6 Baby Steps to Financial Freedom
March 14, 2007 by Karen Weideman
Filed under financial matters, saving money
Some of you may remember my post about Financial Freedom. My husband and I are taking a 13 week course at our church that is by Dave Ramsey. We are learning tips on saving money, buying big bargains, ways to invest, and most importantly how to become debt free.
I was visiting Dave’s site last night because I wanted to give you some tools to use that are for public view. Fortunately, Dave has graciously put a lot of information on his site.
Here are the 6 steps:
1. Save $1,000 to start an emergency fund
2. Pay off all debt using debt snowball
3. Save 3-6 months of expenses (This does not mean 3-6 months of income.)
4. Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement
5. College funding for children
6. Build wealth and give! Continue to invest in mutual funds and real estate.
More information will follow to let you know what these baby steps mean. Until then, begin saving $1,000 for an emergency fund. You may think that you don’t have $1,000 and can’t get $1,000, but really the majority of us can get that money.
Sell something, have a yard sale, take and extra part-time job, quit going out to eat. These are ways to set up your emergency fund. I’ve been using my blogging money towards getting us debt free and having an emergency fund. You know what it takes. It may take you having money drafted from your savings account. This works because with a savings draft, you don’t touch the money. You don’t see the money and that makes it easier to forget that you have the money so that it doesn’t get spent.
I hope this has inspired you to think about how you can enjoy financial freedom. I hope you’ll stop by for more tips on saving time and money.
perfect tip
how much did the peace university class run you?
Tanyetta, I think the class was about $80-90. I’m not sure exactly. I certainly was worth it. You can go to Dave Ramsey’s site to find a class in your area. http://www.daveramsey.com
I am so happy to find a fellow dave ramsey follower! I am also working to get out of debt. my goal is to pay off $72,900 worth of debt by April 2009. =)
You can read more on my financial goal blog
Amy, We’re finishing up baby step 2 and moving on to 3. Of course, we still have the house payment, but things are getting so much better now!