Slowing Markets and the Growing Middle Class–Guide Rock Weekly Video Commentary Mar-18

The weekly video is posted out at the average guy site:

http://theaverageguy.tv/ft021   Go check it out!

March 11–Weekly Video Commentary: Markets & Wedding Cost

The weekly video is posted out at the average guy site:

http://theaverageguy.tv/ft0120  Go check it out!

March-4 Weekly Market Commentary from Guide Rock Capital (Video)

The weekly video is posted out at the average guy site:

http://theaverageguy.tv/ft019 Go check it out!

Feb–26 Weekly Market Commentary from Guide Rock Capital (Video)

The weekly video is posted out at the average guy site:

http://theaverageguy.tv/ft018 Go check it out!

Feb-11 Weekly Market Commentary from Guide Rock Capital (Video)

The weekly video is posted out at the average guy site: http://theaverageguy.tv/2013/02/11/feb-11-weekly-market-commentary-from-guide-rock-capital-ft016/ Go check it out!

Jan-29 Weekly Market Commentary from Guide Rock Capital (Video)

The weekly video is posted out at the average guy site:  http://theaverageguy.tv/2013/01/31/jan-29-weekly-market-commentary-from-guide-rock-capital-ft015/ 

Go Check it out!

Jan-22 Weekly Market Commentary from Guide Rock Capital (Video)

The weekly video is posted out at the average guy site:  http://theaverageguy.tv/2013/01/22/jan-22-weekly-market-commentary-from-guide-rock-capital-ft014/ 

Go check it out!

What Should I Save for First? (Posted 01/18/2013)

There are really only three things you can save for: emergencies, major purchases, and wealth building. Throughout the year I have had conversations with all kinds of people and one thing I have found is that fundamentally, everyone has the same questions. When it comes to saving, the frequent question is “How do I know what to save at this stage of my life.” That’s a great question! After all, you have an infinite number of things you can spend on and save for, but a finite amount of income to allocate.

Here is how I would break out my savings by importance:

There are only a few things in life that you can count on for sure, things like, you know… death and taxes. You can also count on the fact that financial emergencies are going to come up – I don’t care who you are, eventually you are going to need to pay for something that was unexpected. This is the first thing you must save for. I call it an Emergency fund. You might call it a “Rainy Day Fund” or the “Hell and High Water Account”.

What ever you call it, you just need to have it!

So how much should you save for emergencies? A minimum of $1000. If you do not have a $1000 emergency fund right now, you need to go sell some stuff, or mow a bunch of lawns, or shovel a bunch of driveways to get it by the end of the month. I’m serious. A thousand dollars will be enough to cover most minor emergencies, but it won’t be enough for the big stuff like a job loss or injury. Your ultimate goal should be to have 3-6 months worth of household expenses set aside in the fund. Here is the other thing; you really need to have this account separate from your usual deposit account. If you have all your money in one place, you might have some temptation to use it for a 30% off sale at your favorite department store. Remove the temptation, create an imaginary barrier by holding your emergency fund in a different account.

Life is expensive. Washers and dryers, a furnace and air conditioning unit, a roof, a car… If one of these breaks down, it makes for a bad day, maybe even a bad week. It can even feel worse if you haven’t been saving to replace the major appliance (especially if you don’t have an emergency fund, see above). I suggest saving for major purchases along the way. For example, if you own a home it is only a matter of time before something will need to be replaced or repaired. I suggest saving 1.5% of the value of your home each year for those expenses. Set it aside at the same time you make your mortgage payment each month. If you have a $250,000 house, save $3750 each year or $312 a month.

Wealth building and retirement saving is third on my list. You really can’t focus on investing if you don’t already have emergencies and major purchases covered. You want to be able to have confidence and flexibility when you start to tie money up in investments – if you are worried about what you would do if something breaks at home, you really won’t be able to have the fortitude to execute in the wealth building arena. Your goal should be to save 16% of your gross income (before tax income) for retirement. That’s a pretty big number, but it is a goal. Here is how you can achieve it: Start with something more modest like 8% of your gross income.Then each year raise your contribution by 1%. You probably wont even notice the increase from year to year and before you know it, you will hit your goal!

