If your finances need an overhaul in , check out the steps below and give some thought to giving them a try. Luckily, the folks over at the MyTotalMoneyMakeover. In the unlikely event that your particular situation is not included in these expanded steps, try posting your question in the free Living Like No One Else forum.

Your chances of success will improve greatly if you can set the stage by making sure you are adequately insured, knowing where you money is coming from and going to every month, getting rid of unnecessary expenses and possessions, and completing as many of these items as possible.

This is the first official Baby Step. Dave Ramsey states that most families can come up with this amount in around a month. Something like this WILL happen. So get a rainy-day fund, an umbrella. If a real emergency happens, you can handle it with your emergency fund. Start where you are. Write down what you have today. From then on, spend all your income on paper with purpose before the month begins. The principle is to stop everything except minimum payments and focus on one thing at a time.

Otherwise, nothing gets accomplished because all your effort is diluted. You need some quick wins in order to stay pumped enough to get out of debt completely. When you start knocking off the easier debts, you will start to see results and you will start to win in debt reduction. So list your debts in order with the smallest payoff or balance first excluding the house. Do not be concerned with interest rates or terms unless two debts have similar payoffs, then list the higher interest rate debt first.

If you do not have Microsoft Excel installed on your computer, you can download OpenOffice. Having a fully-funded EF will also allow you to reduce the cost of certain types of insurance esp.

Updated Expanded Baby Steps | SparkPeople

A great place to keep this money is in a money market account. Dave recommends keeping your emergency fund in a money market account or other liquid bank account that pays a decent amount of interest but is NOT an investment account.

A Deeper Look at Dave Ramsey's Seven Baby Steps - The Simple Dollar

Here are some reliable online savings accounts and a frequently-updated list of high-yield checking accounts:. Some people want to invest less or none so they can get a child through school or pay off the home super-fast. In order to have enough money saved for college, you must aim at something.

Can you imagine what life would be like if you had absolutely no payments — not even a house payment?! As you attack this last debt, you will gain momentum much like you did back in Baby Step 2 with the Debt Snowball. Check out the calculators and sites below to help you determine the value of your home and how much can be saved by paying it off early!

Build wealth and give like never before. Continue to work toward leaving an inheritance for generations to come.

Bless others now with your excess. Vow to never have a fistful of dollars held so tightly that those precious dollars never get away.

Some people think if they clutch those dollars tightly enough, never giving, they are on the path to wealth. The real world teaches that the opposite is true. Thanks for a great post! Nicole — Glad you found the list helpful. I thought other people might find it helpful, too.

Just got the book and probably overdid my first workout this morning. Your email address will not be published. Click on the picture to hear an audio file of the word. Caustic Musings Random ramblings on nutrition, fitness, money and life as an unabashed geekette Home Bahamas Fitness Cruise Fitness Resources Photo Gallery Seed List Thanks for writing!

Training Schedule Notification List Disclaimer Contact Maggie Doll Commissions. You MUST have Shelter, Food, Utilities, Basic clothing 0. Especially important if you have children!! Social Insecurity provides only a small amount of coverage if you have dependents. Create a basic zero-based budget online using the Gazelle Budget Lite tool at Daveramsey. Download and print out the full Cash Flow Planning forms aka Budgets! Check with Zander Insurance for competitive rate quotes on term life insurance.

If you are eligible for USAA membership, also check their rates for term life insurance. Hold a garage sale! List smaller, easily-shipped items tech items do well on eBay , Amazon , or Half. List bigger items on your local Craigslist for pick up ONLY , and watch out for scammers! Get a second job in the evenings or on the weekends. Cut back on non-essential spending. Cancel subscriptions to luxury services.

Visit the IRS Withholding Calculator and see if you have been overpaying your income tax each month. If you usually get a big, fat refund every April, chances are you can free up a lot of money by just changing your withholding for the rest of the year.

Expanded Baby Step 1 Actions: Pay off debt using Debt Snowball 2. Expanded Baby Step 2 Actions: Expanded Baby Step 3 Actions: Here are some reliable online savings accounts and a frequently-updated list of high-yield checking accounts: ING Direct HSBC Direct High-Yield Checking Deals.

Expanded Baby Step 4 Actions: No using the EF!!! Finance Mutual Fund Screener. College funding for children From Daveramsey. NEVER save for college using: Remember, college IS possible without loans! Pay off your house early! When selling a home, think like a retailer.

When buying a home, think like an investor. Never get more than a year fixed mortgage. Build wealth and GIVE! You are now debt free, house and all! Charity Navigator — Impartial ratings of charities and charity search engine GuideStar — Another charity rating site Free registration required Zopa CDs — Invest in a guaranteed rate CD and help someone out at the same time!

Spockboy Custom Crochet Mr. Thanks for writing this up!

Very sensible and comprehensive advice. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Search Archives August July June May April March February January December November October September August July June May April March February January December November October September August July June May April March February January December November October September August July June May April March February January December November October September August July June May April March February January December November October September August July June May Meta Log in.

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