Thanks, Dave Ramsey.

Several years ago, I took Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. Before FPU, I couldn't tell you where my money went - I would get my paycheck, it would be gone, and then I would count down the days until the next check.

I had no budget, no spending plan, and in hindsight I really had no respect for the money God had entrusted to me. In my mind, the money in my wallet was MY money - not God's - and as long as I had a check coming in 2 weeks, I'd be fine.

But I went through the FPU experience and learned about handling money God's way, budgeting every penny (even your non-designated expenses), saving for the present AND the future, and not letting credit be my master.

It was a fight paying off my debts, it was not fun saving when I wanted to spend, and it's never easy to say no to yourself - but I did those things. With lots of prayer, with the Holy Spirit giving the self-discipline I needed to get control of my finances, I can celebrate today that I have no outstanding consumer debt, have over $4,000 in savings, and am investing a good chunk into a Roth IRA for my retirement because Lord knows I'm not counting on Social Security (which was never meant to be a retirement account anyway).

So after working these past few years to save, after saying no so many times, after lots of prayer and self-discipline, it felt SO good to log onto my credit card account just a few minutes ago and see my current balance:


Thanks, God ...and you too, Dave Ramsey!