Here is the deal guys. I know some of you are reading this and saying: “Yea, Andrew, that would be nice, but I don’t have any extra to save.” 

I don’t believe you. You should really be saying “Yea, Andrew, that would be nice, but saving is not a priority for me.” HELLO! The only way you will do any of this is if you make the decision that you no longer want to live in crisis any more. You have to choose to do what it takes to move from doing what you have always done to doing what you wish you could do. If you establish an emergency fund, it will change your life. If you build wealth, you will change your family’s life. Only you can choose to take this path.

As my high school swim coach used to say: No Excuses, Just Results.

Financial Tech Podcast – Guide Rock Weekly Market Commentary

Hi guys! The Financial Tech podcast with Jim Collison is back. Go check it out at TheAverageGuy.tv and watch it in the browser or download it. We will be doing a live market commentary each Tuesday at 7:00pm cst, you can watch at TheAverageGuy.tv/live.

Financial Tech Podcast: The Guide Rock Capital Management Weekly Commentary

Hey guys! The Financial Tech podcast is back with Jim Collison on theAverageGuy.tv go check it out at:

http://theaverageguy.tv/2013/01/15/financial-tech-the-guide-rock-capital-management-weekly-commentary-for-january-15-2013/#more-3990 

 

We will be doing a weekly market commentary every Tuesday night live at 7:00pm cst if you want to watch go to: theaverageguy.tv/live

13 Habits for a Successful 2013

1. Increase your retirement contribution by at least 1%

2. Set up a Holiday Savings Account and contribute to it monthly for next year’s gift giving expenses.

3. Save 1.5% of the value of your home this year for up-keep expenses.

4. Set up a time (and put it on your calendar) each week to meet with your significant other to review your budget.

5. Emergency fund – don’t have one? Get one. ($1,000 minimum)

6. Pay off your credit card in 2013.

7. Switch to a 15 year mortgage.

8. Make sure you have disability insurance.

9. Track your progress with Mint.com

10. Avoid bank fees by making a switch to a local credit union.

11. Open a Roth IRA.

12. Save $20 a week (that will add up to over $1000) for a vacation and then take one.

13. Write a Will.

Financial Tech Podcast 12: Investing 101, BrightScope, Money Desktop

What’s the latest happenings for Guide Rock and GFCU?

We have a learning series

                March 30^th is our 3 class of 10

                Investment focused – entry level

                Tackle one topic each session

                Focus on an environment where questions are encouraged

You are welcome to come, just rsvp to Andrew_hunt@guiderockcapital.com so I know how many bagels to buy!

BrightScope

How do you know if an advisor or if a 401(k) plan is what they say they are?

You can look on the sec… but that is kind of cumbersome.

You can just trust that they are telling the truth.

Or there are a few companies that are emerging and trying to cast some clearer light on the issue

BrightScope is one of these – They rate 401(k), Give information on Advisors and firms

Another level of transparency

Free to consumers

Money Desk Top

New in April for our members

Cloud based financial account aggregator and budgeting tool

Integrates with GFCU and our on-line banking system

Neat new alternative others such as Mint.com

Jim’s Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/jcollison

Andrew’s Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/AndrewDHunt

Andrew’s Blog: http://gallupfcu.blogspot.com

Contact the show at podcast@theaverageguy.tv

Find this and other great Podcasts from the Average Guy Network at http://theaverageguy.tv

Visit the new Facebook page for the The Average Guy Network

Intro and Exit Music from “Motion” by Adelaide.  Hear more great tunes at  Listentoadelaide.com

A Conversation You Need with Aging Parents

Dan Taylor faced a precarious situation after his father suffered from a stroke at age 72 and couldn’t live alone. Dan was responsible for looking after him and had no idea how to proceed. He was overwhelmed by the plethora of options and was determined to find a place where his father “would be treated with dignity and respect.”

