Fourth Time's A Charm!

We started our fourth Financial Peace University session last night, with our biggest group yet.. probably almost 30 folks! This time the class meets in the computer lab at Tyner Middle Academy (which is also our new building for Sunday services, held in the cafeteria of the school), so everyone is getting used to setting up in a different space.

The start of a new class and meeting new people is always very interesting and exciting to me. This may sound weird, but I like the dynamic of people coming in not really knowing what to expect, and often being skeptical that this material can actually help their personal situation, later to find a much different opinion as they really dig into the material.

During the video section, Dave Ramsey talks about the first "baby step", which is getting $1,000 in the bank as soon as possible to establish your emergency fund. When he said "Baby step one is the easiest step, and it's the hardest step. It's the easiest because it's only $1,000...." and I heard a guy in the back go "psh!" ha. I know how he feels: "$1,000 is a ton of money! There's no way that's happening any time soon!" I'm excited to see how further classes and discussions will change his perception of his ability to do this. Usually learning to budget does the trick pretty easily ;•)

Many people have similar stories to share about their finances, but I'm always very interested to hear everyone's unique perspective. From a high school kid "just trying to keep some gas money" to folks having been through bankruptcy. The range is wide, but there are tidbits of every discussion that are helpful to everyone there.

I'm really excited about people getting excited on their own about this! It's funny - I feel like initially to get them there at all, requires excitement and redundant promotion from myself as a coordinator pumping them up to realize how much they want and need this. It's really fun when doing so turns into a genuine realization of that on their own.

Side note, I love listening to my husband tell our story about getting out of debt. He tells it so passionately, and not without some emotional reaction. It's very touching! I love how much this has come to mean to him, and to me.