Financial Freedom  TEAM LEAD: DEACON TROY JACKSON

Beat But Not Beaten

By Lunita Ferguson

It is said that hindsight is 20/20 and is this saying ever so true. As a dutiful Dave Ramsey financial peace university graduate, I obediently shredded the dreaded credit cards. But what about those store cards? I shredded a few but not all, I can not seem to part company with a few from my favorite stores. I know that this is one area in my life where I’m very reluctant to let go and I’m prayerful about it and I’m getting better.

Here are a few tips that I use to shop using store credit cards without drowning in debt:

1. Remove all credit cards from your wallets, place them somewhere secure at home.

2. Take cards from the special place only when you have a planned purchase.

3. Plan to spend. Primarily purchase needs and not wants and be able to distinguish between the two.

4. Spend only what you can afford to. This means that you have the cash available and it is not earmarked for something else.

5. Split your bill paying cash and no more than $5.00 on the store card.

6. Pay the card balance off before you leave the store. I cannot emphasize this enough “DO NOT LEAVE THE STORE IF THERE IS A BALANCE ON YOUR CARD”.

7. If you are unable or unwilling to following steps 1-7, I would advise you to shred all of your credit cards.

I will be the first to admit that the interest rate on a store card is astronomical and one can only ask the question why. Is this the “cash cow” of the department stores? With such high rates why do so many of us fall victim to that, oh! so tempting 10, 15 or 20% discount when we open that “rip-off” account.

One can contend that the turmoil in the financial market is a culmination of America’s dependence on credit for instant gratification. Many of us need to go back to the basics and understand that there is more to life but material possessions. When we are called into judgment there will be no mention of the possessions that we acquired but how we have lived and carried out the great commission and the great commandment. I implore you to seek quality and not quantity and when you are told that you can have it “all”. Examine carefully what “all” means to you.

Like many of you, I’ve been beat by the system but guess what? I’m no longer beaten. I’m happy to report that I have store cards but not a one of them has a balance. They reside in a drawer at home and are only taken out to make planned purchases. I love to take advantage of the 10-20% periodic saving coupons that I receive in the mail. The “gotcha” with these coupons is that you must use the store credit card to take advantage of it. Chances are that if you use these coupons, you’re probably paying back in interest more than you saved, but wasn’t it your intention to save and beat the system?

Monthly Expense Worksheets

Monthly Expense Spreadsheets

Subsequent to the Family Support Ministry’s recent completion of the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University class, here are some monthly expense spreadsheets that we hope will be helpful to you.

We also want you to be on the look-out for the NEXT Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University session that we will present in the near future…

We’ll post more info as plans are solidified.

First, the instructions for using the spreadsheets:

1. At the top of this sheet enter your gross income as your beginning balance.

2. Then start entering your expenses under the appropriate categories.
   Note: You can always rename a listed category item to what you call it. For example you may shop at K-Mart instead of Wal-Mart. You may have to look back at your bill statement or where its shown on your bank statement to come up with this amount. e.g. Utilities, garbage, average your grocery, cable, phone, ,etc.
   Be sure to put a buffer of monies under Entertainment so you can still enjoy everyday life. But don’t be extravagant about it.

3. At the bottom of the monthly expense sheet you'll see the total monthly expenses. That amount is also reflected in the Monthly payments field at the top.

Instructions to Determine Accelerated Amount: (Extra funds to apply to Priority Debt 1)

1. Look at top middle section of the monthly expenses spreadsheet and enter The Available Balance amount in the Available Funds after Bills.
   
   Note: The fields below that are automatically calculated for you. I chose 35% but you can change that number by clicking on that field amount and changing it. The Accelerated Amount is also automatically calculated. And walla this is the amount that you can add to priority one.

Instructions to maintain monthly budget sheet:

1. Click on the January tab at the bottom of the screen.

2. Copy or re-enter the accelerated information from the template so this is readily available.
   Note: You’re going to need the template to create next year’s budget sheet at the beginning of next year so you want to keep it clean.

3. Now enter your checking account balance prior to the current month start date as shown in your checking account in the beginning balance field.

4. Then enter any deposits, as shown in your checking account, such as your paychecks, below that.

5. Now enter the actual amounts of monies spent for the current month in the correct categories as shown in your bank statement. The available funds should be the same as in your checking account balance.