His experience inspired him to write The Parent Care Conversation, a book that helps parents and their children converse meaningfully about long-term care issues they may face in the future. It includes strategies for handling six key challenges one must confront when dealing with aging parents: money, property, house, professional care, legacy, and the “Big Picture.”

Taylor notes the house conversation can be extremely emotional. The objective is to get a fix on how your parents feel about their ability to keep living where they are now. For example, is their home already a physical or financial burden? Do they see it becoming one?

If so, what is the preferred next step? Staying, but with help, or selling and moving? And, if the latter, to where: a smaller home, retirement community, or perhaps an assisted-living facility?

The property conversation, which deals with personal possessions, also poses interesting choices and boils down to these three: Make a will or create a trust for disposing of the property after they’re gone; start giving it away now; or do nothing.

Most people resort to the third choice. “As parents, doing something — whether it is choice one or two or a combination of both — is tough physically, mentally, and emotionally. The default option of doing nothing is the easier route for everybody, at least in the short run. But, in the long run, it is the hardest and most painful for all concerned,” says Taylor.

“However extreme or overboard some of their concerns and anxieties may seem to you, don’t minimize or dismiss them. To your parents, these worries are substantial and very real. Your role is to help them transform these challenges into a set of realistic possibilities for achieving a positive experience,” he adds.

This is a book about how to make plans with some of the most important people in your life – your parents. It’s about having the important conversation.

The above material was prepared by Peak Advisor Alliance.

Being Financially Savvy is A Family Business

Like it or not, we’re all involved in running the “family business.” We worry that our parents might outlive their retirement savings. We’re comforted by the thought that family members would probably bail us out if we got into money trouble. We strive to help our children financially, and we’d like to bequeath them at least part of our nest egg.

In short, our family is our asset, liability, and legacy. Now here’s the contention: It’s time to build this notion into the way we manage our money.

Here are just some of the reasons why:

Raising Children: If your children grow up to be financial deadbeats, you may likely rise to the rescue. Indeed, your children could turn out to be your greatest financial liability.

Don’t want your adult children swimming in credit card debt, missing mortgage payments, and constantly asking you for money? Your best bet is to make sure problems never arise by raising money-savvy children.

That’s trickier than it seems. Children grow up spending their parent’s money, so it’s almost inevitable that they will have a skewed financial outlook. After all, for children, all purchases are free, so why should they fret about the price tag or control their desires?

Make your children feel like they’re spending their own money. Give them a candy allowance when they are younger and a clothing allowance when they are teenagers, and insist they live within this budget. This way, instead of you constantly saying “no” to your children, they will learn to say “no” to themselves.

Launching Adults: Once your children get into the work force, you want them to get into the “virtuous financial cycle” where they are steadily building wealth.

They will become able to own their home rather than renting, buy their cars rather than leasing, fully fund their 401(k) plan and their individual retirement accounts each year, and never carry a credit card balance.

The sooner your 20-something children get into this virtuous cycle, the easier it will be for them to meet their goals and less of a financial drain on you. To that end, encourage your children with your words and with your fine example.

A few financial incentives may also help. Tell your adult children if they scrounge together a house payment, you will lock in some additional dollars, or offer to subsidize their 401k contribution at 50 cents on the dollar.

This doesn’t mean you intend to fund their retirement instead of your own, but getting them started as investors sure seems like a smart idea.

The above material was prepared by Peak Advisor Alliance.

The Holiday Afterglow

Maybe it’s just me, but just after “the most wonderful time of the year” is my favorite time of year. I love the start of the new year and all of the passion and resolve that it brings. I have been especially busy these first few weeks of January simply because I have soo many new things I am researching and implementing. I have overheard several conversations during the last few days where people are talking about their new fitness goals or new resolutions to make positive impacts on their financial situation – and I have to admit that the latter statement really made my ears perk up.

What is it about the first week of January that makes us feel all warm and inspired? Why do we feel the need to make changes simply because a date changed? I have a theory that I think holds true in my life and maybe for your too:

I crave improvement

I think I might be an improvement addict. It doesn’t matter how marginal the improvement is, I love it. I even love just thinking about it. That might give some of you a little insight to who I am as a person but the truth is there. I think at the end of the day the reason I love the afterglow of the holidays is simply because I can see what we did, measure it, and think about ways to improve next year.

