Looking for some Peace this Summer?

Our first Financial Peace University small group at Journey North concludes this week. We've had a lot of fun and learned a ton. I loved getting to know some other people from the church and community that I might never have had the opportunity to interact with at this level. That's one of the benefits of a small group environment.

I can't wait to do it again! One of the things we've been told is that it's almost impossible to run a FPU class during the summer around here as people's schedules are too crowded. Of course, when have we ever followed conventional wisdom? We've talked to some people who actually have more time during the summer (especially those employed by the school system, etc.) We're considering trying to begin again in a couple of weeks at the end of April and running straight through the end of July.

Journey North people and others in the greater Pine City metropolitan area who may be interested in joining in this session should let me know ASAP so that we can evaluate potential attendance. Class members should be able to commit to attend all or most of the 13 weeks. If we have enough participants, we'll start right back up. If not we probably won't be able to run it again until January.

Financial Peace University is taught via video by Dave Ramsey and followed by a discussion time among the small group members making for a two hour session each week. The cost is $95 for the kit which includes a lifetime membership, meaning you can retake the class as often as you'd like at no additional charge. Plus there are a ton of goodies in the kit, making it a great value. Check out FPU at Dave Ramsey's site for additional information or drop me a note at rob@journeynorthchurch.com.

Stop Thief!

Wow, that was unexpected and unwelcome.

Just spent a couple of hours talking with eBay and PayPal and changing all of my passwords as I had my eBay and PayPal accounts compromised - ie. my identity stolen! Apparently someone hacked my account and purchased a laptop off eBay and paid for it! I got the email right away that said I had "won" my bid and knew right away it was wrong. (Not that I couldn't use a new laptop, but if I was going to get anything it would be a fast new desktop from Dell, not a HP off eBay.) I contacted the seller, eBay and PayPal right away to get the transaction halted. Not sure how long before I can transfer the money back into my checking account! Hopefully soon.

This little brush with identity theft was my second in the past 6 months. As we were preparing to move our mortgage lender informed me that my social security number had been used twice in the last 10 years. Apparently there was no fraud involved - I'm guessing that whomever it was has a number close to mine and put in the wrong digit - but it scared me. I immediately went to Zander Insurance and picked up some identity theft protection. This is the stuff that Dave Ramsey recommends. I'm really glad I have it (no this is not a paid endorsement, although if anyone from Zander sees this I'd be happy to talk about a deal!)

It's funny because we just talked about ID theft at our last Financial Peace University class. Now I'll have another anecdote to share. Oh, joy.

Dave Ramsey Fan Pick-Up Lines

Had another great Financial Peace University class last night at our house. It's great to see everyone get on the same page financially. We also have a fun time sharing and fellowshipping (ie. eating!) together.

In honor of the FPU class and Valentine's Day last week, here are some funny (and cheesy) pickup lines for Dave Ramsey Fans, courtesy of Chris Russell who works for Dave. If you listen to Dave's show via podcast or radio you'll understand more of them, and you may have heard some during his show on Valentine's Day. The entire list is here or here, but these are my favorites. (Fair warning, if you're single and using these... well, that may be why you're still single!):

I still have money in my "restaurant" envelope ... can I buy you dinner?

Would you like to dance? I'd love to show you my Baby Steps.

Why am I nervous about talking to you? Because you're better than I deserve.

Good thing I got just term life insurance ... because I saw you and my heart stopped!

You can't spell Financial Peace University without U and I.

I just bought a bass boat with cash ... and it's a good thing, because you're quite a catch!

I'm not mortgage interest baby ... don't write me off.

The good news? I'm debt free. The better news? I'm also date free.

Too Cold for FPU

We had to postpone our FPU class last night due to the extremely cold temperatures and wind chills. It was only about 40-45 below with wind chills, so I don't know what the big deal was - hey, we're Minnesotans, right? It's supposed to be unbearably frigid this time of year! (I guess Wisconsin transplants/Cheesehead/Packer fans are just more hearty!)

