As an advisor for Ramsey Solutions’ products and services, I frequently have people coming to me for advice on their finances. And it’s usually pretty clear when things are solid and when they aren’t.
To give you some background, my wife and I started Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University about 8 years ago. We got intense with the plan and paid off $34,000 in 14 months on a very moderate income. Yes, we sold so much stuff the kid thought he was next! You can read the whole story and see videos here.
A few years after that, we stuck with the plan and were able to sell our house and cashflow building our new smaller home. Yes, we paid for it with cash! As it turns out, when you do a budget and stick to it, it works!
Over the last 8 years I’ve also had the opportunity to coordinate 14 Financial Peace groups, be trained as a Momentum coordinator (church-wide stewardship initiative) and become an active advisor for SmartDollar, Ramsey’s corporate financial wellness plan. So to say that I’ve been ingrained in the financial wellness world is an understatement. Some would call it obsession, I call it knowledge.
So here’s 15 things that might mean you’re on the edge of a financial meltdown. Check them and find a place to get it fixed before it implodes on you!
- You don’t have a budget.
- You have a budget but you don’t really live by it. In other words, it’s a theory.
- Your credit cards are nearly maxed out and you have next to no money in the bank.
- You live completely off credit cards just hoping to be able to skirt by another month.
- You live paycheck to paycheck (maybe without credit cards) but you have less than $500 in savings.
- Your car payment is more than your house payment.
- You couldn’t handle a $400 emergency with cash if it came up today. (this is 50% of Americans, sadly)
- You have no idea how much actually spend in a month.
- You have zero in retirement.
- Your idea of doing a budget is seeing how much you spent after the month is over. (We used to do this.)
- You would have no idea how you could survive even 2 months if you lost your job.
- You think having a great credit score means you are winning with money. (Hint, it’s an I love debt score)
- If your A/C went out in your house, you’d have to borrow money to fix it.
- If your car broke down, you’d have no cash to fix it to get to work to make more cash. See the problem?
- You’re reading this, knowing the disaster is near, but you aren’t doing anything to fix it.
If aren’t sure where to start, I can help. I’ve love to point you to some resources but you have to contact me first. I offer free, 15 minute consultations and then we’ll see if you need more help. You can schedule that here.
If you liked this, you might want to download the full PDF, 16 ways you might be on the edge of a financial disaster (and how to stop it now!)