Does that hold true for you? Why do you chose to make resolutions or goals around the first of the year?

Stop Lying about Money (To Yourself)

If you have been reading this blog for any amount of time you already know that I am a big fan of setting goals and resolutions (it turns out that a lot of successful people do it too). With the end of the year approaching, what a better time than now to start making some 2012 resolutions? Here, I’ll start you off with a suggestion!

Stop lying to yourself about money.

Yep, I said it. You lie about money…a lot. Wanna know how I know?

1. You create ridiculously unrealistic budgets.

2. You think bad (and expensive) stuff won’t happen to you.

3. You project (to yourself) that you make more than you do.

4. You spend money before you have it.

5. You use a credit card to get “rewards”.

6. You took out a 30 year mortgage and are “going pay it like a 15 year”.

7. You lease a car because it is a “good deal” and a small business “tax write off”.

8. You deserve a $5000 vacation.

<Deep Breath>

Sorry, I got on a little soap box there for a minute.

Here is the deal, I often write about things that I am thinking about for me personally. So if you felt like I just hit on something you do - it turns out, so do I on occasion. Actually, I think I can say with some certainty that we all do it from time to time.

So let’s make a resolution in 2012 when I think about money I am going to be honest with myself. When I make a money mistake, I am going to admit that it was an error and I am going to avoid it in the future. I vow to be an armed consumer who doesn’t fall for gimmicks and most of all… I am going to stop making excuses and start creating results.

Financial Tech Podcast #11: Big Bonus and Kindle Fire

So you got a year-end bonus… now what?

End of the year boosts are nice on multiple fronts but the variable income, if not planned for, can slip right between your fingers if you are not careful!

Here are a couple of great options for putting that money to good use:

• Spend the bonus on paper first for 1 time bonuses
• Pay down debt
• Get rid of credit card and charge card debt
• Make an extra payment on your mortgage
• Save
• Emergencies
• Major Purchases
• Wealth Building
• On-going variable income
• How much can you count on?
• Make a budget based on your base income
• Live within those parameters
• Have a plan for variable income

Andrew recently ordered a set of Kindle Fire tablets for business use. He and Jim spend some time talking about using this consumer device for business purposes.

How to Accumulate Wealth

It’s that time of year again – time to think about what went right this past year and what you would like to try again next year. Some of us will likely be thinking about improving our health by exercising more or eating better. Others will likely be thinking about ways to improve their financial position in the year to come. Maybe that is paying down debt, trying to save more, or simply just implementing a budget for the new year!
I often think about things in a process format, it makes things easier for me to comprehend so I thought I would share with you a process for accumulating wealth.
Step 1: Start Right Now!
All of my students should be able to tell you about the first step in the process – they all know that the driving factor in accumulating wealth is time!
I would love to break down the compound interest formula and show you mathematically why time is the key factor and if you come to one of my classes you will likely see that happen! But for now just take my word for it; the sooner you start, the more you can accumulate!
Step 2: Have a Goal!
I like having goals, they are a great way to track your progress! I suggest using a percentage savings goal. A great idea is to save 16.66% of your gross income each year for wealth building. I know that is a big number so start small, with something affordable and increase your saving percentage each year by 1-2%.
Step 3: Make it Automatic
I often hear stories about people setting up a contribution to their retirement account and then going in and changing it all the time according to their income needs. That’s a bad idea. Most of us do not have enough discipline to be able to set aside money on our own… we have to build fake discipline. The best way I have found to do that is through automatic deposits. I literally treat my saving like a bill that comes out automatically each month. Once I pay it, I forget about it. And just like a bill I cannot change how much I owe (myself), I am required to pay the obligation – because if I don’t, no one else is going to do it. Just set it up and then do not touch it!
Step 4: Find a Jet Engine
Most of wealth building is accomplished through great habits but there is also an element of risk and good fortune. A key piece of investing is the idea of risk versus reward. In order to be paid you have to take risks, the more you want to earn the more risk you have to take! An essential part of reaching your wealth goals includes the need for a high octane investment that will propel your portfolio to success. This could be a personal business venture, an investment in some sort of security, or even an investment in yourself – whatever it is you have to capitalize on those opportunities!
Step 5: Leave it alone
Find a strategy, implement the strategy, and let it run its course.
Have you ever tried to make a great omelet? As you practice the art of omelet creation, you will find that a key mistake people make is that after they crack the egg they don’t let it sit long enough before adding their filling (also people often overfill the omelet which is a mistake as well). You have to let the egg set up and run it’s course!
Too often people start meddling with their strategy too quickly! Either they aren’t performing how they hopped or they are out performing and want to try to do more.

