Here goes nothing. This blog was inspired over five years ago when Anna and I were first introduced to Dave Ramsey. Anna's mom and dad thought it would be a good idea for us to go through Dave's Financial Peace University (FPU) class at church before we got married. They graciously paid for it and the rest is history. For those of you who have never heard of Dave you can check him out here. It would be an understatement to say that those 12 weeks of FPU have been a lifesaver for us.
I am a big believer in Dave's way (really the Bible's) of handling finances. I was really surprised to find out when going through Financial Peace University exactly how much the Bible talks about this issue. Did you know that the Bible mentions the issue of money over 800 times? Eight hundred times!!!! If the Bible talks about money that many times then it seems to me that God must think that it is an important issue. It possibly has never been more important than now since money fights and money problems are the #1 cause of divorce in America today. It doesn't have to be that way. God has already told us what to do with our money, but why is it so hard for us to actually do it?
Please don't get the impression that because this blog is about finances that I am an expert in the field. That is hardly the case at all. In fact, please feel free to voice your opinion if you disagree with me at all. I will try to share with you some of the things that I have learned in the past five years that have been helpful for our family. I hope to delve into issues relating to debt, credit cards, budgets, mortgages, retirement, kids college funds, etc. I know I probably just lost about half of my readers already, but this blog is for all the other geeks out there who enjoy keeping up with their finances.
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Biblical wisdom about money and how it relates to us in today's world.
About Me
- Ben
- A regular guy blessed with an extraordinary family who wants to manage all of his blessings to the best of his ability.
Favorite Books
- Rich Dad, Poor Dad
- The Millionaire Next Door
- The Richest Man in Babylon
- Total Money Makeover
8 comments:
So glad that you have a blog now! Can't wait to read up about all of this "money" stuff. I've read Ramsey's book, but Jason and I have never been apart of the "class".
Corey's parents also encouraged us to go through the material that Dave Ramsey has when we first got married. It has truly been one of the greatest blessings of our married life and has made all of the difference in how we approach our finances. I look forward to reading more of your insights.
I am teaching 12th graders economics now and am surprised how many times I mention "The Dave" in class.
yay bennie! welcome to blogging!!
Welcome to the blog world Ben! By the way, this is going to be Jud's favorite blog ever. He LOVES Dave Ramsey! He will prob have lots of comments for you later on.
Ben, this is your nerdy friend jud. Glad you set up a blog. Sounds interesting. Here's a question for you. I figure you will know all about this one...
What do you think is the best way to invest for college? I'm thinking about either starting an ESA or a 529 when our new bundle of joy enters the world. I think I've seen in Dave's books that he recommends the ESA. However, I heard somewhere that Congress has not renewed something for it (I forget the exact term) and in 2011 the maximum amount you can put in is $500/year and it will lose some of it's other advantages as well.
I've looked into Alabama's 529 plan and saw that it did not get very good ratings compared to other states. I think that there are supposed to be state tax advantages if you use your home state's plan. I was wondering if these tax advantages would offset the possible benefits gained by using another state's (better) 529 plan, or an ESA. Also, If you do go the ESA route, what do you invest in???
I guess it would probably be easier to talk about this over the phone, but hey, I guess that's what the blog is for, right???
Milkjud-
Jumping right in there aren't we? I guess you thought you would challenge my first post and expose me for not really knowing anything about money afterall. I really don't know much more than you on this subject but I can tell you what I have done. I went with the Virginia 529 because it seemed to be performing better than most states and it had the most flexibility and better mutual fund options. The only reason I went with this is because Rodney helped me with it. I have always liked the idea of the 529 over the ESA simply because if your child ends up getting a scholarship to college and you don't need the money, the money in your ESA will get taxed when you pull it out and you don't use it for college. At least that is my understanding of it. With Milkjud Jr. on the way I would go ahead and bank on him getting a scholly to the finest school in the land. For the most part, either one will be fine. Glad your thinking about it early. By the time our kids are in college it is gong to cost $150K per kid. Ouch!!!!!
Cool. I enjoy hearing what other people are doing... Yeah, college is going to be pretty expensive!!!
-Jud
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