Fall FPU Class Completed

I am so proud of our FPU members from the 2009 Fall Semester – they got it! We had members from all stages of life, including a couple that was engaged. Can you imagine starting your marriage over again and being able to work a budget. Not just Budget Theory, but really telling your money what to do? Those two are going to be able to give like no one else later in life!

I was balancing my emergency fund this morning. I keep it in a simple money market account. Not very sophisticated, I know, but, very liquid in case I need it for, you know, an emergency. I haven’t had a credit card in about three years now – and like cable TV, I haven’t missed it. At the start of the FPU semester, I ask the class “Why do you have a credit card?”

Having a credit card for an emergency is generally the number one answer (full disclosure – that was my answer, too). I like to follow up and ask, “So, if you had $1000.00 that you could get to pretty quick at anytime, would that cover most of your emergencies?” People usually nod agreement, but really, we know that it will cover the $1000 or less emergency.

As I am balancing my account, this was what was going through my mind. I can see the interest deposits and the withdrawals that were made through out the year. This past year, we had a total of $653 dollars that we could not, for one reason or another, cash flow. Or, as Cindy likes to say, $653 that did not go onto a credit card.

Thanks to learning how to budget our spending, I was also able to budget our savings. Without that skill, I would never have been able to save six months of expenses. Like loosing weight, it is not easy, but, it is a worthy goal.

I am excited for our FPU class. At the close, I ask them what was the most important thing that they learned. Without fail, budgeting and spousal communication about money is the number one answer.

I love this class!