Give it some time! Rome wasn’t built in a day! Things that come quickly are quickly lost!

Step 6: Keep Doing it

No matter what, press on. The only person responsible for your financial future is you. All you can rely on is that there are no excuses, just results.


If you like this post check out my weekly video commentary at:


http://theaverageguy.tv/category/financialtech/

Should I Pay Down Debt or Save?

What a great question! Honestly, this is one of the most common questions we get at the credit union.

**Disclaimer: this is an inherently individual question. Every family is in a different situation with different variables. This post is a generalization in every sense!**

Here is our advice, If you are trying to decide what to do with some money; one of the best options is to pay down debt. By reducing outstanding balances you are saving money on interest cost, you gain some peace of mind, and you improve your net worth. However, as we all know, life happens! If all of your excess money is being applied toward debt payment and you have no emergency fund then if an issue comes up you will be forced to take on new debt.

To illustrate the process I decided to put together a decision tree for you:

So as you can tell the question really comes do to can you pay off the debt in 18 months or less. If the answer is yes – then go for it! If the answer is no, you might have to do some more saving along side your debt reduction.

The reason for this is simple. You cannot afford to put saving on hold for more than 18 months. It is essential to keep your intensity up and get rid of that consumer debt but you also have to establish a strong cushion.

Do You Pay Santa Claus With A Credit Card?

I am not going to lie, I used to be a bit of a Scrooge when it came to Christmas. Then I got married, and those of you who know my wife… well let’s just say we have had our decorations up for nearly three weeks now. So shortly after we got hitched and I was acting like old Ebenezer, Liz made it pretty clear to me that my Grinch attitude was not going to fly – I needed to do something about it.

I found myself evaluating why I had such a bad attitude about Christmas. As you can probably guess, it was not the holiday that turned me into a Grinch, it was the bills! I know many of you can probably relate and as the Holiday season is approaching I thought I would pass out a few pointers!

1.) Save throughout the year! It turns out that Christmas is every year on December 25th (shocker, I know). Try saving $25 every paycheck, I bet you wouldn’t even notice that amount missing. There are about 26 paychecks in a year so you could have $650 for Christmas!

Ok, well what if you didn’t save all year. Step 1: Start THIS year. Step 2: Try some of these options:

2.) Get back to the reason for the season with a homemade/no-gift holiday celebration. With so many families struggling these days, I think everyone could benefit from stepping back and remembering what is truly important.

3.) Pay cash, you still have a few weeks to save. Go out and only buy the gifts that you can pay cash for. This may be a little stressful up-front but when the day arrives and there is no credit card bill there will be significantly less stress.

4.) Consider implementing a cost limit on your gift giving. Maybe this year your gifts do not exceed $20 in cost!

Do you have other ideas that I didn’t mention here? What are you and your family doing this year? Leave a comment!

Change

Today’s article is a guest post from Professor George Morgan.

I became aware of the stock market 45 years ago. But, the market that I was introduced to was a very different market than the one we have today. The market I meet was a physical place that was run by people who stood on the floor of a huge building and took orders over the phone and then completed those trades by hand. News came from a ticket tape, the morning newspaper and land lines. It was a market that sometimes turned emotional. At other times it moved at a snail’s pace, when it moved at all. But, the majority of the time it displayed a sense of rationality and order.

