New Year and Finances. . .

I am curious how everyone is doing with their financial goals and if anyone is still doing the Dave Ramsey plan I posted about last year.  If you are new to the blog, Dave Ramsey is a financial "guru" that says you should not use credit cards and to pay cash for everything.  The hubby and I have been doing his plan for many years.  I read all of his books and followed Dave for many years before I actually took his class, Financial Peace University.  I have to give a shout out to Beth Cotell for inviting me to the class she was taking.  A huge thank you!!  
There is a lot of free information out there for anyone looking for financial help but, be careful who you take advice from.  You would not want to take advice from a financial person that is broke, right?  Dave Ramsey is a millionaire and has been bankrupt too, so I feel like he has the credibility to teach me what to do and what not to do.  The information I share on this subject is Dave's and I give him all the credit.  I am not being compensated by Dave for writing this either.  I truly believe in what he says and how he approaches money matters.
One of the things that I really like about Dave's approach is, he not only uses a mathematical approach but a biblical approach too.  He incorporates what the Bible has to say about financial matters into his teachings and I love it.  His budget system is the first one that I have seen that put giving at the top over and above anything else.   Giving to others is so important in this day and age of the self-involved and self-centered society that we live in.   The hubbs and I have always given to our Church and other charities even when we did not have very much we still gave.
I am very proud to say that with the help of Dave's plan and his cash envelope system we are debt free and have been for two years, except for our house.  We are paying it down though with great speed and we are also saving for College for the boys too.   There are lots of options to save for college; there is the 529 if you are in North Carolina, Roth IRA, and I know that other states have savings plans for in state tuition.   If you are going to do the 529 and you have two or more kids you only need to do one 529.  Put the account in your oldest child's name and if for some reason that child does not need that money then it can be passed to the younger children and even to the parents if they want to go back to school.    These are all good ways to save for college and let's face it, College is not getting any cheaper.
Please check out Dave at www.daveramsey.com and you can follow him on Facebook too.