I was watching the news this morning and they had some reporter in Chicago complaining because it was Zero degrees this morning. Zero! That's shorts weather, right?

In all seriousness, I was glad to be inside last night and glad others didn't have to be out in this weather. So, in the spirit of financial planning I thought I'd share the Dilbert comic from this morning. Not sure if I can legally show the graphic on my blog, so here's the link. Enjoy!

How to Get Out of Debt

I'm getting ready for our second Financial Peace University class tonight and am excited to see everyone and share together. In the meantime, I just had to share this video clip. My sister, Heather, had posted it on her blog and it is completely hysterical. I'll no doubt share it with the FPU group at some point, as well. Enjoy!

FPU Preview

Our Financial Peace University preview session last Tuesday night was a lot of fun. In addition to several from Journey North Church, we also had a couple from Hinckley (MN) join us who had found about about our class via Dave Ramsey's web site! There were nine of us this orientation session, but I know of about half a dozen more planning to join us for the first class this Tuesday night. It'll be a bit cozy (Realtor-speak for crowded), but a load of fun!

In this introductory session Dave told his story and laid out the plan for the next 13 weeks, describing each of the classes. After watching the 25 minute DVD we enjoyed some quick question and answer time followed by some great food and fellowship.

FINALLY FPU

(I haven't blogged about this even though it's been in the works for several months now and even though I've thought about dozens of possible blog entries about it, but for some reason I haven't sat down and just written about it until now. Which is weird because I am so excited about it. Maybe the busyness of the holidays can shoulder some of the blame, but I think it's primarily because there is so much that I want to say that I am afraid this will become a very lengthy, involved post.

...or a lot of shorter posts. Yeah, I think I'll go that way. Not quite as intimidating for finally getting it down on screen.)

If you attend Journey North Church you've already heard this, but for the rest, here's the big announcement: We're hosting Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University beginning this month (January) at our house! The group will meet Tuesday nights from 7-9 pm and the cost is $90 (couples can go through it together for the same price). Our preview/orientation session is this Tuesday, January 8, with the 13-week course starting the following Tuesday. There’s plenty of information and details about FPU over at Dave’s web site.

Wow, am I ever excited about this! We (Rosalie and I) have wanted to host FPU for years and now we finally have the chance. We’ve not been through the official FPU course before but have listened to hundreds and hundreds of hours of Dave’s radio show podcast over the last few years. We’ve also had the privilege of meeting Dave personally this past summer thanks to my brother-in-law, Brian, who works for him. I also took our students through “No Matter What”, the youth group version of FPU (now replaced by an all-new curriculum called Generation ¢hange).

The biblical financial principles and practices that Dave teaches are changing our lives. I've read or heard every major Christian author on the area of finance (Ron Blue, Larry Burkett, etc.) am familiar with Willow Creek's Good $ense ministry and even had training to lead Crown Ministries small groups. They're all great - seriously - but despite knowing it intellectually it wasn't until I came across Dave that I was actually motivated to make a change because I finally believed I could do it! Dave lays out the simple, biblical process using Baby Steps (borrowed from one of the best comedies of all times, What About Bob?)

Back to FPU. In the class, Dave does the teaching via DVD while Howie Bloomquist (one of our Journey North elders and a great friend of mine) and I will be facilitating discussion following the video. The FPU course was just updated with all new video and updated books and materials - and man does it look awesome! The real genius of the course is that it combines the life-changing teaching with small group accountability (and fellowship!)

This FPU class is no doubt only the first of many we’d like to host in the coming years, so if you live nearby but can't make this one, don't panic. But wherever you live, I’d highly recommend joining a local FPU class! (Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Pine City has a class starting this Sunday night, January 6, if Tuesdays don't work for you. I'm not sure if it's sponsored by the church or just held there as it's not on their web site but you can find details here on Dave's site.)

...so much for a short blog post. I knew that would happen once I started talking about this!