mission is basically what you do, Vision is where you want to go – it the future that you want to see happen.

Naturally, it got me to thinking about personal finances (doesn’t everything!). Does my Mission (my day to day activities), line up with my Vision (where I want to be financially)? Let’s say that my vision is that I would like to travel to New Zealand for a two week vacation within 5 years. If I am setting up my yearly budget to control my day to day financial spending, but nothing is budgeted for the New Zealand trip, then my Mission and Vision is not aligned. I need to have a strategic plan (fancy word for a guide or direction) that will help me to save / plan and make that trip happen.

This is why it is good to have a list of things you want to do, or a goal of what you want to see happen (i.e., retire early, take a trip, etc.). And it’s good to have that in a place where you can see it often and be reminded – do I really need to go out to eat or should I put that money toward my trip? It helps us make better decisions, and to save our pennies for what we really want in the long run, not just those short term impulse purchases that side track us. We need our Mission, our Vision, our Budgets, and our Spending to align. When they are in harmony, good things happen.

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Because I am a gardener, there are a lot of things I would love to have – tiller, thatcher, edger, etc. But for me, it is cheaper to occasionally rent the equipment than to purchase it. It saves me the upfront cost, the maintenance costs, storage costs, etc. Many times I can go together with a friend and we can split the costs for renting for a day. Even better is borrowing pieces of equipment!

On the flip side of renting from others is renting to others. The other day we received an email from a home-school email group we are a part of. A couple was looking to rent a pop-up camper for a weekend. They had called around to RV places and they wanted to charge $400 for a weekend to rent a camper! My wife and I talked about it and we called to meet the couple. So over Father’s Day weekend this couple will be using our pop-up! Now we are not “renting” the pop-up out – too many liabilities with insurance, etc. But it is still a win-win – they get the pop-up for a weekend, and we will get a few things fixed on it (he is a handyman)!

What items could you be renting instead of purchasing yourself? Or, to make money what items could you rent out? I would love to hear your ideas!

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The other day I received a bill from a medical provider regarding my wife. The bill said that they had submitted the information to the insurance company and that they had denied the claim. So I checked online with my insurance company to see the Explanation of Benefits (E.O.B.) to see why the claim was denied. There was no E.O.B.

So I called the provider and told them that I had not received an E.O.B. yet and that it was not online yet. They reviewed their records – here they had keyed some information in wrong, which is why the claim had been denied, and why there was no E.O.B. So the medical provider  resubmitted the claim, and it went through.

The bill is for $160. Taking 10 minutes of my time and checking for the E.O.B. will probably save me over $100, maybe the whole $160 (we have met the deductible).

It pays to check on medical bills. This is not the first time I have been billed incorrectly for something. And once you pay a bill, it is extremely hard to get the money back!

Hi there - could you help spread the word about A Penny Saved? We rely on word of mouth to get new readers. If you would send someone a link, email, or even mention it to your friends, I would truly appreciate it. Update on Medical Bills is a post from: A Penny Saved, the best darn personal finance blog around.