Today’s market is an entirely different animal. Today the market has replaced humans with computers that decide when to buy and when to sell. Then the computers complete the transactions among themselves. It no longer has a geographical center, but rather it spans the globe. Stocks that were once only traded on the New York Stock Exchange can be bought and sold almost anywhere in the world. Trades and information move at the speed of light. The market that I met was dominated by the actions of the individual investors. Today’s market is dominated by institutions and the individual investor must learn to accept this and adjust accordingly. Currently, volatility is the general order of the day with rationality and order taking a distant back seat.

Jack Walsh, the iconic ex CEO of General Electric is fond of saying, “Change before you have to.” It is critical for investors to appreciate the fact that not only will the market continue to change, but like the rest of our world, the pace of the change will accelerate. Investors need to be prepared to adjust their thinking and seek out solutions to an environment where constant change is the only thing not changing.

Professor Morgan completed his undergraduate work at San Diego State University and his graduate work at Purdue University. He has held faculty appointments at Purdue University and Ball State University. He has 30 years’ experience as a Financial Advisor with two local brokerage firms. He currently holds a position as Adjunct Professor of Finance at the University of Nebraska, Omaha. Learn more or contact Professor Morgan at: George Morgan - LinkedIn

Financial Tech Podcast 10: Values and Money

Where we spend our money is a reflection of our interests, values and priorities.

Does your bank statement reflect what you value?

If a stranger were to look at your last monthly statement what would they assume you love to do?

So how do I get my bank statement to reflect what I value?

· Conduct a self audit

• Where is your money going
• Is that where you want it to go?

· Establish your true values

• Spend on what you love
• Cut out the things you don’t love
• You can’t love everything!

· Then re-evaluate

Use Mint.com to help you set alerts for your spending.

Try using Mvelopes.com to electronically simulate the cash method of budgeting!

The Wealthy State of Mind

One of my most important roles as an advisor is to be a teacher. Teaching has really become a passion of mine over the last few years and we now facilitate workshops or teach classes for the public on a regular basis. I honestly believe that teaching is one of the most difficult professions that anyone can pursue. Not only do you have to know the subject material but you also have to understand why and be able to explain it in approachable terms. In other words, you have to know why you know!

When I teach personal finance classes, I am often reminded about simple things that I learned through experiences which changed the lenses that I look through life with. Whenever possible I try to share those experiences with my students. One of my latest lessons is about understanding what it means to be wealthy.

Dr. Thomas Stanley is the author of many popular books such as The Millionaire Next Door, The Millionaire Mind, and Stop Acting Rich. Dr. Stanley has studied wealthy families for many years and greatly impacted my thinking of how I define wealth.

It is important to note the true wealth is not just about monetary assets or income. There are many factors that play into living a rich lifestyle such as relationships, career satisfaction, faith, and physical health. However, for this article I am simply addressing monetary wealth.

Dr. Stanley refers to two types of wealthy people: the income statement affluent, and the balance sheet affluent. The income statement affluent refers to those with large incomes but not many assets to show for it. We all know the type, that friend who has the big salary but also has the big spending habit. By any income definition he is rich but he does not retain much of his wealth.

The balance sheet affluent person may have a modest income or may have a large income. Either way, they are marked by being excellent accumulators of assets. Those assets could be retirement accounts, real estate, business ownership, or marketable securities. We all probably also know someone that fits this profile as well. We might describe them as “being good with money” or as someone who has “made good financial choices”.

These are fundamentally different people; their attitude toward money could not be more opposite. The balance sheet affluent person tends to see money as a tool that they use to achieve goals that align with their values. The income statement affluent person tends to see money as a reward and as such uses it to sustain a lifestyle that reflects winning. Income statements affluent tend to keep score with purchases and balance statement affluent tend to keep score with accumulation.

Clearly the balance sheet affluent are creators of wealth. I think the question that needs to be answered is how do we go about becoming a balance sheet-type person? I think it all beings with establishing values.

