I’ve decided to share my journey through the Financial Peace University classes. I think I will record videos too with my review. Today was the first day and it was pretty interesting.
Our classes are held at a local church. The start of the semester coincided with the pastor’s month-long message on money or “Rendering what is GOD’s. We had two instructors and there were three students present including me.
Outline of lesson one:
- Watch lesson one video (about 40-45mins)
- Take a quiz related to video topic
- Then talk about the four discussion questions
Well, that is my interpretation of what happened haha! Apparently, last year’s students’ received a big box kit upon signing up which included the workbook, DVDs, and the cash envelope system. Now the videos are all online and you receive just the workbook in the mail. The cash envelope system binder is and additional packakge and “free” if you pay the $2.00 shipping fee.
A little background:
My first introduction to Dave Ramsey and Financial Peace University started on YouTube. Watching the calls from his podcast show have been really eye-opening. In 2017 I wanted to take the class but couldn’t afford or justify the cost. My feelings surrounding money were pretty messed. A total mindset shift was needed before I could even honor the lessons he preached. I really wanted to pay off my student loans and felt that his plan would work. It took all of 2017 for me to “get super angry” about my debt and understand where my hang-ups lied.
Last year (2018) I bought the Total Money Makeover book and tried to start following a budget. Financial Peace University was still on my mind this year, so I saved up for the class. I wanted to be around likeminded people that were trying to eliminate their debt and win with money. It would also be great to have an accountability group. Because while I’ve become good at writing out my budget…following it is another story x___x.
As with any type of group-oriented task, the conversation and contributions are only as good as the members allow. Next week we will be going over making a budget. I’ll recap the details after class.
Final Thoughts:
So far most of the content seems super redundant. Possibly because I already listen to the podcast weekly and have read the Total Money Makeover. I did feel like the course content was mostly geared towards married couples. There was one girl in the video towards the end that represented the “single ladies“. It would have been nice if they included the guys perspective too.
One interesting (and random) thought that popped into my head during class was that I pretty much manifested being there. Though it did not happen right away, everything conspired to get me there at the right time. I wasn’t ready in 2017. But I am there now!
Hopefully, more people will attend next week and the discussion will be more divserse.
Have you ever taken the Financial Peace University course? Is there another money management system that you would suggest?
Thanks for stopping by, see you soon!