Wisdom from the Oracle...

Thought this article from the Wall Street Journal was on point with our lesson on investing yesterday.

Warren Buffett (left, also known as the Oracle from Omaha), gives some sage advice about how to play in the stock market without losing your shirt.

As if on cue...

Check out this article from today's San Francisco Chronicle:

Technology leading to more invasive marketing

More resources

I hesitate to plug products but, if you noticed on this week's lesson in the member resource center, Dave is plugging identity theft insurance from a company called Zander Insurance Group.

So, with Dave's "blessing," I thought I'd share a few products that Danielle and I are using and mention some others shared in class. Most of these are online products so my apologies to those who don't like to mix technology and finances!

Accounts for Emergency Fund and "Sinking Funds" (e.g. for Car purchase)

• HSBCAdvance online money market account (1.35% APR as of 2/4/10).
  
  Using it as our emergency fund with ACH withdrawal from my main checking account on a predetermined basis.
  
  
• PerkStreet Financial online checking account (1 transactions/month like a deposit, transfer, payment or ATM withdrawal to avoid $4.95/month fee; get a debit card and checkbook; music, coffee or cash rewards which accrue with "credit" transactions linked to checking account - not actually credit purchases).
  
  Using it as our "sinking fund" to pay for things like property taxes and other large purchases that we're saving up for. Transfer funds online per our allocated spending plan.
  
  **SHAMELESS PLUG** If you do sign up for PerkStreet, please reference my phone number 4152365137. I'll treat you to coffee or buy you a song on iTunes when I get our first rewards :)

Tools for tracking your spending

• "My Spending Report" or similar products at your financial institutions usually provide online, real-time data to help you see where the money goes.
• Mint.com* is a free online tool to manage budgets and track your spending. It can provide a comprehensive view of your assets and liabilities in one place.
• Mvelopes.com* is an online, subscription-based services based on the envelope system.

* Danielle and I don't use these personally.

What else is out there that you're using?

Helpful Documents

I Googled excel spreadsheets for Dave Ramsey's zero-based budget and found these two particularly helpful resources on someone named Chris Hoffman's blog.

First, the Allocated Spending Plan (download zip file; enable macros in Excel).

He also linked to a Debt Reduction Calculator which you can use for your debt snowball.

These are in addition to the Gazelle Budget on the Member Resource Center site at DaveRamsey.com.

$6 million and counting...down

I admit I was surprised. With 20 index cards counted, GT's inaugural FPU course was staring straight down the barrel of $6,000,000+ in debt!

Now, I know that we have homeowners in one of the most expensive cities in the country. What surprised me that NOT ONE CARD had $0 on it! Not one!

We've got our work cut out for us!

I know for me, debt like student loans and credit card balances seem to never go away. I totaled up what we're paying every month - and we're being aggressive - and yet I still feel like we're digging in quicksand sometimes.

Looking forward to next week's lesson! How about you?

Who's got a plan?

I remember it like it was yesterday. New job, new salary, new dreams. Danielle and I, fed up with our current bank, walked into our local "Stagecoach Pulled by Horses" branch to open a new account (names have been changed to protect the innocent). We even had some savings to deposit!

"Welcome to the family." The super-friendly and unassuming personal banker greeted us. "Let me ask you a few questions to make sure you get the products you need."

I should have stopped her right there. I should have gotten up and said, "Hold up. We just came in to open a checking and savings account." But I didn't. My ego was sufficiently stroked as she asked us what our gross monthly income was and, oh, did we know that they offered a free consult with a wealth manager for clients like us.

You can guess what happened next. We walked out of that bank with the largest personal line of credit we had ever had! To top it off, it was already open and we left with checkbook in hand...for emergencies, of course! At least we passed on the free consult.

If you couldn't tell already, the most convicting moment for me in today's Super Savers lesson was Dave's well-told story of the marketing machine I had just fed with my $500 savings account deposit. Who had a plan? I thought I did but clearly the bank had a better one.

Driving by those billboards on 101 I always thought that I would be riding in the stagecoach, not pulling it. Two and a half years later, my nearly tapped out personal line of credit suggests otherwise...

Got a story to share prompted by today's lesson? How are you planning to get to Baby Step 1?

Welcome to GTSF Financial Peace University!

On January 3, 2010, 50 San Franciscans will embark on a thirteen-week journey toward greater financial freedom. Our guide? New York Times best-selling author Dave Ramsey and his Financial Peace University DVD course.

This blog will record the progress, setbacks, victories and defeats. No gimmicks. No fluff. Real people trying to overcome what's holding them back, uplift the good stuff they've got going on and, ultimately, transform their financial futures.

"91 days to beat debt...and build wealth!" It's on.