It’s Called Currency

I’d probably have to say that the first book I read—really read—on money was Financial Peace Revisited by Dave Ramsey. At that point, I’d already been through a first marriage and divorce that had left me with over $30,000 in debt to pay off. I was in my second marriage, all the previous debt had been paid off, and my new husband and I were trying to make sure we were on the road to sound money management. We’d both stumbled along until then, gleaning what we could from family and friends, trying desperately to learn from other people’s mistakes as well as our own so we wouldn’t be repeating them.

Dave Ramsey’s style is very down-to-earth. He’s a millionaire, sure, but he got there the hard way. And he’s sure that you can get there without falling into the same traps he did. He created the Financial Peace University education program which can be found in churches and meeting halls in cities all across the US. (It’s also available online if you can’t find a local class.) It’s a 13-lesson program that meets weekly to view one of Dave’s video lessons and provide guidance and encouragement for the attendees. The book is a companion piece for the FPU program, but you can certainly learn from it without the classes. I’ve been known to go back and re-read chapters when I’m once again struggling with concepts I should already know.

The book teaches the money basics, but it also talks about the aspects of money that we don’t learn elsewhere or even really think about. Things like how our relationships with ourselves and others affect how we deal with money, and how to go about teaching the children a better way so they won’t stumble along like we did. There are lots of exercises and worksheets to help you figure out where you are and begin mapping where you want to go.

One of Dave’s fundamental principles is that you should not have any consumer debt. None. And he outlines the “debt snowball” method for getting out from under an out-of-control debt load. With this, you pay off each of your creditors from the smallest total amount to the largest by rolling the payment amounts into the next debt as you pay the smaller ones off. This means that the $400 a month you’re paying to two debts turns into $400 a month to one debt after the smaller of the two is paid off. Depending on your situation and number of debts, you may find yourself down the road paying thousands a month on your last debt.

Dave’s the one that introduced me to the “blow money” concept that I talked about yesterday. His approach to budgeting was what allowed me to actually keep budgeting after those first miserable months where our spending was way out of control. I just kept telling myself that we’d do better next month—and we did, but it took time, and patience, and the encouragement that came from this book. Just arming myself with basic knowledge made the entire process easier.

So, if you feel like your money situation is hopeless, and that your education in the arena of money is lacking, pick up a copy of Financial Peace Revisited—get it at the library if you need to—and start reading. Nothing is hopeless until you decide to stop trying. Read, learn, and develop your own style of cashflow management. Then you and I can paddle down the river of wealth together.

Check my Recommended Reading page for Amazon links to this and other books on money. Your purchase through these links would be greatly appreciated and my commissions will help offset the costs for web hosting.

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