Today we were blessed to listen to Kim Swartz speak on the topic of budgeting. Or, as Kim put it, if the "B" word (budget) frightens you, refer to it as your "spending plan."
I love how Kim tied in our theme verse for the year: "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." (Isaiah 43:18-19). It doesn't matter what your finances have looked like in the past up to this point, today you can be intentional and make different choices for the future!!
I will sum up Kim's talk with the "10 Steps" she shared with us this morning. She draws her wisdom and insight from Dave Ramsey's Biblical approach to money thru Financial Peace University. So she has taken Dave's teaching and added some insight of her own in this step-by-step plan:
Step One: Transfer ownership of possessions to God. Give. Try it. You'll be amazed.
Step Two: Evaluate
Step Three: Save $1000
Step Four: Tell your money where to go (this includes giving plan)
Step Five: Pay off ALL debt with the Debt Snowball plan
Step Six: Emergency Fund of 3-6 months of living expenses
Step Seven: Invest 15% into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement
Step Eight: College Funding
Step Nine: Pay off the mortgage
Step Ten: Then you can Eleven: Build wealth through mutual funds/real estate and BE READY always to give generously over and over again.
As always, there were lots of fun giveaways, yummy food, and fun had by all! We look forward to seeing everyone at the Pumpkin Patch for our group mid-month!
