That's the title of Dave Ramsey's Complete Guide to Money, and it was the lesson that really impacted me during Ramsey's nine week "Financial Peace University."
My husband led this little group which consisted of folks from our church and folks from the community. Our common interest was our desire to handle our money correctly and not let our money handle us.
The classes were amazing, but the lesson that really stuck with me was the lesson about my free-spiritedness. Before the class, my interest in our finances were limited to "how are we financially?" and "can I use a bit to get clothes for the kids?", etc. And I was completely fine with that. But since Dave strongly encouraged us as a couple to have monthly budget meetings and spend mostly in cash, I had to bite the bullet and take part in our finances.
The part that made me laugh out loud was one of the rules for the Free Spirits--"You can never again say these six words: 'Whatever you want to do, honey.' That's a cop-out. You've got to stick in there and make the budget work together." That's totally me! I was completely fine with Greg making all the decisions. But now I give input and am encouraged to make changes to the budget.
Mind you, I'm sure I gleaned more from this than Greg (the nerd in our family). He went through Ramsey's book a few years ago and was doing our finances in a wise way. It was me to had to do the changing! I needed to become more aware of where our money was going...more than just the grocery money.
I feel empowered now. If something were to ever happen to Greg, I wouldn't be left in complete financial ignorance.
Definitely worth the time and money to do this nine-week course.
