Life.Money.Hope.

How much time do you spend each day thinking about money? It doesn't matter if you have a lot of money or a little bit of money, I'd wager that you spend at least half of your waking hours thinking about buying, spending, saving, investing, giving, borrow, maybe even betting money.

What if money is a painful topic for you...
So many of you are on a financial rollercoaster: you're elated when you get paid because you finally have money to survive, but it runs out too soon, so you spend 1 1/2 of every 2 weeks waiting to get paid again. Furthermore, you're frustrated because you know that all of your hard work wasn't going to be enough to cover your expenses - and you feel like you have nothing to show for your life. At some point, you might even feel like you are losing hope. Hang in there! There is HOPE...

Hope is a Powerful Thing...
I just finished teaching a "Life.Money.Hope." ** three-week series at a central city location in Toledo. On the last night of class, a single mom came up to me with tears flowing down her face because for the first time, she had information and confidence that she could change her family's financial future. And, she wasn't the only energized person in the room. There was an incredible buzz on the last night of that class. Why? For the first time in their lives, those class participants realized that they could actually "win" with money - and they didn't need complicated finanical formulas or risky strategies. These men and women were armed with straight-forward, proven financial principals that gave them what they needed most...HOPE!

Take Some "Baby Steps" to Winning with Money!
Best-selling author and tv host, Dave Ramsey has developed the "Seven Baby Steps" to get anyone  - including you - back on track financially. It doesn't matter how bad things are, little baby steps in the right direction can make a HUGE difference!

Ramsey's Seven Baby Steps (link to article: http://www.daveramsey.com/new/baby-steps/)
1. Save $1000 as fast as you can! (For household incomes less than $20k, save $500.)
2. Use "debt snowball" to pay off debt.
3. Save 3-6 months of expenses in Emergency Savings Account
4. Invest 15% of pre-tax income
5. College funding (if applicable)
6. Pay off home early
7. Build wealth and give

If you haven't done so already, make it a priority to get Baby Step #1 done as soon as possible. You won't believe how amazing you'll feel when there's cushion between you and that next emergency - which is going to happen. But, saving that initial $1000 is just the beginning...

I'm a huge fan of Dave Ramsey and his Financial Peace University program. Over 1 million people nationwide have taken his 9-week class - the average family pays off $5300 and saves over $2500 over a three-month period. Check out www.daveramsey.com for more details and locations to register for FPU or you can watch this promo video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVXaBTARD7k

By the way, CedarCreek's Financial Peace University classes begin the week of February 11, so if you are in Northwest Ohio, check out our website for more details.


**Life.Money.Hope. is a three-week Dave Ramsey taught as a guest speaker at LifeChurch.tv in Oklahoma City in 2009. You can check out Lifechurch.tv's site for the free videos.