After Trimester 2

I have learned a lot, and am very thankful for my knowledge about money. I was introduced to Dave's teachings before I took Financial Management B, and it was really cool to expand that. I started reading his book "Total Money Makeover" and really liked it, so I figured I would give this class a try. I put my self on a budget before this class and used the envelope system. Now I use a variety of the forms Dave recommend. For example, I now use the Breakdown of Savings form to keep my account more organized and so I do not spend the wrong amount in a certain category. I thought it was really neat learning about factual information such as the fact that if you use a credit or debit card you spend 12-18% more than if you were to use cash.
Saving for a car really helped with my knowledge about saving. I squeezed every dollar out of my pay check and left no blow money, and it was tough at times. Though, in the long run, it was defiantly worth it. In my mind, going through the struggles of budgeting on my own, and then finally achieving the goal, I take much more pride than if it was easy to get it.
Now that I have learned a lot of Dave's teaching, I have been able to help others around me with budgeting. It has been a great experience becoming smarter in the money world. I am glad I learned all that I now know before I actually was in debt. I now know how to stay out of debt so I do not have to go through the struggles of being in debt.
I do not plan on ever having a credit card, and hope that when I am much older that my husband will not either. I am considered the nerd as far as budgeting goes, so I am assuming I will be the one in charge of the money.

2/13/12-2/15/12

This week we started researching budget companies online. There are many options for someone who is looking to budget their fund online. Many of the sites had mobile updates, which could be helpful since our culture is very techy. Some sites costs, and some were completely free. I would go for the free ones because I would hate to have to put another expense in my budget.
I think I will eventually use an online budget system because it would be more helpful than my little notebook. Having a budget helps so much, though it is tough at times to not just spend money when I want to, but it feels better to see my savings account grow.

2/6/12-2/10/12

I started reading Dave's book Total Money Makeover before I took this class. I started budgeting in about November. I use the envelope system. My college savings went straight into my savings account, and then I had envelopes for the rest. The envelopes I had were: gas money, food money, Alaska mission trip savings, church offering, and miscellaneous expenses. Using the envelope system has really helped me because if I were to reach into a different envelope to purchase something that the money isn't supposed to be used for, then I would feel guilty. Guilt stopped me from overspending in any certain category.

Dave talked about a ton of different forms this week. I think those forms could really help when trying to make a budget the proper way. I liked the way the forms have the percentage breakdown for how much of your income will be going to what. I like to know where my money is going, and what it is going to. I don't like the idea of just "I owe 106 dollars in insurance this month" I like to know "I owe 636 dollars for 6 months, and this is the breakdown..."

01/23/12-1/27/12

Many people don't bargain shop because they have never been taught how to. Now that I know the tactics salesmen try to pull of people, I can use the tactics that Dave taught us to negotiate. One of them that I know I will not be able to try is shut up. It would be hard for me not to talk in a negotiation. I will always try to keep a "win-win" situation in my mind so it could benefit my chances of getting a deal.
I also learned the power of cash. Cash is visual, emotional, and immediate. If you use the power of cash in negotiating, you will higher your chances of getting the deal you want. This is because when a salesman, or an individual who is selling something to you,  sees the money they will want it then and they will get it then if they okay your offer. Verses someone using a credit card.

1/16/12-1/20/12

This week we learned about bargain shopping and how to do that. I am not really a negotiator, I am defiantly the type of person that will pay exactly what the ticket price is. Even if it the setting is something like a garage sale. Dave's stories of bargaining have helped in case I ever feel confident enough in the future to negotiate a price on something.

We watched many videos on extreme coupon people, and I have always wanted to do that. I hope when I am older that I will be able to do that, it seems like it would be so fun, and obviously exciting. I really liked the video of that one girl who opens her garage and everything that she gets for super cheap to friends, family, and her church.

January 6, 2011

We looked at a couple of sites for credit reports. A person should check their credit report annually. Some credit reports online make you think that you will be getting it for free but you are really not. Then you find out that you owe about 2 dollars, and if you don't disable it within a certain amount of time then you have to pay about 17$ a month for this subscription. This is all explained in the small print, the part that most people do not even read. Some credit reports are not necessarily free, and I have learned to really know how to look out for that.