If you were to complete the simple task of examining and categorizing your last bank statement I think you would uncover some interesting information. I would challenge you to ask yourself a few questions.

1. If a random stranger were to look at your bank statement, what would they assume about your values based on your spending habits?

2. Does your bank statement reflect what you feel like you value?

3. Where should you make changes in your spending habits to more accurately reflect your values?

For more on this values idea, feel free to read the article on page one.

So what is the bottom line? Well in my opinion, if you want to become balance sheet affluent and a creator of wealth, you must value saving. Your attitude regarding the purpose of money has to shift toward viewing it as a tool. That tool is used to create rather than consume. So in turn you must also learn to keep score through accumulation rather than purchases!

How can Gallup FCU be Convenient Outside of the Omaha Metro?

We realize that many of our members do not live in the Omaha Metro area. Well a while back we decided to band together with other credit unions to better serve our members. By using our network of “Shared Branches” around the country you can now access your account in your local community.

So you are probably asking, “How do I access these convenient locations!?” You simply have to go to our locator http://www.cuservicecenter.com/!!

Once you find a location near you, all you have to do is go to the credit union, walk up (or drive up) to the teller line, present your photo identification and your account number!

It’s really that simple and there are more than 4,400 locations around the country.

Change Your Family Tree, from DaveRamsey.com

This is a great post from Dave Ramsey’s blog today, I thought I would share it with you!

Have you stopped lately to think about the legacy you’re passing on to future family generations—your family tree?

“Changing your family tree” can mean different things to each family, but the core goal remains constant: make things better for those who come after you.

Here are some of the ways that Dave fans are changing their family tree by taking baby steps each day.

Jill Walles is establishing a new “normal” in her home. “I know our children will make financial mistakes, but they will have been raised in a way that rejects the cultural ‘norm.’ They already earn money, save for things they want, and give at church—some seriously important lessons already learned!”

“I'm changing the fact that just because my children were raised in a single parent household, they were not raised in poverty,” Robyn Fishers said. “My teenagers are being taught that when things get tough, you get to work and do not rely on debt. I have made them a part of this fight out of debt so they will realize it is not a fun trip. We have all learned so much in the past eight months since I went thru Financial Peace University. This is a 180-degree change from what I was raised with!”

Dave says that when broke people start acting like what you’re doing is weird, you’re probably on the right track! That’s what’s happening for Susan Haines’ family.

“We don't always have everything we want, but we have stopped using credit cards all together. Our parents use them for anything, at any time, and are always stressed out about having no money,” she said.

Lessons Worth Living

Charlotte Little says she is raising her kids to know that everything doesn’t come with a payment. “You can get what you want but you have to save up and buy in cash,” she wrote. “Debt takes too much away from families, so I want to teach my boys that being debt free is the way to be.”

“I’m changing my family tree by teaching my kids how to work for their money and not wait for it to be handed to them. I’m giving them responsibilities instead of doing it for them, and rewarding them according to their work,” said Cyndi Fifield.

“My children have sworn they will never get credit cards so they won't be burdened with massive debt,” said Tammy Dorrycott. “My older daughter spent hours every night applying for scholarships before she went to college last fall so that her college is paid for.”

A Legacy of Freedom

There is nothing better you can do for your kids than owning your situation and getting in control so that you don’t become a burden to them someday!

“The biggest thing is taking responsibility for myself,” said Sill Reico. “By changing my family tree, I'm praying my kids won't have to be responsible for me when I get older (as I am with my parents). I love them to pieces and would do anything for them, but sometimes it's difficult to carry my life and theirs. They did the best they could. They didn't know any better. But thanks to FPU, I do.”

“I used to think that to change my family's financial future meant to have a little money to leave them. At this late stage in life, we don't have that much yet,” said Karen Newton. “But what we do have are lives transformed debt freedom. Our family tree has been changed forever, and our marriage is set on a firm footing. That is a legacy far more lasting.“

Remember, if you don’t like where things are heading, you hold the power to change it! You can set the example. You can make decisions and create habits that will forever change your family’s future! Get started now with Dave's life-changing class, Financial Peace University.