I am reading again- shocking I know...

The book: The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey - Revised 3rd Edition
I should note that I borrowed this book from a friend (see I am saving money already!)
Also it is American, so some things are a bit different but the heart of the message still rings true.

Here is what I am learning:
-A budget is people telling their money where to go instead of wondering where it went.
-If you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else.
-Family and friends might think you are crazy at first, that means you are doing the right thing. You will have to start saying no to things you usually say yes to, like going out for dinners and spending lots of money on gifts. For me I am going to have to really think about Christmas. -Don't keep up with the Joneses, they are broke!
-The key to winning any battle is to identify the enemy.

Baby Steps:
I love this because he took the idea from the movie "What About Bob"
You can get anywhere if you simply go one step at a time.

I haven't read the whole book yet, but here are the steps I have learned so far:

Baby Step 1- Save $1,000 in an emergency fund.
You can't keep this money handy or you will spend it!

Baby Step 2- Start the Debt Snowball to become debt-free except for your home. (charts are in the book to help with that)
You need to get radical about this- sell things, get a second job, do what ever you can to pay down your debt as soon as possible!
Pay off the smallest balance first so you feel like you are are doing something that matters and count down how many months left until you are debt-free :)
Most families should be able to pay this off around 18 months if you work really hard at it.

*If you use money from the emergency fund at all time you must stop the step you are in and go back to baby step 1 to build it up again.

Baby Step 3- Finish the Emergency Fund
A fully funded emergency fund covers three to six months of expenses.
If you are single or you are a one-income married household, you should use the six month rule because a job loss would be 100% of the household income.



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For me I want a house, I want a beautiful house because I love to entertain and I would love to have a house that is large enough to have people over (I don't need a huge house though) but I don't want to go into debt that I can't get out of to get it. I don't want to live a lie, and I don't want to be broke. I need to live below my means for a while so I can save and get my money working for me. I have been pretty good with my money so far, but I need to do better so I can have a future without the stress of living paycheck to paycheck. I want better for myself.

As of right now, I am on baby step 1.