By Jackie Hollenkamp Bentley
Louisville, Ky., – Nearly 10 years ago, my husband walked in the front door after work and saw me at our table, head in my hands with tears running down my face. Of course, abject panic sets in.
“What!? What’s wrong!?”
That’s when I showed him the bills and the total of our combined consumer debt; credit cards, mainly. He went pale.
I won’t disclose that amount here due to my pride, but it was enough to slap us in the face and force us to do something about it. We had heard of this Dave Ramsey “get out of debt” guy before, but we liked spending money that we didn’t have on, well, stuff.
That day was a turning point.
Ironically, a nearby church just happened to be hosting a Dave Ramsey Financial Peace seminar and we signed up. Suffice it to say, roughly 18 months later, we were debt free with no credit cards to our name. Ramsey calls that “not normal.” Today, we still don’t have credit cards and we’re still debt free; just the mortgage.
Believe me, I’m so not bragging. It’s been hard in a society where the mottos are “you gotta borrow money to make money”, “I want it and I want it now”, “You deserve stuff”. So, every once in awhile we need to re-energize our resolve to keep our finances in order.
It helps when Ramsey, himself, comes to Louisville, and he’s doing just that next week. The first day of his visit will be devoted to businesses and helping them grow with his EntreLeadership One Day event. That’s Monday, November 16 at 8:30 a.m., at Southeast Christian Church on Blankenbaker Pkwy.
According to the press release, “Ramsey, leadership expert Chris Hogan and Certified Business Coach Christy Wright will discuss ways for Louisville business leaders to impact their teams, run their businesses with integrity and take their business to the next level. Participants will learn how to set goals, manage time, balance their lives, hire qualified team members, delegate responsibilities and compensate accordingly.”
Tickets are $79 for this one day event.
It’s the next night that will interest those wanting to clean up their personal finances. Smart Money is Tuesday night at 6:30 at Southeast Christian and that’s where Ramsey and Hogan will “walk you through the basics of budgeting, dumping debt, planning for retirement, and much more.”
Their website claims the program will “Stop the money fights … Create a plan that gives you freedom … Know your kids are taken care of … Be free to give like you’ve always wanted.”
Ramsey calls it telling your money what to do and that its “the first step to ditch the stress and headaches that debt brings. This biblically based solution to your money problems has a proven track record of helping people just like you experience the freedom that the right plan can offer. It’s time.”
My husband and I knew when it was time for us to get our act together. We did and we’re grateful we did, despite the frustrations of budgeting every month, staying on the same page financially, wanting stuff and not getting it because we don’t have the cash for it, and telling our kids “no”. Alot. They don’t like that.
So, are we Dave Ramsey fanatics? Probably. But we’re used to not being normal.
For more information on the EntreLeadership One Day event, click here at www.daveramsey.com/events/e1d-louisville-20151116.
For the SmartMoney Tour stop, visit www.daveramsey.com/events/sml-louisville-20151117.
