10 Ways to Achieve Your Goals With Financial Peace University

Before you know it, the kids will be back in school, the trees will be changing colors and summer will be over. But don't let that get you down! Fall is the second New Year's, meaning it's time to readdress all those resolutions you made for yourself at the beginning of the year.
Remember all those financial, physical, spiritual and mental goals you made? Fall is the perfect time to create a schedule that allows you to meet those resolutions! And with back-to-school shopping out of the way, why not get started meeting some of these goals with the help of Financial Peace University?
The life-changing information you will learn in Financial Peace University (FPU) will help you take control of your money, but have you ever realized that money is tied to all areas of your life? Once you work toward getting your financial house in order, your other goals will follow suit and build upon each other. Here are 10 ways FPU will help you improve your money ... and your life!

1. Helps couples get on the same page with money. No more money fights! Couples learn how to make decisions about their money together.
2. Forces you to do a budget and actually use it. Guessing games are a thing of the past! Learn how to make a written plan for your money.
3. Explains the importance of an accountability partner for singles. Gain a sense of empowerment over your money by acquiring an accountability partner help you make smart decisions.
4. Shows you how to teach your kids about money. Tell your children how to save, spend and invest their money and help them make a great future for themselves!
5. Teaches you how to get out of debt—for good this time. Time to kick out Sallie Mae and get rid of the car loan! Using the debt snowball, you'll learn how to pay off your debt.
6. Lets you know what insurance you need and don't need. Learn how to cover yourself with the right type of insurance for you, your family and your assets.
7. Tells people how to bargain and get great deals. Learning how to negotiate deals will save you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars!
8. Prepares you for a happy and stress-free retirement. Planning now saves you heartache and money in the long run. Figure out how you can retire with no money worries.
9. Helps parents plan ahead for their kids' college funding. If you have kids, preparing now for their college funding will save them from student loans later in life.
10. Demonstrates the importance of working in a job you love. Instead of dreading Mondays and loving Fridays, you will learn how to do work you love.

This article was taken from Dave's Newsletter. If you would like more information on my upcoming FPU class, click here...

Stop Looking For The Dramatic!

One of my favorite blogs, Stuff Christians Like, is written Jon Acuff. He had a Tweet today that is not only profound, but has a great amount of application in every day life. Here is his brilliant insight:  David didn't show up to fight Goliath. He brought lunch. Stop looking for the dramatic and be great at the little things.

 If you don't believe it, check the story out in 1 Samuel 17. Jesse sent David to his brothers. He was to bring them roasted grain and bread. And cheese for their commanding officer. (Hmmm... Another example of honoring leadership... I'll talk about that some other time...)

The problem for most of us is that we grew up in Sunday School with flannel-graphs. Right now you can picture in your mind the cut out flannel-graph of David and the five smooth stones and Goliath. You'll noticed that they never had a flannel-graph of Goliath getting his head whacked off. That would've been AWESOME. But it would've required a PG-13 rating for violence on the class. That wouldn't have gone over well. But, I digress...

So, in our minds we jump ahead in the story assume that David set out kill Goliath. He had faced the bear, he had faced the lion. He was ready for his moment of glory. He had enough of tending these smelly sheep. It's time for some fame!!

But that's not how it happened... He was doing a simple, lowly task. He was the pizza delivery boy. They probably didn't even tip him. But he was being faithful in the little things. And his faithfulness in the little things opened the door for big things. That almost sounds like something Jesus said one time...

The lesson to be learned here is this: The more time we spend dreaming about the big things while ignoring the little things the further we get from our goal. Get your head out of the clouds, get your feet on the ground and move up that mountain one step at a time.

So, what are the little things in front of you? Are you ignoring them because you are waiting for your big moment of glory?

There is more to be learned here, but I'll save that for another post...

Is it how we start, or how we end?

After a long, inexcusable absence I was working on a post last night. For whatever reason, Blogspot managed to lose about half of it. I will get that missing part retyped and get the post up soon. It'll be a good one, commenting on a recent Seth Godin post (read it here...).

In the meantime I have a thought for your reading pleasure:

This morning I slowly came awake. My alarm clock display has the option to dim it completely, so I wasn't sure of the time. I normally wake up once or twice between 4am and when my alarm goes off at 5:51am, so I assumed that it was around 5am.

Still groggy, I activated the display. It was 6.31am. I was waking up a full 40 minutes late. Which means I would be 40 minutes late for work. I hate being late for work.

My mind immediately began to try and determined what had gone wrong? Did I sleep through my alarm? Not likely. No matter how hard I'm asleep I always wake up for my alarm. Did I forget to click the switch to on? Nope, It was on. Then I looked a little closer... The alarm was set for 5.51pm, not 5.51am!! Arrghhh!

Fortunately, my boss is pretty understanding about this sort of thing, so there was no significant consequences.

But, it did get me thinking. The most common response to this sort of mistake is "what a horrible way to start the day." But this had nothing to do with how I started my day. It was all about how I ended the previous day.

And then I realized how much that concept applied to life. We have to ask ourselves: How did I finish my last assignment/mission/task? Even if I successfully completed it, did I leave a wake of destruction in my path? Did I burn bridges and ruin relationships?  Did I hurt people? Did I compromise my principles or sacrificed my integrity?

If so, then any perceived victory is empty and meaningless. I may of got the job done, the price paid is too high.

Yes, we should start strong. But we must finish even stronger.